Rachel Bloom | |
|---|---|
 Bloom at the 37th College Television Awards in May 2016 | |
| Born | Rachel Leah Bloom April 3, 1987 Los Angeles County, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | New York University (BFA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
| Spouse |
Dan Gregor (m. 2015) |
| Children | 1 |
| Comedy career | |
| Medium |
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| Genres | |
| Website | racheldoesstuff |
Rachel Leah Bloom (born April 3, 1987) is an American actress, writer, and comedian, best known for co-creating and starring as Rebecca Bunch in The CW musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019).[1] The role has won her numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a TCA Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Bloom first became known for her YouTube comedy music videos, including the Hugo Award-nominated video "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury". She has also appeared in films, including Most Likely to Murder (2018), The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019), Trolls World Tour (2020), Bar Fight! (2022), and The School for Good and Evil (2022).
Bloom was born on April 3, 1987,[2] in Los Angeles County, California,[3] and grew up in Manhattan Beach.[4] She is the only child of Shelli (née Rosenberg), a musician, and Alan Bloom, a healthcare lawyer.[5] She is Jewish.[6]
Bloom attended Manhattan Beach public schools including Mira Costa High School, where she was involved in the school's drama program.[7] According to Bloom, she used performance as a way to try to fit in.[8] In 2009, Bloom graduated from the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama. While at NYU, Bloom was the head writer and director of the school's premier sketch comedy group, Hammerkatz. Post-college, Bloom performed at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and Los Angeles.[4] She was once roommates with comedian Ilana Glazer after college in Brooklyn.[9]
In April 2010, Bloom wrote and sang the song "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury", which gained a cult following when it was released on Ray Bradbury's 90th birthday in 2010.[10] The song was inspired by her favorite Ray Bradbury book, The Martian Chronicles.[11][12] There was a photo of Bradbury posted online that purported to show him watching the video.[13] She worked as an intern for head writer Seth Meyers at Saturday Night Live. In 2012, she unsuccessfully auditioned for the show, submitting an audition video that included a bit as Katharine Hepburn doing the voice for Bugs Bunny in Space Jam.[14][15]
On May 13, 2013, Bloom released her first album of musical comedy, Please Love Me, which included the viral songs "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury" and "You Can Touch My Boobies".[16][10] On November 19, 2013, she released her second album Suck It, Christmas, which featured a comedic look at Chanukah and included the song "Chanukah Honey".[17] On December 17, 2013, Bloom was the voice of Princess Peach in the song "Luigi's Ballad" on Starbomb's self-titled debut album. Bloom co-wrote "Super Friend" performed by Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin, featured on the musical crossover episode of Supergirl and The Flash titled "Duet" and the soundtrack released from the episode.
On April 25, 2016, Bloom was awarded the "Visionary Award" at the annual gala held by East West Players, the longest-running professional theatre of color[clarification needed] in the United States.[18] The award seeks to honor "individuals who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through their craft”; her show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was lauded for its decision to cast an Asian-American male in a trope and stereotype-subverting lead role.[19]
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Bloom has worked as a television writer on Allen Gregory and Robot Chicken.[17]
In April 2017, Bloom appeared on "The Sexual Spectrum" episode of Bill Nye Saves the World, performing the song "My Sex Junk" concerning the gender and sexual spectra. The performance and episode were controversial, garnering a mixed response with backlash from conservative groups and on social media, where Bloom was threatened.[20][21][22][23][24] The episode received an Emmy nomination.[25]
Bloom co-starred in the film Most Likely to Murder, opposite Adam Pally and Vincent Kartheiser. The film was directed by Dan Gregor, Bloom's husband. It premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2018, and was released on Digital and on Demand in May 2018.[26]
On October 10, 2019, she was featured in a 30-minute YouTube documentary called Laughing Matters, created by SoulPancake in collaboration with Funny or Die, wherein a variety of comedians discuss mental health.[27] She also appeared in the show My Little Pony, on the episode "Sounds of Silence", playing a kirin named Autumn Blaze.
On June 10, 2020, Bloom participated in the #ShareTheMicNow Instagram initiative. Fifty-two Black women took over the Instagram feeds of 52 white women with large platforms, including Julia Roberts, Elizabeth Warren, and Diane von Fürstenberg to draw attention to the work they're doing in order to catalyze change. Bloom's Instagram account was taken over by author Christine Michel Carter.[28]
On November 18, 2020, Bloom was awarded the Lifesaver Award from ELEM/Youth in Distress in Israel, a nonprofit aiding youth in distress in Israel, at its Hats off to Heroes virtual gala.[29][30]
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Main article: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend |
On May 7, 2015, Bloom filmed a half-hour pilot for Showtime with co-executive producer Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada), directed by Marc Webb.[31][32] It was eventually picked up by The CW for the fall 2015–2016 season.[33] Crazy-Ex Girlfriend became a critically acclaimed hour-long series with more network-friendly content when it transitioned from cable to network TV[34][35][36] and features musical numbers.[37] The show premiered on October 12, 2015.[38]
On January 10, 2016, Bloom won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy.[39] The following week, Bloom won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.[40] On September 23, 2019, Bloom won the 71st Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for her work on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
"Holy Shit (You've Got to Vote)" is a 2016 video created by Rachel Bloom to encourage people to vote in the 2016 election. The star-filled cast sang profanity laced lyrics directed at Donald Trump such as "Donald Trump is human syphilis/we could be the antidote".[41] The video caught the attention of many news outlets, though some questioned its effectiveness retrospectively.[42][43]
In 2015, Bloom married her boyfriend of six years, writer, actor, producer and director Dan Gregor.[44] Her cousin, a rabbi, performed the ceremony.[44] They have a daughter, born in 2020.[45]
Bloom has a history of mental illness, having been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and OCD, about which she has candidly spoken.[46][47]
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Fuzz | Roxy | [48][49] |
| 2018 | Most Likely to Murder | Kara Doblowski | Also producer |
| 2019 | Changeland | Vanessa (voice) | |
| 2019 | Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Batgirl (voice) | Direct-to-video[50] |
| 2019 | The Angry Birds Movie 2 | Silver (voice) | |
| 2020 | Trolls World Tour | Barb (voice) | [51] |
| 2021 | Extinct | Op (voice) | |
| 2022 | Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers | Cubby the lost boy (voice) | |
| 2022 | The School for Good and Evil | Honora | |
| 2022 | Bar Fight! | Chelsea | |
| 2023 | Your Place or Mine | Scarlet |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Allen Gregory | — | Staff writer; 4 episodes |
| 2012 | How I Met Your Mother | Wanda | Episode: "The Drunk Train" |
| 2012–2019 | Robot Chicken | Various voices | 10 episodes; also writer |
| 2013 | Very Mallory | Mallory | 5 episodes |
| 2013–2014 | The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange | Chickpea / Breakfast Pastry (voice) | 2 episodes; wrote episode: "Little Cart of Scaries" |
| 2014–2016 | BoJack Horseman | Laura / Sitcom Writer (voice) | 5 episodes |
| 2014 | Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas | Additional voices | Television film |
| 2015–2019 | Crazy Ex-Girlfriend | Rebecca Bunch | Main role; also co-creator, executive producer, and writer |
| 2016 | Lip Sync Battle | Herself | Episode: "Michael Shannon vs. Rachel Bloom" |
| 2016 | Adam Ruins Everything | Episode: "Adam Ruins Hollywood" | |
| 2017 | Bill Nye Saves the World | 2 episodes | |
| 2017 | Nightcap | Episode: "Spinster Code" | |
| 2017–2021 | The Simpsons | Annette (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Portlandia | Rachel | Episode: "No Thank You" |
| 2018 | iZombie | Nellie | Episode: "My Really Fair Lady"[52][53] |
| 2018 | Drunk History | Herself | Episode: "Heists" |
| 2018 | My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic | Autumn Blaze (voice) | Episode: "Sounds of Silence"[54] |
| 2018 | Explained | Herself / narrator | Episode: "The Female Orgasm" |
| 2018–2020 | Muppet Babies | Dot the Dragon (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Trolls: The Beat Goes On! | Cybil (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Vampirina | Esmeralda / Crystal Ball (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Diary of a Future President | Ms. Wexler | Episode: "The National Mall" |
| 2020 | Into the Dark | Ellie Burgis | Episode: "Pooka Lives!" |
| 2020 | Gayme Show | Herself | Episode: "Acting Battle" |
| 2020 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself / Guest Judge | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Close Enough | Kira (voice) | Episode: "Cyber Matrix" |
| 2021 | Blue's Clues & You! | Ms. Marigold | Episode: "Blue's Show and Tell Surprise" |
| 2021 | The Chicken Squad | Rebecca (voice) | "Honey Bee Boogie Woogie" |
| 2021 | Trolls: Holiday in Harmony | Barb (voice) | TV special |
| 2022 | iCarly | McKenna Donatacci | Episode: "iCupid"[55] |
| 2022 | Reboot | Hannah Korman | Main role |
| 2023 | Julia | Elaine Levitch | Recurring role |
