Amber Ruffin

Amber Mildred Ruffin (born January 9, 1979)[1] is an American comedian, writer, and actor.[2] She has been a writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers since 2014. When she joined the show, she became the first black woman to write for a late-night network talk show in the United States.[3]

Amber Ruffin
Born
Amber Mildred Ruffin

(1979-01-09) January 9, 1979
Omaha, Nebraska U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationComedian
Writer
Actor
Years active2001-present

Early life and education

Ruffin was born in Omaha, Nebraska.[1]

In 1996, Ruffin graduated from Benson High School.[4][5]

Career

In 2001, Ruffin began performing in local theater productions and improv in Omaha.[2] She moved to Chicago where she studied improv at the iO Theater.

In 2008, Ruffin moved to Amsterdam to work as a writer and performer on the improv comedy troupe Boom Chicago Amsterdam.

After returning to the United States, Ruffin performed as part of The Second City in both Denver and Chicago, where she first met future Late Night co-writer Jenny Hagel.

In 2011, she moved to Los Angeles, where she joined the YouTube comedy group RobotDown featuring Jessica Lowe, Carlo Corbellini, and Davey Vorhes.

Ruffin appeared on an episode of Key & Peele.[2][6]

In 2014, Ruffin auditioned for a part on Saturday Night Live.

She was hired by Seth Meyers to write for Late Night with Seth Meyers.[2][7] In addition to writing, Ruffin also appears in several recurring segments of the program: "Amber Says What?", "Amber's Minute of Fury", "Jokes Seth Can't Tell" (with fellow writer Jenny Hagel) and "Point, Counterpoint".[8]

In June 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, Ruffin opened a week's worth of shows by relating her experiences during encounters with police officers.[9] Meyers also interviewed Ruffin as a guest for the show's 1,000th episode.

In addition to Late Night, Ruffin writes on the Comedy Central show Detroiters and is a regular narrator on another Comedy Central show, Drunk History.

In 2017, Ruffin developed a single-camera comedy show Going Dutch, but the series was not ordered.[10][11][12] Also in 2017, she was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award in the category "Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) Series".[13]

In February 2018, Ruffin hosted the 70th Writers Guild of America awards ceremony.[14]

In 2019, NBC ordered a pilot presentation for Ruffin's single-camera comedy series, Village Gazette.[12]

In 2019, Ruffin was a writer for the first season of A Black Lady Sketch Show on HBO.

Personal life

In 2010, Ruffin married Jan Schiltmeijer,[15][16] a native of the Netherlands. The couple met when Ruffin was working in Amsterdam with Boom Chicago.[17]

Filmography
  • 2012: RobotDown (TV Series) – producer, writer (5 episodes), actor in various parts (6 episodes)
  • 2012: Key & Peele (TV Series) – Party Wife (1 episode: Episode #2.9)
  • 2012-2013: Animation Domination High-Def (TV Series short) – various, Misty (voice) (3 episodes)
  • 2014: Wish It Inc. (TV Series) – Shari (12 episodes)
  • 2014: 66th Primetime Emmy Awards (TV Special) – written by
  • 2014-present: Late Night with Seth Meyers (TV Series) – written by (175+ episodes)
  • 2015: Above Average Presents (TV Series) – Nurse (1 episode: "Unique Hospital: The Surgery Results")
  • 2017-2018: Detroiters (TV Series) – written by (3 episodes); Molly (2 episodes)
  • 2018: 75th Golden Globe Awards (TV Special) – writer
  • 2019: Tuca & Bertie (TV Series) – Dakota (voice) (1 episode: "The New Bird")
  • 2019: Drunk History (TV Series) – Barbara Cooke (1 episode: "Legacies")
  • 2019: You're Not a Monster (TV Series) – Mermaid / Gremlin (2 episodes)
  • 2019: 76th Golden Globe Awards (TV Special) – writer
  • 2019: A Black Lady Sketch Show (TV Series) – writer (6 episodes)
  • 2020: Escape from Virtual Island (Audible Original - Audio Comedy) (TV Series) – Faith (voice) (11 episodes)
  • 2020: Village Gazette (TV Movie) – executive producer, writer, Amber

Honors

References
  1. "40 Under 40: Amber Ruffin, 39 Writer/ Performer, Late Night With Seth Meyers". Crain's New York Business. 25 March 2018.
  2. Mertes, Micah (25 February 2014). "Omaha comic writing for 'Late Night with Seth Meyers'". Omaha World-Herald.
  3. Dries, Kate (10 January 2014). "Meet the First Black Woman to Write for a Network Late Night Show". Jezebel.
  4. Markel, Katrina (30 October 2018). "Appropriately Inappropriate". Omaha Magazine.
  5. Monroe, Waverle (July 11, 2018). "Local comedian remembers her roots, comes home for Fourth of July". KETV. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  6. Metz, Nina (January 8, 2014). "More Chicago on Seth Meyers' show". Chicago Tribune.
  7. Rockett, Darcel (October 6, 2017). "Amber Ruffin gives us 'Late Night' laughs while forging her own path". Chicago Tribune.
  8. "Amber Ruffin Says What!?" (National Public Radio)
  9. Wright, Megh (2020-06-03). "Amber Ruffin Opens Up About Her Experiences With Racist Police". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  10. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (September 26, 2016). "Seth Meyers Developing Two Scripted Comedies at NBC". Variety.
  11. Andreeva, Nellie (October 23, 2017). "'Late Night's Amber Ruffin To Co-Write & Star In NBC Comedy Based On Her Life From Lorne Michaels & Seth Meyers". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  12. Wright, Megh (February 1, 2019). "Amber Ruffin Has a New Seth Meyers–Produced Comedy in the Works". Vulture.
  13. Lauder, Thomas Suh (January 24, 2017). "Who's been nominated, who are the winners (WGA)". Los Angeles Times.
  14. McNary, Dave (December 4, 2017). "Amber Ruffin to Host Writers Guild Awards in New York". Variety. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  15. Amber Ruffin. Verified Twitter account. September 10, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2018
  16. Jan Schiltmeijer Instagram account. August 31, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018
  17. Ruffin, Amber (February 23, 2018). Angelo, Megan (ed.). "The First Time My White Husband Witnessed Someone Discriminate Against Me for the Color of My Skin". Glamour.
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