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Quick Facts
Biography
Chloe Fineman (born July 20, 1988) is an American actress, writer, and comedian. Fineman began her career with The Groundlings improv troupe, and became a featured player on Saturday Night Live starting in its forty-fifth season.
Early life
Fineman was raised in Piedmont, California. Her parents are painter Ellen Gunn and biotechnology executive David Fineman. She has two sisters, visual artist Emma and CrossFit athlete Alexia (Leka). Fineman is of Jewish descent, and growing up she attended a day camp associated with a Berkeley Reform synagogue. While her father is Jewish, Fineman is also "1/2 Wasp", as she has jokingly described herself.
She graduated from Piedmont High School in 2006. The school's acting teacher said she was "equally brilliant with comedy and drama". The teacher said that as a junior, Fineman directed Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman; as a senior, she directed The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler; she performed lead roles in The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt and Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley; and she has returned to the school to direct plays and lead workshops.
Fineman studied at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and Stella Adler Studio, graduating in 2011.
Career
After graduating from college, Fineman moved to Los Angeles, where she performed in The Groundlings troupe's Sunday Company. She also performed in "Characters Welcome" at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. In 2018, she was recognized as a "New Face" at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, and she was nominated for Best Comedian at the 2019 Shorty Awards. Her television appearances include Jane the Virgin and Search Party.
She maintains an online presence known in particular for her impressions. On Instagram, she has posted celebrity impressions as well as clips from her Groundlings work and stand-up comedy. On YouTube, she has done character impressions. In 2018, Vulture critic Luke Kelly-Cline wrote that after seeing Fineman do impressions of Meryl Streep and others, "As I found out, that extra bit of genius she possesses – that intangible thing that takes a good impression to a great impression – is rooted in her ability to create entirely original characters who feel as real as anyone you've ever met," concluding, "Chloe Fineman is absolutely one of the most talented new performers right now, and she's long overdue for a break."
Fineman's addition to the cast of Saturday Night Live, the long-running NBC sketch-comedy show, as a featured player was announced on September 12, 2019, along with the addition of Bowen Yang.