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Jay Pharoah

American comedian, actor, impressionist, and rapper Jay Pharoah was born on October 14, 1987. From 2010 to 2016, Pharoah was on NBC's sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 55th best Saturday Night Live cast member in 2015.

Early Life

Jay Pharoah was born in Chesapeake, Virginia. He was a premature baby, and his twin brother died at birth. He learned how to act and make impressions at a very young age. James Frye, who used to be the principal of Indian River High School, affects one of his characters, Principal Danial Frye.

He says that his first voice impersonated was Iago's voice from the Disney movie Aladdin, which Gilbert Gottfried did. Pharoah noted that when he was six, his father signed him up for a talent show, where he came in fifth.

In 2005, he graduated from Chesapeake's Indian River High School. He went to Tidewater Community College and then Virginia Commonwealth University to continue his education; he studied business there.

Career

Since he was 15, Pharoah has been doing stand-up comedy in Virginia community theaters and comedy clubs. He toured with Charlie Murphy and Corey Holcomb at one point. He became famous for his impressions of famous people like Barack Obama, Jay-Z, Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, 50 Cent, Chris Rock, Charlie Murphy, Kanye West, and Denzel Washington.

You can also see Pharoah on an episode of Yo Momma on MTV. It was his thoughts about Barack Obama on YouTube that made him famous on the web. Early in 2010, Pharoah was in a series of spots on 106 & Park that promoted the 2010 BET Awards. In these spots, his character had to deliver an important package to TV stars Rocsi and Terrence J.

In 2010, Saturday Night Live hired Pharoah as a featured player for the 36th season of the show. On September 25, 2010, Pharoah first appeared on Saturday Night Live. Rob Moynihan of TV Guide called him the "breakout player" for that season. He took over Fred Armisen's role as Barack Obama on SNL in the first episode of the 38th season, which aired on September 15, 2012.

Fox Searchlight Pictures released the independent film Lola Versus in June 2012, and Pharoah was in it. In 2014, he played a small role in the buddy cop movie Ride Along, which starred Ice Cube and Kevin Hart. He also appeared in the sports comedy Balls Out, which starred Beck Bennett and Kate McKinnon, who are also on SNL. He has also been in shows like Family Guy, White Famous, Match Game, and Unsane.