Jessica Chaffin
Born
Occupation(s)Actress, comedian, writer
Years active1999–present

Jessica Chaffin is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known as part of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jamie Denbo. She is also known for her recurring roles as Coco Wexler on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101, Marie Faldonado in the CBS sitcom Man with a Plan and appearing in the films Spy and The Heat. She starred as Beth in the NBC sitcom Abby's.

Early life

Chaffin was born and raised in Newton, Massachusetts. Her father is from a Jewish family, and her mother, who is of Scottish and English ancestry, converted to Judaism; Chaffin was raised Jewish.[1][2] Her brother, Joshua Chaffin, is a writer for the Financial Times.

Career

She is a regular performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles, often performing with her comedy partner Jamie Denbo.[3] From 2005 to 2008, Chaffin was known for playing Coco Wexler, the girls' dorm adviser on all four seasons of the Nickelodeon series Zoey 101. From 2008 to 2009, she also worked with Amy Poehler as a writer and voice actor on the animated series The Mighty B! playing several roles, including that of Portia's cousin, Chelsea. Then she popped up on various TV shows, including 90210, United States of Tara, New Girl, Man with a Plan, Veep, Episodes, and Search Party, and in the movies Spy, Pitch Perfect 3, and Fun Mom Dinner.[4]

Chaffin has made guest appearances on television programs such as Weeds, Entourage, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. In December 2009, her comedy pilot Ronna & Beverly (based on the popular stage show she performs with Denbo at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre) aired on Showtime. Ronna & Beverly was eventually turned into a six-part comedy talk show, which was co-produced by Paul Feig and premiered on September 10, 2012 on Sky Atlantic HD in the United Kingdom.[5][6] Together with Denbo, Chaffin created the Ronna and Beverly podcast. A follow-up podcast, Ask Ronna, with Chaffin co-hosting with Bryan Safi was launched in 2019.[7]

Chaffin was a series regular on the first season of CBS sitcom Man With A Plan and starred in the NBC sitcom Abby's.

Podcasts

Ronna and Beverly

Chaffin and comedy partner Jamie Denbo hosted a podcast, Ronna and Beverly, on the Earwolf network from 2011 until 2017 wherein they interviewed celebrity guests, interacted with one another, and dispensed advice to listeners.[8] Chaffin and Denbo developed their characters in 2006 when they were asked to host an all-Jewish 'Kosher Christmas Show' at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.[9]

Live performances from the pair were frequently advertised as "seminars" in which their characters discuss the fictional book they co-authored, "You'll Do a Little Better Next Time: A Guide to Marriage and Re-marriage for Jewish Singles." After introducing the book, either Chaffin or Denbo would often add the clarification, "It says Jewish in the name, but it's for everyone!"[8]

Episodes of their eponymous podcast were released every two weeks by Earwolf. Guests included people working in comedy, as well as actors, authors, and filmmakers. The podcast premiered on May 25, 2011.[10] In episode 161 on June 15, 2017 (not long after they started teasing the possibility of releasing weekly episodes), Ronna and Beverly suddenly announced they were taking off "for the summer." Since then, no new episodes have been released and the actresses have not appeared together in character. Jessica Chaffin has kept Ronna alive by appearing in character as a guest on other podcasts and by maintaining an Instagram account.

Ask Ronna

In November, 2019, Chaffin and co-host Bryan Safi premiered a new podcast called Ask Ronna, in which Chaffin continues to appear as Ronna Glickman. Safi and Chaffin's show focuses on requests for advice and questions from listeners, and often feature a celebrity guest.[11][12]

Chaffin, as Glickman, is a purveyor of artisanal coffees in conjunction with the Ask Ronna podcast.[13]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2007 Wild Girls Gone
2008 Longwinded Gal Short film
2010 MA Men Joan Harris Video short
MA Men 2
2011 The Real Housewives of South Boston Chaffin
The Real Housewives of South Boston: Christmas Special
2013 The Heat Gina
2014 Girltrash: All Night Long Officer Jackie
2015 Hello, My Name Is Doris DIY Kate
Spy Sharon
2016 Hickey Barb
Ghostbusters Waitress
2017 Fun Mom Dinner Jen
Pitch Perfect 3 Evan
2020 Desperados Debbie
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1999 The Amanda Show The Dare Show contestant
FBI agent (segments)
2000 Upright Citizens Brigade Junkie cheerleader Episode: "Thunderball"
2002 All That Security Guard Episode: "Kenan Thompson/LFO"
2003 What I Like About You Geena Episode: "Loose Lips"
2005–08 Zoey 101 Coco Wexler 13 episodes
2005 Las Vegas Maggie Stein Episode: "One Nation, Under Surveillance"
2007 The Very Funny Show Mike's Mother
Various
Episode: "Future Me"
Episode: "Sergio"
2008 Weeds Crackhead Episode: "Till We Meet Again"

Episode: "Head Cheese"

Entourage Barbara's assistant Episode: "Seth Green Day"
Held Up Sharon Television film
2008–09 The Mighty B! Chelsea (voice)
Virginia/Passerby 2 (voice)
Joey (voice)
Receptionist (voice)
Chelsea/Black widow 1 (voice)
Episode: "Bat Mitzvah Crashers"/"Super Secret Weakness"
Episode: "Boston Beean"
Episode: "Penny Hearts Joey"
Episode: "Bee Patients"
Episode: "Dragonflies"
2009 Curb Your Enthusiasm Hostess Episode: "Funkhouser's Crazy Sister"
Ronna & Beverly Ronna Glickman Television film
2009–10 90210 Ms. Geiser (field hockey coach) Episode: "Confessions"
Episode: "Rats and Heroes"
Episode: "Love Me or Leave Me"
2010–11 United States of Tara Mrs. Fox 4 episodes
2012 NTSF:SD:SUV:: Edith Episode: "Sabbath-tage"
Ronna & Beverly Ronna Comedy talk show
2 Broke Girls Druggie girl Episode: "And the Egg Special"
Eugene! Painted Lady Television film
2013 Arrested Development Junkie 2 episodes
Comedy Bang! Bang! Jane Rizzoli Episode: "Andy Richter Wears a Suit Jacket & a Baby Blue Button Down Shirt"
Ghost Ghirls Jessica Clemens Episode: "Ghost Writer"
Childrens Hospital Hypnotist Episode: "Blaken"
The League Mrs. Shapiro Episode: "The Automatic Faucet"
2013–14 New Girl Bertie 4 episodes
2014 The Crazy Ones Elaine Episode: "March Madness"
Sam & Cat Coco Wexler Episode: "#FirstClassProblems"
Silicon Valley Episode: "Optimal Tip-to-Tip Efficiency"
The Hotwives of Orlando Ruth Episode: "Intervention Party"
2014–17 Episodes Nina / Woman 5 episodes
2015 Other Space General Hayson Episode: "Into the Great Beyond... Beyond"
Another Period Pussy Von Anderstein Episode: "Divorce"
You're The Worst Di Episode: "A Right Proper Story"
2016 Mike & Molly Allison Episode: "Cops on the Rocks"
Difficult People Joanie Episode: "Italian Piñata"
2016–17 Veep Congresswoman Gellardi 5 episodes
Man with a Plan Marie Faldonado 11 episodes
2017 I'm Sorry Nurse Episode: "Pilot"
Search Party Crystal 4 episodes
2017–present Big Mouth Shannon Glaser (voice) 16 episodes
2019 Abby's Beth Main cast; 10 episodes
Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Ronna Episode: "Missing Dean"
Podcasts
Year Title Episode
2011–2017Ronna & Beverly164 episodes
2012How Did This Get MadeEpisode 33: Abduction
2013–14The Dead Authors PodcastChapter 17: Agatha Christie
Chapter 37: Truman Capote
2014The JV ClubEpisode 140
2014Totally LaimeEpisode 236: Murder Car!
2015Reading AloudEpisode 13: Kevin Sussman, Robey Clark, Jessica Chaffin
Episode 32: Book Club 11: All the Light We Cannot See
2015Womp It Up!Episode 12: Spotlight On: Donna "Pep" Delpepio
2015About Last NightEpisode 97
2015–16 Spontaneanation8: A Superyacht
20: Death Valley
25: 10th Circle of Hell
28: One Hour Photo Shop
44: The One Beauty Parlor In A Small Town
48: Laundromat
2016Hard NationEpisode 9: Megyn Kelly Is Inside the Boys Club
2016Sklarbro CountryEpisode 237
2016-17Bitch Sesh: A Real Housewives BreakdownEpisode 15: Hearing Is Believing
25: All the Countess's Men
35: Body of Evidence (w/ Lindy Jamil Gomez, Jessica Chaffin)
68: Reunion (w/ Jessica Chaffin)
85: Farm-to-Table Manners (w/ Jessica Chaffin)
2017Throwing ShadeEpisode 305, 301
2017Hollywood HandbookEpisode 206
2017Never Not FunnyEpisode 19xf
2017Next Level with Chris TallmanEpisode 8
2017Lovett or Leave ItEpisode 15
2017Minor RevelationsEpisode 43
2017The KibitzEpisode 19
2019Throwing ShOscars6 Episodes (as Ronna Glickman)
2019–PresentAsk Ronna with Bryan Safi(as Ronna Glickman)
2020Throwing ShOscars(as Ronna Glickman)
Writing
Year Title Medium Notes
2003 Aerobic Striptease Video documentary
2008–9 The Mighty B! TV 16 episodes
2010 90210 TV Episode: "Meet the Parent"

References

  1. Carley, Brennan (28 May 2013). "Ronna and Beverly Talk Performing for Ben Affleck". Boston Magazine. Metrocorp Publishing. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  2. Rashty, Sandy (2 August 2013). "Jewish mother comics Ronna and Beverly are feeling The Heat". thejc.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  3. "Jessica Chaffin". Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  4. Ellenbogen, Rachael (28 March 2019). "NBC's 'Abby's' Series Premiere: Here's How You Know The Cast". IBTimes. IBT Media Inc. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  5. Kemp, Stuart (May 29, 2012). "Paul Feig Co-Producing 'Ronna & Beverly' For Sky Atlantic". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  6. "Bridesmaids' Paul Feig Introduces Ronna & Beverly". Sky Atlantic HD. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  7. Editors, Vulture (2019-12-05). "This Week in Comedy Podcasts: A New Show From Mitra Jouhari". Vulture. Retrieved 2019-12-29. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. 1 2 "Ronna & Beverly podcast on Earwolf". www.earwolf.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  9. "Meet the (fake) Jewish mothers Ronna and Beverly and the women who birthed them". Washington Post. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  10. "Ronna & Beverly podcast on Earwolf". www.earwolf.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  11. "Ask Ronna". www.stitcher.com. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  12. Vulture Editors (Dec 5, 2019). "This Week in Comedy Podcasts: A New Show From Mitra Jouhari". Vulture. Retrieved May 15, 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. Vulture Editors (December 7, 2020). "2020 Pop Culture Holiday Gift Guide". Vulture. Retrieved 19 June 2021. {{cite magazine}}: |last= has generic name (help); Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
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