What Is Paula Pell's Net Worth?
Paula Pell is an American comedy writer, actress, and producer who has a net worth of $2 million. Paula Pell is best known for being a writer on the NBC television series "Saturday Night Live" (1995–2023) and for starring as Gloria McManus on the Peacock/Netflix musical comedy series "Girls5eva" (2021–present). Pell has produced and written for the NBC television series "30 Rock," and she had a recurring role as Paula Hornberger from 2007 to 2013. Pell played Helen Henry Demarcus on the NBC series "A.P. Bio" (2018–2021), and she wrote the 2019 episode "Handcuffed." She starred on and co-created the 2020 Quibi series "Mapleworth Murders," and she was a writer and executive producer on the show.
Paula has more than 40 acting credits to her name, including the films "Sisters" (2015), "Other People" (2016), and "Wine Country" (2019) and the television series "The Colin Quinn Show" (2002), "Funny or Die Presents" (2011), "Documentary Now!" (2015; 2019), "Love" (2017–2018), and "Die Hart" (2023); she also wrote the screenplay for "Sisters." She voiced Dream Director / Mom's Anger in the Disney Pixar film "Inside Out" (2015), and she has lent her voice to the TV shows "The Awesomes" (2013–2015), "Big Mouth" (2017–present), "Duncanville" (2022), and "Monsters at Work" (2023). Paula also executive produced the 2012 film "This Is 40," and she has served as a co-executive producer on the HBO series "Camping" (2018) and a consulting producer on the Apple TV+ comedy "Loot" (2024).
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Early Life
Paula Pell was born on April 15, 1963, in Joliet, Illinois. She became interested in acting at an early age. Paula attended Seminole Community College in Orlando and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and she studied both acting and visual art in college. Pell worked at Walt Disney World in the adults-only nightclubs in the theme park's Pleasure Island area.
Career
Paula joined the writing staff of "Saturday Night Live" in 1995 and created memorable recurring characters such as the Spartan Cheerleaders and Debbie Downer. Pell was a producer on "30 Rock," and she wrote the 2010 episodes "Floyd" and "Argus." She also appeared in six episodes as Paula Hornberger, the wife of Scott Adsit's Pete Hornberger. In 2006, NBC picked up a pilot she wrote called "Thick and Thin," but according to Pell, "it never saw the light of day." Paula provided additional material for the Judd Apatow films "Bridesmaids" (2011) and "This is 40" (2012), and she has written for a few Academy Award and Golden Globe ceremonies. She played the mother of Nick Offerman's Ron Swanson in the 2011 "Parks and Recreation" episode "Ron and Tammys," and from 2013 to 2015, she voiced Gadget Gal on the animated series "The Awesomes." Pell has appeared in the films "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" (2013), "Birdman" (2014), "Other People" (2016), and "Brother Nature" (2016), and she voiced Dream Director / Mom's Anger in 2015's "Inside Out," which grossed $858.8 million at the box office.
Paula and James Anderson, her friend and fellow "SNL" writer, co-created the 2013 web series "Hudson Valley Ballers," and she wrote and appeared in 2015's "Sisters," which starred Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. She reunited with Fey and Poehler for 2019's "Wine Country," which was directed by Poehler and also starred Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph, and Emily Spivey. Pell has guest-starred on "Monkey Love" (2014), "The Mindy Project" (2015), "Documentary Now!" (2015; 2019), "SMILF" (2017), "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (2017), and "Not Dead Yet" (2023), and she had a recurring role as Erika on Netflix's "Love" from 2017 to 2018. From 2018 to 2021, she played Helen Henry Demarcus on NBC's "A.P. Bio" alongside Glenn Howerton and Patton Oswalt, and in 2020, she starred as Abigail Mapleworth on "Mapleworth Murders," which she co-created with "30 Rock" alum John Lutz." In 2021, Paula began co-starring with Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Busy Philipps as Gloria McManus on the musical comedy "Girls5eva." In 2023, she appeared in the Disney Channel Original Movie "The Slumber Party," voiced Sunny on the Disney Channel animated series "Monsters at Work," and had a recurring role as Cynthia on The Roku Channel's "Die Hart."
(Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Personal Life
Paula is openly gay, and she was previously married for 17 years. She told "Interview" magazine of her divorce, "It was very hard, and like all terrible, hard things, it changed me in a lot of ways and some for the good. It taught me a lot about myself and my faults and my flaws, but it also taught me what I want my life to look like. I'm still friends with the person I got divorced from and I'm grateful for that." On November 13, 2020, Pell married Janine Brito. She announced the news on Instagram, writing, "On Friday the 13th I had the extreme luck of marrying my beloved and extraordinary @j9burrito We had to cancel wedding plans this last year but we wanted to be legally and emotionally linked in every deep and possible way until we can celebrate with our love circle that we miss so much. It was a sparkling day full of hastily purchased clothes from Target and joy tears. And of course all of our dog babies were witnesses. ❤️🌈❤️🌈❤️🌈❤️L O V E. W I N S."
Awards and Nominations
Pell has earned 12 Primetime Emmy nominations, winning Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for "Saturday Night Live" in 2002. She was nominated in that category eight times, and her other nominations were for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special for "The Women of SNL" (2011), Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for "Saturday Night Live: 40th Anniversary Special" (2015), and Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for "Mapleworth Murders" (2021) and "Die Hart" (2023). Out of 16 Writers Guild of America Award nominations, Paula has won six: Comedy/Variety – Music, Awards, Tributes – Specials – Any Length for "Saturday Night Live 25" (2001), Comedy/Variety – (Including Talk) Series for "Saturday Night Live" (2007, 2009, 2010, and 2017), and Comedy Series for "30 Rock" (2010).
At the 2020 WGA Awards, Amy Poehler presented Pell with the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence, which is given to a writer who "embodies the spirit, commitment and comic genius of Mr. Sargent, as well as his dedication to mentoring new writers." In 2016, Paula and her "Inside Out" co-stars won two Behind the Voice Actors Awards for Best Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film (both the BTVA Feature Film Voice Acting Award and BTVA People's Choice Voice Acting Award). In 2021, Pell earned a Hollywood Critics Association Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Comedy and an International Online Cinema Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for "Girls5eva."
