Chris Redd

Chris Redd was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 25, 1985, and later moved to Naperville, Illinois, at the age of eight. He overcame a childhood stutter by learning to rap, initially pursuing a career in music while working at Olive Garden. Redd transitioned to sketch comedy in 2009, finding his calling in improvisational theater. He honed his skills at Jokes & Notes in Chicago and was a member of The Second City’s touring company. His early career saw him co-writing ‘The Art of Falling’ in 2014, a collaboration between The Second City and Hubbard Street Dance Company. In 2016, Redd relocated to Los Angeles to advance his acting career, making his film debut as Hunter the Hungry in the mockumentary ‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’.

His career gained significant momentum in 2017 when he joined the cast of NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ as a featured player for its 43rd season. During his tenure at ‘SNL’, Redd received a Primetime Emmy Award in 2018 for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for co-writing the song “Come Back Barack.” He was promoted to repertory status in 2019. Beyond ‘SNL’, Redd co-starred in the Netflix comedy series ‘Disjointed’ from 2017 to 2018. Over the years, his acting credits include diverse projects such as ‘Joker’ (2019), ‘Scare Me’ (2020), and ‘Vampires vs. the Bronx’ (2020).

Redd’s versatility extends to writing and producing, with credits including his 2022 TV special ‘Chris Redd: Why am I Like This?’ and the Peacock series ‘Bust Down’, which he co-created, wrote, and executive produced in 2022. He also performed in the TV series ‘Kenan’ from 2021 to 2022 alongside his ‘SNL’ castmate Kenan Thompson. His recent work includes the film ‘Candy Cane Lane’ (2023) and ‘Spinning Gold’ (2023), where he portrayed Frankie Crocker. In 2025, Redd joined the cast of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’.