Kay Cannon

Kay Cannon was born on August 21, 1974, in Illinois, where she was raised in Custer Park. She pursued higher education at Lewis University, earning both a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and a Master of Arts in Education. Her comedy career began in Chicago, where she trained at notable institutions such as The Second City, ImprovOlympic, and ComedySportz. Her early professional experience included performing with ComedySportz and Boom Chicago in Amsterdam. These foundational experiences in improvisational comedy laid the groundwork for her eventual transition into writing and producing in the entertainment industry.

Cannon’s career progression saw her join the writing staff of NBC’s “30 Rock” after being hired by Tina Fey, a fellow Second City alumna. During her time on “30 Rock” from 2007 to 2012, she advanced to supervising producer, contributing significantly to 67 episodes. This period was marked by critical acclaim, including three Writers Guild of America Awards for Best Comedic Series and a Peabody Award in 2008. She also received an Emmy Award nomination in 2010 for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. Her film work during this time included co-producing the 2008 feature film “Baby Mama.”

She gained widespread recognition for writing and co-producing the “Pitch Perfect” film series, with the first film released in 2012, followed by sequels in 2015 and 2017. Her directorial debut came with the comedy film “Blockers” in 2018. Cannon has also served as co-executive producer on Fox’s “New Girl” from 2012 to 2014, contributing to 48 episodes, and as a consulting producer on “Cristela.” In 2017, she created, wrote, and executive produced the Netflix series “Girlboss.” Her filmography further expanded with writing credits for “Let It Snow” (2019) and writing and directing “Cinderella” (2021).