American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
Colin Kelly Jost (; born June 29, 1982)
[1]
[2] is an American comedian, writer, and actor. Jost has been a staff writer for the
NBC
sketch comedy series
Saturday Night Live since 2005, and co-anchor of
Weekend Update since 2014. He also served as one of the show's co-head writers from 2012 to 2015 and later came back as one of the show's head writers in 2017 until 2022 alongside
Michael Che .
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
Early life
Colin Jost was born and raised in
New York City in the
Grymes Hill
[8] neighborhood of
Staten Island , the elder of two sons.
[9]
[10]
[11] His mother, Kerry J. Kelly, was the chief medical officer for the
New York City Fire Department ,
[12] and his father, Daniel A. Jost, was a teacher at
Staten Island Technical High School .
[13]
[14] He has one younger brother, Casey Jost, a writer and a producer of
Impractical Jokers ; he also had a role in Staten Island Summer .
[15]
[16]
Raised
Roman Catholic , he attended
Regis High School in
Manhattan , where he was the editor of the
school newspaper The Owl .
[15] He attended
Harvard University ,
[9] majoring in history and literature, with a focus on
Russian literature and
British literature , and wrote his senior thesis on
Vladimir Nabokov . Jost graduated
cum laude from Harvard in 2004.
While at Harvard, he was president of the
Harvard Lampoon .
[10]
[17] He also won $5,250 on a college edition of
Weakest Link , but said he did not think he deserved to win.
[18]
Career
After graduation, Jost worked as a reporter and copy editor for the
Staten Island Advance . He was then hired as a writer for a short-lived Nickelodeon animated show,
Kappa Mikey . After he left that job, he sent in a writing packet to
NBC 's
Saturday Night Live , which gave him a writing position in 2005.
[9]
From 2009 to 2012, Jost was SNL ' s writing supervisor. He was co-head writer from 2012 to 2015, and regained that status from 2017 to 2022.
[19]
[7] He often collaborated with fellow SNL co-head writer Rob Klein.
[20] During the summer hiatus following the 2012–2013 season, executive producer
Lorne Michaels asked Jost if he could do the
Weekend Update feature
[9] because co-anchor
Seth Meyers would soon be leaving to host
Late Night with Seth Meyers . Jost accepted and replaced Meyers on the March 1, 2014, episode.
[21] Jost later broke Meyers' record for being the longest anchor in the history of the segment on the October 23, 2021 episode hosted by
Jason Sudeikis .
[22]
Jost names
Norm Macdonald as a primary influence for his Update anchor work. Macdonald's tone was the one Jost grew up with in high school. He also names
Tina Fey as an influence.
[9] In addition to Weekend Update , Jost made a brief cameo appearance as
Ohio Governor
John Kasich in a
Republican presidential debate sketch.
[23] He later portrayed his friend
Pete Buttigieg during the
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
[24]
[25] and
Roger Goodell during the
2021 NFL season .
[26]
Jost has worked in multiple roles related to comedy. He has performed as a stand-up comedian, appearing on
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon ,
TBS , and
HBO .
[27] He was selected as a "New Face" at the
Montréal
Just for Laughs festival in 2009,
[28] and has since appeared at the
Chicago Just for Laughs festival in 2011 and 2012 and the Montréal festival again in 2010 and 2012. Jost has published four "Shouts and Murmurs" pieces in
The New Yorker magazine and has also contributed to
The New York Times Magazine ,
The Huffington Post , The Staten Island Advance and
Radar .
[29] He wrote the screenplay of and played a minor role in the 2015 comedy film
Staten Island Summer , and he also had a minor role as Paul in the 2016
romcom feature
How to Be Single .
[30] In January 2016, Jost opened for comedian Liam McEneaney's album recording at
The Bell House in
Brooklyn .
[31] In late 2018, Jost and
Green Bay Packers quarterback
Aaron Rodgers appeared in an advertising campaign for
Izod .
[32]
Jost, along with
Michael Che , appeared on the March 4, 2019, episode of
WWE 's
Monday Night Raw , where both were announced as special correspondents for
WrestleMania 35 . In the March 4 episode, they got involved in a storyline with wrestler
Braun Strowman , which resulted in both Jost and Che becoming participants in the
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania.
[33]
[34] At the event, Jost and Che went under the ring for the majority of the match and then tried to eliminate Strowman while he was trying to do the same to
the Hardy Boyz . Jost attempted to calm the situation by using his therapist, but Strowman chokeslammed him and eliminated the two comedians in quick succession, winning the battle royal.
[35]
In July 2020, Jost released a memoir titled A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir .
[36] The book was well received and appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List .
[37]
Personal life
Jost and
Scarlett Johansson in 2023
Jost was dormmates with
Secretary of Transportation
Pete Buttigieg while the two lived in
Leverett House at Harvard.
[38] In 2015, Jost donated money to Buttigieg's
mayoral reelection campaign .
[39]
[40] Subsequently, during
Buttigieg's presidential campaign , Jost portrayed Buttigieg in the
45th season of SNL .
[38]
[41]
Jost is married to actress
Scarlett Johansson , whom he met during one of her many occasions hosting SNL.
[42] They began a relationship in May 2017
[43] and in May 2019 the two were engaged.
[44] They married in October 2020, at their New York home.
[45] Johansson gave birth to their son in August 2021.
[46] Jost is also stepfather to Johansson's daughter from a previous marriage.
Jost, along with fellow SNL comedian
Pete Davidson , has purchased a decommissioned
Staten Island Ferry boat.
[47]
[48]
[49]
Filmography
Film
Television
Bibliography
Awards and honors
References
^ Mandel, Peter; Baher, Cynthia (May 1983).
"The Classes" . Brown Alumni Monthly . Vol. 83, no. 8. p. 58. Retrieved September 13, 2014 . Darnel A. Jost and his wife. Dr. Kerry Kelly '77 M.D., of Staten Island, N.Y., report the birth of their first child, Colin Kelly Jost, on June 29.
^
"Colin Jost" .
TV Guide . Archived from
the original on January 29, 2016.
^ Johnson, Ben (October 30, 2008).
"Cover Story: Jost for Laughs" . AWE .
Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2010 .
^ Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer (January 23, 2014).
" 'SNL' head writer to join Cecily Strong as 'Weekend Update' co-anchor" .
The Today Show . Retrieved January 23, 2014 . [
permanent dead link ]
^ Abramovitch, Seth.
"Colin Jost Steps Down as Head Writer at 'Saturday Night Live' " .
The Hollywood Reporter .
Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2015 .
^ Andreeva, Nellie (December 12, 2017).
" 'Saturday Night Live': Colin Jost & Michael Che Named Co-Head Writers Of NBC Show" .
Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2020 .
^
a
b "Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar". Saturday Night Live . Season 48. Episode 1. October 1, 2022. Event occurs at Closing credits. NBC.
^
"SNL's Colin Jost before he was famous: 10 classic Staten Island Advance stories" .
Staten Island Advance . November 19, 2017.
Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019 .
^
a
b
c
d
e Fretts, Bruce (April 7, 2014). "Surely You Jost!".
TV Guide . p. 9.
^
a
b Zaino, Nick A. III (July 25, 2013).
"Colin Jost, from Harvard Lampoon to 'SNL'"
Archived October 25, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine .
The Boston Globe .
^ Fox, Jesse David (January 23, 2014).
"Meet Colin Jost, SNL's New 'Weekend Update' Co-Anchor" . Vulture.com .
Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2014 .
^ Edelman, Susan; Pagones, Stephanie (March 16, 2018).
"FDNY head medical officer retires in 'Thelma and Louise' style" .
New York Post .
Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2018 .
^ Friedman, Milly (February 24, 2014).
" 'Saturday Night Live' moves young comic Colin Jost into a 'Weekend Update' anchor chair"
Archived February 3, 2018, at the
Wayback Machine .
Daily News (New York).
^ Bailey, Rob (March 1, 2014).
"Staten Island native Colin Jost to make 'Weekend Update' debut on March 1's 'Saturday Night Live' " .
Staten Island Advance . Archived from
the original on October 10, 2017.
^
a
b
"Colin Jost and Michael Che: 25 Things You Don't Know About Us" . October 2016.
Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016 .
^
" 'Impractical Jokers' Invite 'SNL's Colin Jost to 'Dinner Party' in Sneak Peek (VIDEO)" . November 24, 2020.
Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021 .
^ Ramisetti, Kirthana (January 23, 2014).
"Colin Jost to replace Seth Meyers as 'Weekend Update' cohost on 'Saturday Night Live'"
Archived October 10, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine
^ Martin, William C. (November 14, 2002).
"Junior Proves Strength on 'Weakest Link'
Archived November 29, 2021, at the
Wayback Machine .
The Harvard Crimson . Accessed May 14, 2021.
^ Robinson, Joanna (December 13, 2017).
"Saturday Night Live Makes Its Most Baffling Move Yet" .
Vanity Fair .
Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2018 .
^ Gallagher, Brian (March 5, 2010).
"Tracy Morgan Set for ID Theft" . MovieWeb. Archived from
the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2012 .
^ Goldberg, Lesley (January 23, 2014).
" 'SNL' Names New 'Weekend Update' Co-Anchor" .
The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 23, 2014 .
^ White, Peter (October 24, 2021).
" 'SNL': Colin Jost Breaks Seth Meyers' Weekend Update Record" . Deadline .
Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022 .
^
"Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (cold open)" . Saturday Night Live . Season 41. December 19, 2015.
Archived from the original on July 5, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016 .
^
"Woody Harrelson, Billie Eilish (town hall sketch)" . Saturday Night Live . Season 45. September 28, 2019. NBC.
Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021 .
^
"John Mulaney, David Byrne (cold open)" . Saturday Night Live . Season 45. February 29, 2020. NBC.
Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021 .
^
"Rami Malek, Young Thug (cold open)" . Saturday Night Live . Season 47. October 16, 2021. NBC.
Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021 .
^ Cavin, Cory (January 28, 2011).
"Check Out Comedian Colin Jost Tonight!" .
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon .
Archived from the original on February 2, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2012 .
^ Gadino, Dylan P. (July 16, 2010).
"Just For Laughs: Feimster, Lawrence, Jost impress at New Faces" . LaughSpin. Archived from
the original on April 26, 2013.
^ Jost, Colin (April 4, 2011).
"Explaining Your Time Warner Bill" .
The New Yorker .
Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2020 .
^
"Watch Colin Jost dump Alison Brie in 'How to be Single' trailer" .
Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016 .
^
"Liam McEneaney: The New Album Recording, Colin Jost, Dave Hill, Rob Paravonian, and Support Acts TBA" . DONYC . January 10, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2022 .
^ Palmieri, Jean E. (September 5, 2018).
"Parody Traditional Fashion Ads in New Izod Commercials" .
Women's Wear Daily .
Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018 .
^
a
b Powell, Jason (March 4, 2019).
"3/4 Powell's WWE Raw TV Review: Triple H's response to Batista attacking Ric Flair, Charlotte Flair wants Vince McMahon to name her the Raw Women's Champion, SNL Weekend Update hosts appear, final hype for WWE Fastlane" . Pro Wrestling Dot Net .
Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019 .
^
a
b Powell, Jason (March 25, 2019).
"3/25 Powell's WWE Raw TV Review: Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair face Riott Squad in Beat The Clock Challenge matches, Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe, the penultimate edition before WrestleMania 35" . Pro Wrestling Dot Net .
Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019 .
^ Benigno, Anthony (April 7, 2019).
"Braun Strowman won the sixth annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal" . WWE.
Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019 .
^ Jost, Colin (2020). A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir . Crown.
ISBN
978-1101906323 .
^
"A Very Punchable Face" . www.goodreads.com . Retrieved August 12, 2020 .
^
a
b Merica, Dan (October 26, 2019).
"From Harvard to SNL: How Pete Buttigieg and Colin Jost are crossing paths 15 years later" . CNN .
Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019 .
^
"Buttigieg to be a guest on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" Thursday" . South Bend Tribune. June 7, 2017.
Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2019 .
^ Blasko, Erin (October 17, 2015).
"Buttigieg fattens war chest in mayoral campaign" . South Bend Tribune.
Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2019 .
^
" 'Saturday Night Live' jumps right back into politics in season premiere" . Boston.co. September 29, 2019.
Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
^
"Scarlett Johansson Reveals the Real Secret Behind Her Happy Marriage to Colin Jost" . Harper's BAZAAR . June 12, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023 .
^ Sieczkowski, Cavan (December 1, 2017).
"Introducing ScarJost: Scarlett Johansson And Colin Jost Go Public" .
The Huffington Post .
Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018 .
^ Mizoguchil, Karen (May 19, 2019).
"Scarlett Johansson and SNL's Colin Jost Are Engaged After Two Years of Dating" .
People .
Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019 .
^ Michallon, Clémence (October 29, 2020).
"Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost marry in private ceremony" . The Independent .
Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020 .
^ VanHoose, Benjamin; Leonard, Elizabeth (August 18, 2021).
"Scarlett Johansson and Husband Colin Jost Welcome First Baby Together" . People .
Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021 .
^ France, Lisa Respers (July 3, 2023).
"Pete Davidson jokes he and Colin Jost are in the 'hole' after buying ferry boat" . CNN .
Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023 .
^
"Colin Jost says he was 'actually stone-cold sober' when buying ferry with Pete Davidson" . USA TODAY .
Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023 .
^ Tinoco, Armando (June 7, 2023).
"Pete Davidson Hopes Staten Island Ferry He Bought With Colin Jost "Turns Into A Transformer" So He "Can Stop Paying For It" " . Deadline.com .
Archived from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023 .
^ Kroll, Justin (June 17, 2020).
"Colin Jost and Pete Davidson to Star in Wedding Comedy 'Worst Man' for Universal (EXCLUSIVE)" . Variety .
Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2021 .
^ Kurp, Josh (December 17, 2014).
"Colin Jost Was A Contestant On 'The Weakest Link' In 2002" . Uproxx .
Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .
^
"SNL "Weekend Update" hosts Michael Che & Colin Jost to be special guests on Raw" . WWE . March 3, 2019.
Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019 .
^ Jost, Colin (2020). A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir . Crown.
ISBN
978-1101906323 .
^
"From SNL and YouTube to CBS and CNN: Peabody Awards Handed Out To 36" . TVNewser. May 18, 2009. Archived from
the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2012 .
^
"2014 Writers Guild Awards Winners Announced" (Press release). Writers Guild of America. February 1, 2014. Archived from
the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2014 .
^ McNary, Dave (December 4, 2014).
" 'Game of Thrones,' 'True Detective,' 'Transparent' Lead WGA TV Nominations" .
Variety .
Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014 .
^ McNary, Dave (January 6, 2016).
" 'The Martian,' 'Straight Outta Compton' Land Writers Guild Nominations" .
Variety .
Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016 .
^ Lewis, Dave (July 14, 2016).
"Nominations for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards" .
Los Angeles Times .
Archived from the original on July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016 .
^ Petski, Denise (December 5, 2016).
"WGA TV Nominations: 'The Americans', 'Stranger Things', 'Westworld', 'This Is Us' Among Nominees" . Deadline Hollywood .
Archived from the original on December 6, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016 .
^
"Emmys 2017: Full List of Nominations" .
Variety . July 13, 2017.
Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2017 .
^
a
b Pedersen, Erik (December 7, 2017).
"WGA Awards: Top TV Noms Include 'Handmaid's Tale', 'Stranger Things', 'The Americans', 'GLOW' " . Deadline Hollywood .
Archived from the original on December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017 .
^
"Emmys: Netflix Beats HBO With Most Nominations" . The Hollywood Reporter . July 12, 2018.
Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2018 .
^ McNary, Dave (December 6, 2018).
"Writers Guild Awards Announces 2019 TV Nominees" . Variety .
Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018 .
^ Aridi, Sara (July 16, 2019).
"Here's a Full List of the 2019 Emmy Nominations" . The New York Times .
Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019 .
^ Pedersen, Erik (July 22, 2019).
"WGA Sets Writers Guild Awards 2019–20 Timeline" . Deadline Hollywood.
Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019 .
External links
Media offices
Preceded bySeth Meyers
SNL Head Writer with
Seth Meyers 2012–14
Succeeded byhimself (with Rob Klein and Bryan Tucker)
Preceded bySeth Meyers and himself
SNL Head Writer (with Rob Klein and Bryan Tucker) 2014–15
Succeeded byRob Klein and Bryan Tucker
Preceded bySeth Meyers and Cecily Strong
Weekend Update anchor with
Cecily Strong March 1 – May 17, 2014 September 27, 2014 – present With: Michael Che
Succeeded byIncumbent
Preceded byChris Kelly, Sarah Schneider, Bryan Tucker, and Kent Sublette
SNL Head Writer (with
Michael Che ,
Bryan Tucker , and Kent Sublette) December 16, 2017 – May 19, 2018
Succeeded byhimself (with Michael Che and Kent Sublette)
Preceded byHimself, Michael Che, Bryan Tucker, and Kent Sublette
SNL Head Writer (with Michael Che, and Kent Sublette) September 29, 2018 – May 9, 2020
Succeeded byHimself
(with Michael Che, Kent Sublette, and
Anna Drezen )
Preceded byHimself, Michael Che, and Kent Sublette
SNL Head Writer (with Michael Che, Kent Sublette, and
Anna Drezen ) October 3, 2020 – December 18, 2021
Succeeded by
Preceded byHimself, Michael Che, Kent Sublette, and Anna Drezen
SNL Head Writer (with Michael Che, Kent Sublette,
Alison Gates , and
Streeter Seidell ) January 15 – May 21, 2022
Succeeded byKent Sublette, Alison Gates, and Streeter Seidell
International National Artists