Robin Thede

Background

Robin Thede is an American comedian, actress, showrunner, host, and writer born and raised in Iowa to parents Phyllis Thede, a politician, and Dave Thede. Her parents are African-American and German-American. After attending high school, Thede graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, earning a degree in Broadcast Journalism and African-American Studies. She then went on to study at The Second City theater group in Chicago.

Thede first began her career in a sketch comedy group called Cleo’s Apartment, with writers Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin. The group included Thomas Fraser, Wyatt Cenac, Nika Williams, and Nefetari Spencer. After their success on stage, the group signed a deal with AOL and HBO for a show called “The Message” in 2007. In 2015, Thede became the head writer for the talk show “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.” In 2017, after her success in writing for Larry Willmore, Thede got her own show, “The Rundown with Robin Thede,” which she created, executive produced, and wrote.

In 2019, Thede once again created, executive produced, and wrote the show “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” which she acts in and is the host of. The show was a hit, still running in 2022, and received a Television Critics Association award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Sketch/Variety Shows’ in 2020. In other acting appearances, Thede has starred in productions such as “Buppies,” “Key & Peele,” “Second Generation Wayans,” and “A Haunted House.” Thede also founded her own entertainment production company called For Better or Words.