Jamie Denbo

Name	Jamie Denbo
Image
Caption	Denbo as Beverly in 2009
Birth Place	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, comedian, writer
Yearsactive	1997–present
Spouse	John Ross Bowie (2004 – now)

Early life

Denbo was born and raised in suburban Boston, in Swampscott, Massachusetts. She is an only child. Her mother is from Montreal, and her father is from New Jersey near Philadelphia; both parents were raised in Orthodox Jewish households. Denbo attended a Jewish day school from kindergarten to sixth grade.

Denbo attended college at Boston University, where she participated in improvisational comedy.

Career

Early in her career, Denbo performed comedy at the Comedy Warehouse at Disney World's Pleasure Island in Orlando, Florida. She eventually moved to New York City where she began performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCB), where she continues to perform, now at the UCB's Los Angeles division, often performing with her husband John Ross Bowie and her comedy partner Jessica Chaffin. She also teaches classes there. She performed stand-up comedy for Just For Laughs in Montreal and Aspen Comedy Festival. She and Chaffin were slated to star in a comedy film after their success as supporting characters in the comedy feature The Heat.

Denbo was one of the stars of the sitcom Happy Hour, playing the role of Tina Difabio. She also played Susan Jones on the Goodnight Burbank video podcast. On August 5, 2007, she returned as co-anchor on the show. Her pilot Ronna & Beverly (based on the popular stage show she performs with Jessica Chaffin at the UCB) aired as a comedy special on the Showtime network in December 2009. In 2011, Denbo and Chaffin started the Ronna and Beverly comedy podcast where they interview different celebrities each week.

In 2010, she co-starred as Maggie Lefferts on the FX series Terriers. She has frequently appeared in comedy segments on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. She has made guest appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Happy Endings, The Life & Times of Tim, Reno 911!, Suburgatory, Bad Judge, Mike & Molly, Weeds, How I Met Your Mother, Mighty Med, Mulaney, Speechless and The Real O'Neals.
In December 2011, Denbo and Kerri Kenney-Silver made a pilot for Comedy Central called Dame Delilah’s Rabbit Hole Ranch based on a web-series they previously created and starred in. Her screenplay for Best Buds was sold to Vendome Pictures in 2010 with Natalie Portman attached to produce and star. Denbo is also a contributing writer for The Huffington Post.

She is the creator of Lifetime's American Princess which was cancelled after only one season, and the host of Stitcher podcast Beverly in LA.

Podcasts

''Ronna and Beverly''

Ronna and Beverly
Denbo and comedy partner Jessica Chaffin hosted a podcast, Ronna and Beverly, on the Earwolf network from 2011 until 2017 wherein they interviewed celebrity guests, interacted with one another, and dispensed advice to listeners. Chaffin and Denbo developed their characters in 2006 when they were asked to host an all-Jewish 'Kosher Christmas Show' at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

Live performances from the pair were frequently advertised as "seminars" in which their characters discuss the fictional book they co-authored, "You'll Do a Little Better Next Time: A Guide to Marriage and Re-marriage for Jewish Singles." After introducing the book, either Chaffin or Denbo would often add the clarification, "It says Jewish in the name, but it's for everyone!"

Episodes of their eponymous podcast were released every two weeks by Earwolf. Guests included people working in comedy, as well as actors, authors, and filmmakers. The podcast premiered on May 25, 2011. In episode 161 on June 15, 2017 (not long after they started teasing the possibility of releasing weekly episodes), Ronna and Beverly suddenly announced they were taking off "for the summer." Since then, no new episodes have been released and the actresses have not appeared together in character. Jessica Chaffin has kept Ronna alive by appearing in character as a guest on other podcasts and by maintaining an Instagram account. On the April 16, 2018, episode of the Why Mommy Drinks podcast, guest Jamie Denbo confirmed that she "used to" have a podcast called Ronna and Beverly, ostensibly indicating the conclusion of the series.

Denbo's daughter, Nola, appeared on several episodes of the podcast as "Spaghettios." "Spaghettios" is the troubled 8-year-old daughter of Beverly's neighbor, Gloria "Spaghetti", whose actual last name Beverly cannot remember, but knows it's "something Italian."

On March 11, 2019, Denbo announced she will be launching a spinoff podcast titled Beverly In LA on Stitcher Premium.

Personal life

Denbo married comedy writer and actor John Ross Bowie in 2004.

Filmography

References

• Jamie, Denbo, Funny Men Are from Mars, Funny Women Are From Someplace Better, HuffPost, 21 June 2012, 15 April 2015
• Episode 60: Jamie Denbo, The Mental Illness Happy Hour, Paul Gilmartin, host/interviewer, Denbo, Jamie, 11 May 2012, mentalpod.com, 15 April 2015
• Paul Feig Hatches 'The Heat' Spinoff, Focusing On Jamie Denbo And Jessica Chaffin's Characters From Melissa McCarthy-Sandra Bullock Comedy, Mike Jr., Fleming, 15 November 2013, Deadline Hollywood, 15 April 2015
• Dave, McNary, Portman to star in, produce Best Buds, Variety, 24 February 2010, 15 April 2015
• Andreeva, Nellie, 'American Princess': Georgia Flood To Topline Lifetime Series From Jenji Kohan & Jamie Denbo; Lucas Neff & 3 More Cast, Deadline, April 24, 2018
• Ronna & Beverly podcast on Earwolf, www.earwolf.com, May 15, 2020, February 5, 2020, dead
• Meet the (fake) Jewish mothers Ronna and Beverly and the women who birthed them, Washington Post, May 15, 2020
• Ronna & Beverly podcast on Earwolf, www.earwolf.com, May 15, 2020, March 17, 2015, dead
• Deadline Hollywood, Jamie Denbo & John Ross Bowie Join NBC's 'About A Boy' As Recurring, Nellie, Andreeva, 6 December 2013, 15 April 2015

External links

• Jamie Denbo on Twitter