Ilana Glazer

Ilana Glazer – Life, Career & Creative Voice

: Discover the life and career of Ilana Glazer — comedian, actor, writer, producer, and activist. From Broad City to stand-up specials, films, and Broadway, explore her evolving artistry and impact.

Introduction

Ilana Glazer (born April 12, 1987) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and activist. She first gained widespread recognition as the co-creator and star of the Comedy Central series Broad City (2014–2019). Over time, she has expanded into film, stand-up specials, producing, and theater, while also engaging in civic activism.

Glazer is known for her sharp comedic voice, willingness to tackle sometimes awkward or taboo themes, and blending humor with authenticity.

Early Life and Education

• Birth & family background
  Ilana Rose Glazer was born on April 12, 1987, in New York City. She was raised in a Reform Jewish family in St. James, Long Island, New York. Her parents, Sandi and Larry Glazer, worked in insurance and finance.
  She has a brother, Eliot Glazer, who is a producer, writer, and actor; the two have collaborated on several projects.

• Education & early comedic training
  Glazer graduated from New York University (NYU) in 2009, where she majored in psychology.
  She began studying comedy and improv in 2006 by taking classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York. Over the next several years, she performed in improv and stand-up around New York, honing her comedic style.

These formative years laid the groundwork for the comedic identity she would bring to her later work.

Career & Creative Milestones

Broad City and Breakthrough

• From web series to TV
  In 2009, Glazer and her friend and collaborator Abbi Jacobson launched a Broad City web series. Their comedic sensibility, irreverence, and personal voice gradually attracted attention, and in 2014 Comedy Central adapted it into a full television series.
  The TV version ran for five seasons (2014–2019), totaling about 50 episodes. The series was widely praised for its humor, authenticity, and its portrayal of female friendship, millennial life, and absurdity.

• Recognition & style
  Glazer was nominated twice for the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Broad City. Beyond acting, she also wrote, produced, and directed episodes, consolidating her reputation as a versatile creator.

Film, Stand-up & Producing

• Film projects
  Glazer appeared in films such as Rough Night (2017). She also co-wrote, produced, and starred in False Positive (2021). More recently, she co-wrote and starred in Babes (2024).

• Stand-up & special performances
  Glazer released her first stand-up special, The Planet Is Burning, in January 2020. Her second stand-up special, Human Magic, premiered in December 2024 on Hulu.

• Theater / Broadway
  In 2025, Glazer made her Broadway acting debut in Good Night, and Good Luck, a play co-written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov. She portrayed Shirley Wershba, a journalist. She had previously served as a producer (not performer) for A Strange Loop, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2022.

• Activism & civic work
  Glazer co-founded Generator Collective in 2016, a platform aimed at galvanizing civic engagement, especially for younger people and underrepresented voices. She regularly participates in public conversations, interviews, and events aimed at lowering barriers to political and civic engagement.

Identity, Personal Life & Public Image

• Pronouns & identity
  Glazer uses they/them and she/her pronouns. In public commentary, they have spoken about realizing and embracing their nonbinary identity, especially in connection with pregnancy and their evolving sense of gender.

• Family & relationships
  In February 2017, Glazer quietly married their longtime partner, computational biologist David Rooklin. In March 2021, she announced their first pregnancy, and a daughter was born later that year.

  Glazer has shared that their experience as a parent has changed their perspective on life and pace.

• Public presence, style & persona
  Glazer is often celebrated for her candid, self-aware, and quirky humor. Her comedic style frequently blends mundane life awkwardness, feminist insights, bodily themes, and irreverent absurdity. Critics and fans note how she avoids the polished “stand-up hero” persona and prefers vulnerability, subversion, and surprise.

  Her work tends to foreground the visibility of women, queer identities, and marginalized perspectives in comedy. She also uses her platform to promote civic engagement, social justice, and reflection in public life.

Themes, Legacy & Influence

• Voices & representation in comedy
  Glazer helped open doors for comedic voices that stray from traditional archetypes—women, queer or nonbinary people, those who lean into the weird and vulnerable. Broad City in particular has been influential in showing that female-centered, absurdist comedy could have mainstream success.

• Multidisciplinary creator model
  Her transition from acting to writing, producing, directing, and activism maps a model for modern creatives who refuse to remain within a single role.

• Civic hybridity
  By founding Generator Collective and actively participating in civic events, she demonstrates how artists can engage seriously with politics without losing their creative voice.

• Courage in personal evolution
  Her willingness to speak publicly about identity, parenthood, and mental space, even when messy, makes her a relatable figure for audiences navigating similar tensions.

If you’d like, I can also pull together a list of her most memorable quotes, or produce a shorter “key insights” version of this profile for quick reading. Would you like me to do that?

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