Leslie Jones

Annette Jones, better known as Leslie Jones, is an American comedian and actress who was a cast member and writer on Saturday Night Live from 2013 to 2019. Jones has been a featured performer at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and the Aspen Comedy Festival, and starred in the Ghostbusters reboot as Patty Tolan, alongside Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon. In 2017 and 2018, Jones was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on SNL.

Jones started to do stand-up comedy in college in 1987, when a friend signed her up for a "Funniest Person on Campus" contest. After she won the contest, Jones left school and moved to Los Angeles. She performed at regular clubs and worked at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles and UPS to make ends meet. Mother Love and Dave Chappelle encouraged her to move to New York City to hone her craft for two years, where she appeared on BET's ComicView before returning to Los Angeles. She performed at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, but received unfavorable reviews. She opened up for Jamie Foxx and was booed by the audience. Feeling discouraged, Jones stopped performing for three years.

In December 2013, Saturday Night Live held a casting call to add at least one African-American woman to the show, and Jones auditioned. Sasheer Zamata was added as a featured player, while Jones and LaKendra Tookes were hired as writers.

After appearing on the first and third episodes of the 40th season, hosted by Chris Pratt and Bill Hader, Jones was promoted to the cast as a featured player, making her official debut on the October 25, 2014 episode hosted by Jim Carey. At the age of 47, Jones was the oldest person to join the show as a cast member. Jones' addition marked the first time in SNL history that the show's cast included more than one African-American woman.

In 2017 and 2018, Jones was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on SNL.