Lauren Ashley Smith

{{Infobox person

| name = Lauren Ashley Smith

| image =

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| birth_name =

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| birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

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| nationality =

| education = Dickinson College

| other_names =

| occupation = Writer, comedian, producer

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| spouse = {{marriage|Brooke Helburn|2015}}

| known_for =

| notable_works = A Black Lady Sketch Show

}}

Lauren Ashley Smith is an American writer, comedian, and producer. She is the head writer of HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019–), for which she has received three Emmy Award nominations. Smith previously worked for The Rundown with Robin Thede, Best Week Ever, Watch What Happens Live, and Fashion Queens.{{Cite web|last=Tang|first=Estelle|date=2018-01-12|title=How Robin Thede Brought Black Girl Joy to Late Night|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a15061737/robin-thede-the-rundown-interview/|access-date=2021-07-22|website=ELLE|language=en-US}}

Early life and education

Smith was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.{{Cite web|last=Hamdan|first=Lara|date=2020-08-06|title=St. Louis' Robust Theater Scene Inspired Smith Sisters' Entertainment Aspirations|url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2020-08-05/thursday-st-louis-robust-theater-scene-inspired-smith-sisters-entertainment-aspirations|access-date=2021-07-20|website=St. Louis Public Radio|language=en}} She has two sisters, Mariah and Rachel. Her parents, Rochelle and Jonathan, are administrators at Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis.{{Cite news|date=2015-09-20|title=Lauren Smith, Brooke Helburn|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/fashion/weddings/lauren-smith-brooke-helburn.html|access-date=2021-07-20|issn=0362-4331}} Smith received her bachelor's degree from Dickinson College.

Career

Smith's writing career started as a freelancer for Best Week Ever, Watch What Happens Live, and Fashion Queens.{{Cite web|last=Littleton|first=Cynthia|date=2018-04-10|title=A New Day in Late Night: Women Make Their Mark in Competitive Field|url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/features/women-in-late-night-robin-thede-jasmine-pierce-1202748047/|access-date=2021-07-22|website=Variety|language=en-US}} In 2017, Smith was hired as the head writer for The Rundown with Robin Thede, which ran for one season.{{Cite web|last=White|first=Peter|date=2021-01-25|title=Lauren Ashley Smith Developing U.S. Remake Of British Time-Travel Comedy 'Timewasters' In The Works At ABC|url=https://deadline.com/2021/01/lauren-ashley-smith-developing-u-s-remake-of-british-time-travel-comedy-timewasters-in-the-works-at-abc-1234679842/|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Deadline|language=en-US}} Thede later hired Smith again as the head writer and co-executive producer of A Black Lady Sketch Show.{{Cite web|last=Genai|first=Shanelle|date=2021-01-25|title=A Black Lady Sketch Show Head Writer Lauren Ashley Smith to Develop Remake of British Time-Travel Comedy for ABC|url=https://www.theroot.com/a-black-lady-sketch-show-head-writer-lauren-ashley-smit-1846128978|access-date=2021-07-20|website=The Root|language=en-us}} Smith is the first Black woman to be a head writer on a TV sketch show.{{Cite web|last=Holland|first=Patrick|title=How A Black Lady Sketch Show's Lauren Ashley Smith made history|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/how-a-black-lady-sketch-shows-lauren-ashley-smith-made-history/|access-date=2021-07-20|website=CNET|language=en}} The series debuted in 2019, and Smith received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series (2020, 2021) and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series (2021).

In 2021, it was announced that Smith will create and produce an American reboot of Timewasters, a British time-travel comedy series. The ABC reboot will center four present-day Black New Yorkers who find themselves in the Harlem Renaissance.{{Cite web|last=Halabian|first=Layla|title=Lauren Ashley Smith Is Bringing A Black Time Travel Show To ABC|url=https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/laura-ashley-smith-timewasters-adaptation|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Nylon|date=26 January 2021 |language=en}} In August 2021, she signed an overall deal with CBS Studios to create comedy content for the network's broadcast and streaming platforms.{{cite web |last1=Petski |first1=Denise |title=Lauren Ashley Smith Inks Overall Deal With CBS Studios |url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/lauren-ashley-smith-overall-deal-cbs-studios-1234821098/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=August 24, 2021 |date=August 24, 2021}}

Personal life

Smith is a lesbian and identifies as she/her.{{Cite web|date=2019-12-30|title=The Best TV Shows Of 2019 With LGBT Women Characters|url=https://www.autostraddle.com/the-best-tv-shows-of-2019-with-lgbt-women-characters/|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Autostraddle|language=en-US}} She married her wife, Brooke Helburn, in 2015.

Filmography

class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Title

!Role

!Executive producer

!Writer

!Notes

2016

|The Characters

|Lady on the Bus

|{{No}}

|Episode: "Lauren Lapkus"

2016

|Billy Eichner and 'Potato the Potato'

|{{No}}

|Short film

2016

|My Famous Dead Boyfriend

|Therapist

|{{No}}

2017

|The Rundown with Robin Thede

|{{N/A}}

|{{No}}

|{{Yes}}

|Head writer

2019

|Between Two Ferns: The Movie

|The Mysterious Donna

|{{No}}

2019– present

|A Black Lady Sketch Show

|{{N/A}}

|{{Yes}}

|Head writer

2020

|Dicktown

|Croquet Player

|{{No}}

Awards and nominations

= For ''A Black Lady Sketch Show:'' =

2020 – Nominee, Primetime Emmy Awards, Outstanding Variety Sketch Series{{Cite web |publisher=Academy of Television Arts and Sciences|title=2020 Primetime Emmy® Awards Nomination Press Release|url=https://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/72nd-nominations-list-v1.pdf?q=1|access-date=2021-07-21|website=Emmys.com}}
2021 – Nominee, Primetime Emmy Awards, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series{{Cite web|title=A Black Lady Sketch Show|url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/black-lady-sketch-show|access-date=2021-07-22|website=Television Academy|language=en}}
2021 – Nominee, Primetime Emmy Awards, Outstanding Variety Sketch Series