Jay Pharoah

Jay Pharoah
Pharoah in June 2016.
Born	Jared Antonio Farrow (1987-10-14) October 14, 1987 (age 29) Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, comedian, rapper, voice actor
Years active	2010–present

Jared Antonio Farrow (born October 14, 1987), better known by his stage name Jay Pharoah, is an American actor, stand-up comedian, impressionist, rapper, and voice actor. He joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live in 2010, for its thirty-sixth season. In 2015, he was ranked the 55th greatest Saturday Night Live cast member by Rolling Stone magazine.

Pharoah was born in Chesapeake, Virginia. He and his twin brother were premature, and his brother died at birth.

Pharoah began doing impersonations at age 6 and cites Gilbert Gottfried's character in Aladdin, Iago, as his first voice, explaining, "My father put me in a talent competition a couple of months later, and out of the whole thing I got fifth place."

In 2005, Pharoah graduated from Indian River High School in Chesapeake. One of his characters, Principal Daniel Frye, is heavily influenced by IRHS's former principal, James Frye. Pharoah went on to study business at Tidewater Community College and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Pharoah has been performing stand-up comedy in community theaters and at comedy clubs in Virginia since he was 15. He at one point toured with Corey Holcomb and Charlie Murphy. He became known for his many celebrity impressions, including Barack Obama, Will Smith, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Eddie Murphy, Charlie Murphy, Chris Rock, Kanye West, Stephen A. Smith and Denzel Washington.