Rachel Bloom

Early life

Rachel Bloom came into the world on April 3, 1987, in Los Angeles County, California, and spent her childhood in Manhattan Beach. An only child, she was raised by her mother Shelli Rosenberg, a musician, and her father Alan Bloom, a healthcare lawyer. She identifies as Jewish. Her education took place in Manhattan Beach public schools, notably Mira Costa High School, where she participated in the drama program.

Bloom has mentioned that she turned to performing as a strategy to feel like she belonged. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2009.

During her time at NYU, she served as head writer and director for the campus sketch comedy troupe Hammerkatz. While still a student, she began performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York with that group, and later appeared solo at the same theater's Los Angeles location. After college, she shared an apartment in Brooklyn with fellow comedian Ilana Glazer.

Career

In April 2010, Rachel Bloom recorded a video for her original song "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury," which came out before the author's 90th birthday that August. She got the idea after rereading The Martian Chronicles, her favorite Bradbury book. The video, a teen pop parody meant as a tribute, went viral on her YouTube channel "RachelDoesStuff," racking up over 600,000 views in its first week. It later became a finalist for the 2011 Hugo Award.

A photo of Bradbury posted online on August 21, 2010, supposedly showed him watching the clip. During college, Bloom interned as a writer for Saturday Night Live, and in 2012 she tried out for the show but didn't make it. Her audition tape featured a bit where she played Katharine Hepburn doing the voice of Bugs Bunny in Space Jam. On May 13, 2013, she put out her first musical comedy album, Please Love Me, which included the viral tracks "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury" and "You Can Touch My Boobies."

Her second album, Suck It, Christmas, came out on November 19, 2013, a collaboration with her husband Dan Gregor and Jack Dolgen. It took a comedic look at Chanukah, with songs like "Chanukah Honey." In December 2013, Bloom voiced Princess Peach on the song "Luigi's Ballad" from Starbomb's self-titled debut album. She also wrote for TV shows Allen Gregory and Robot Chicken.

Bloom co-starred in the film Most Likely to Murder alongside Adam Pally and Vincent Kartheiser, directed by her husband Dan Gregor. It premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2018 and hit Digital and On Demand in May 2018. In 2019, she and her rescue dog Wiley appeared together in an #AdoptPureLove public service announcement for the Shelter Pet Project. In November 2020, it was announced that Bloom would release a memoir called I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are, published by Grand Central Publishing.

The book came out on November 17, 2020, and covers her mental health struggles and experiences with bullying, both as a child and later in the entertainment industry.

Personal life

Rachel Bloom married writer, actor, producer, and director Dan Gregor in 2015 after six years of dating. Her cousin, a rabbi, officiated the wedding. The couple has a daughter, born in March 2020. Bloom has been open about her mental health struggles, including diagnoses of depression, anxiety, and OCD.

In 2016, she received the Visionary Award from East West Players, which honors individuals who increase visibility of the Asian Pacific American community through their work. Her show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was praised for casting an Asian-American man in a lead role that subverted stereotypes.

That same year, Planned Parenthood gave her the Excellence in Entertainment award for her work on the show, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recognized her for promoting West Covina, the show's setting. She also received the key to the city of West Covina and raised money for NAMI through a prop and costume auction. Bloom participated in The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company's second annual CREATE-A-THON fundraiser.

In 2019, the Human Rights Campaign honored her as an Ally for Equality, and she received the Ana Huna Leadership Award from Miry's List, an organization that helps refugee families resettling in America. She hosted Teen Line's 2018 Food for Thought Brunch and Girls Rock Camp Foundation's first Girls to the Front benefit. In 2022, she joined a push for abortion protections from major studios, and in August 2024, she signed an open letter advocating for better disability representation in Hollywood.

On June 10, 2020, Bloom took part in the #ShareTheMicNow Instagram campaign, where 52 Black women took over the feeds of 52 white women with large platforms; author Christine Michel Carter took over Bloom's account. On November 18, 2020, she received the Lifesaver Award from ELEM/Youth in Distress in Israel at its Hats off to Heroes virtual gala.