Robin Thede was born in Spencer, Iowa. Her parents are Phyllis Thede, who is African American, and Dave Thede, who is German American.[3] Robin Thede was named after stand-up comedian and actor Robin Williams. She stated on Late Night with Seth Meyers this was most likely due to her father's love of Williams' work.[4] She grew up in Davenport, Iowa, where her father was an educator and her mother also worked in community schools and served with the union for school staff. Thede's two sisters were born there. Thede and her sisters attended local schools in Davenport. Later her parents moved to Bettendorf, Iowa.
Her mother was elected in 2009 as Iowa State Representative for House District 93 and served until 2021.[5]
Robin first started with a sketch comedy group called Cleos Apartment with writers Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin. Members included Thomas Fraser, Wyatt Cenac, Nika Williams and Nefetari Spencer. That stage show was picked up online by AOL and HBO for a new show called The Message which ran for a full year, 2007.
Thede was also head writer and a performer on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.[8] From 2015 to 2016, she was the head writer for the first season and a half of The Nightly Show, the first African-American woman to hold that position on any late-night talk show.[9] Thede is also the second African-American woman to write for a late-night talk show, as Amber Ruffin was first to join the writing staff for Late Night with Seth Meyers.[10]
Thede has often worked on TV shows as both a writer and actress, including on the short-lived Fox series In the Flow with Affion Crockett, the Mike Epps sketch comedy series Funny Bidness, and on the comedy series Clunkers (starring Carl Payne, David Faustino and Sherman Hemsley).
Thede's other writing credits include BET Awards (2014), BET Honors (2013), UNCF: An Evening of Stars (2013), BET Awards (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), NAACP Image Awards (2011), the BET Hip Hop Awards (2010, 2011, 2012) and more.
Additionally, Thede has created several successful videos, including "Shit Black Guys Say" (which went viral with 2.5 million views on YouTube), "Every Little Step" with Wayne Brady, Bobby Brown and Mike Tyson (Funny or Die.com), and "For Stuffed Colored Girls" (Funny or Die.com). She can also be seen with Elite Delta Force 3 in "The Real Housewives of Civil Rights" (Funny or Die.com/EDF3 YouTube Channel).
Thede's comedy work extends from years of professional live sketch comedy (Second City Chicago and LA, Improv Olympic, Acme) to comedic commentary on shows such as 10 Things I Hate About Me for the Style Network. She is also a performer and writer for the all-female sketch group "Elite Delta Force 3", which won the 2009 Audience Award Winner of the Los Angeles Comedy Improv Festival.
Other notable work includes co-hosting on The Voice of Reason on Jamie Foxx's Foxxhole Sirius/XM radio channel. She worked as a regular entertainment correspondent for E! News with Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic.
In October 2017, Thede began hosting her own late-night TV talk show, The Rundown with Robin Thede on BET. She is one of a few African-American women to host their own late-night show.[11]
In June 2019, Thede was named one of Variety's 10 Comics to Watch for 2019.[12] Most recently Thede created, writes, and performs in A Black Lady Sketch Show, which premiered on HBO on August 2, 2019. In April 2021, the second season of A Black Lady Sketch Show premiered.[13]
Mipcom's Diversify TV Excellence Awards are presented annually in order to recognize, champion and celebrate diversity, equality and inclusion in television programming across the international television industry. Thede has been honored with 1 award.[17]
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