Jay Pharoah

Pharoah was born and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. He began performing impersonations at age six and cites Gilbert Gottfried's character Iago in Aladdin 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 graduated from Tidewater Community College with an Associate of Arts degree in 2008 and an Associate of Science in 2010. He briefly attended 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, DMX, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Clarence Thomas, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Kanye West, Stephen A. Smith, Peter Dinklage, and Denzel Washington.

Pharoah became an internet phenomenon when his impersonation of Barack Obama became widely seen on YouTube.