Slate recently made her feature film debut in Gillian Robespierre’s critically acclaimed Obvious Child, where she starred as “Donna,” a twenty-something comedienne whose unplanned pregnancy forces her to confront the realities of independent womanhood for the first time. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was released by A24 Films.
For her breakout performance in the film, Slate was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for “Best Female Lead Actor,” a Gotham Award for “Breakthrough Actor,” and a Critics’ Choice Award for “Best Actress in a Comedy.” She will also be honored with a 2015 Virtuoso Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Additionally, New York Times Magazine, Time, Variety, and W Magazine acknowledged Slate as one of the year’s best performances. Slate and Obvious Child have also been recognized by the National Board of Review and various critics’ societies and film festivals including: Chicago Film Critics Association, St. Louis Film Critics Association, Phoenix Film Critics Society, Georgia Film Critics Association, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, Women Film Critics Circle, Sundance Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival and Newport Beach Film Festival.
On television, Slate can be seen in Showtime’s House of Lies opposite Don Cheadle, Comedy Central’s Kroll Show opposite Nick Kroll, and Parks and Recreation opposite Amy Poehler. She also lends her voice to Bob’s Burgers as the voice of “Tammy.” Her other television credits include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Girls, Bored to Death, Saturday Night Live and Hello Ladies.
Along with Dean Fleischer-Camp, Slate is the co-creator of the Internet sensation Marcel the Shell short films, which Slate also voices. The first video, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, has over 24 million views on YouTube and has been turned into a New York Times best-selling book, also written by Slate and Fleischer-Camp. Their second book, Marcel the Shell: The Most Surprised I’ve Ever Been, is now on sale.
