Lauren Adams

A graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade, Lauren Adams first showcased her comedic skills to a wider audience in various web series and shorts before landing the role of brainwashed cult member Gretchen Chalker in hit sitcom "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (Netflix, 2015-). Born and raised in Maryland, Adams studied Music Theatre at North Carolina's Elon University before moving to New York where she joined the UCB in 2007. Working under the likes of Bobby Moynihan, Lennon Parham and Zach Woods, Adams went onto become a member of sketch comedy troupe Onassis, perform in the likes of "Oscarbait" and "Spoiler Alert: This is a Sketch Show," and create her own one-woman satire, "Pig: A Restaurant." Audiences outside of the New York comedy circuit then got the chance to enjoy her talents through her appearances in numerous web shorts and series including "Gotta Share: The Musical" (2011), "Moms v. Pros" (2012) and "Inside Jose Canseco's Twitter Account" (2012), before Adams made her television debut on political sketch show "The B.S. of A. with Brian Sack" (The Blaze, 2011). In 2013, Adams made an appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman" (CBS, 1993-2015) as Daphne, a comic creation who ambushes the legendary talk show to host a fashion parade. Adams then landed her first recurring role when she was cast as Gretchen Chalker, the "mole woman" most affected by her time in the Spooky Church of the Scary-pocalypse cult in the Tina Fey-produced sitcom "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (Netflix, 2015-).