Janelle James is an American comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for her role as Ava Coleman in the ABC television series Abbott Elementary, for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an NAACP Image Award, in addition to nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.

Filmography

• Strip Law — Sheila Flambé (voice)
• 2025One of Them Days — Ruby
• Super Duper Bunny League — Narrator (voice)
• 2025The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday 2025
• Kite Man: Hell Yeah! — Queen of Fables (voice)
• 2024The Garfield Movie — Olivia (voice)
• History of the World: Part II — Writer
• Abbott Elementary — Ava Coleman
• Monsters at Work — Joy (voice)
• Teenage Euthanasia
• Central Park — Fran (voice), Writer
• 2020Sixteen Thousand Dollars — Catherine
• Star Trek: Lower Decks — Katrot (voice)
• 2020Tom of Your Life
• Black Monday — Joyce, Staff Writer, Executive Story Editor
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia — Ava Coleman

Appearances as themselves (16)

• Hollywood Squares — Self
• Sherri — Self - Guest
• The Final Straw — Self - Host
• The Jennifer Hudson Show — Self
• Celebrity Wheel of Fortune — Self - Contestant
• The Comedy Lineup — Self
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self
• @midnight with Chris Hardwick — Self
• Gotham Comedy Live — Self - Comic
• RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars — Self - Guest Judge
• Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen — Self - Guest
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self, Self - Guest
• The Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA — Self
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark — Self - Guest
• The Emmy Awards — Self
• Golden Globe Awards — Self - Nominee