Jen Ponton


Jennifer Ponton is an American actress, screenwriter and producer, best known for portraying Rubi in the AMC series Dietland.

Early life

Ponton is an only child raised in Bloomsbury, New Jersey; there she was a 2002 graduate of Phillipsburg High School, where she was active in the New Jersey Speech and Debate Forensics League, as well as drama club and musical groups. She is a 2006 graduate of Ramapo College of New Jersey, where she earned her BA in Theatre.

Career

Ponton began her career in 2010 with a guest role on the episode "Reaganing" on 30 Rock opposite Kelsey Grammer. She went on to make recurring appearances on , The Heart She Holler, and The Slap, as well as guest appearances on Boardwalk Empire, The Good Wife, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Blue Bloods, Deadbeat and The Blacklist. In 2018 she portrayed body positive activist Rubi on the AMC drama Dietland. Ponton also starred in the 2016 film Love on the Run opposite Steve Howey and Frances Fisher, and she has narrated Jennifer Weiner's The Littlest Bigfoot audiobook series. On stage, she originated the role of Dorrie in Halley Feiffer's How to Make Friends and then Kill Them at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. She is a member of the Television Academy.
She is a body positivity and fat acceptance activist, having spoken at length about the importance of size inclusion in entertainment. She was also a featured activist and speaker at the 2018 TCF Style Expo and the 2018 CurvyCon.
Ponton is also the co-creator and star of the puppet-led web series The Weirdos Next Door.

Personal life

Ponton and her husband have been residents of the Budd Lake section of Mount Olive Township, New Jersey.

Filmography

TitleYearRoleChannelNotes
Primetime: What Would You Do?2009BrideABCEpisode: "Momzilla"
30 Rock2010BrendaNBCEpisode: "Reaganing"Nominated for an Outstanding Writing Emmy
'2010MiaNBCEpisode: "Gray"
The Heart, She Holler2011GrinderAdult Swim2 episodes
Boardwalk Empire2012StudentHBOEpisode: "You'd Be Surprised"
The Good Wife2014Emily BalsamCBSEpisode: "We, the Juries"
Believe2014Hallway NurseNBCEpisode: Pilot
Blue Bloods2014Kasia MazurskiCBSEpisode: "Exiles"
The Slap2015JaniceNBC3 episodes
'2015LaylaNBCEpisode: "Daydream Believer"
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt2016Debbie WellsNetflixEpisode: "Kimmy Meets a Celebrity!"
Deadbeat2016Duchess BeatrixHuluEpisode: "The Duchess of Stourbridge"
Orange Is the New Black2016Correcticon Check-In GirlNetflixEpisode: "We'll Always Have Baltimore"
The Blacklist2016MaisyNBCEpisode: "Mato"
Dietland2018RubiAMC3 episodes