Simon Rich (born June 5, 1984) is an American humorist, novelist, and screenwriter. He has published two novels and six collections of humor pieces, several of which appeared in The New Yorker. His novels and short stories have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Rich was one of the youngest writers ever hired on Saturday Night Live at the time, being hired when he was just 23, and served as a staff writer for Pixar. On January 14, 2015, Man Seeking Woman, a television comedy series created by Rich (and based upon his short story collection The Last Girlfriend on Earth) premiered on the cable channel FXX.
Rich was born and raised in New York City. His parents are writers. His family is Jewish but they were not religious when he was growing up. His parents are Gail Winston and the essayist and columnist Frank Rich. His older brother is novelist and essayist Nathaniel Rich. His step-mother, Alex Witchel, is a reporter for The New York Times.
After graduating from Harvard, Rich wrote for Saturday Night Live for four years (2007-2011). The staff was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Series in 2008, 2009, and 2010 and won the Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy/Variety Series in 2009 and 2010. Rich departed to work as a staff writer for Pixar. In 2013 and 2014, Rich was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 List. During his time at the show, he frequently collaborated with fellow writers John Mulaney and Marika Sawyer.
Rich has had pieces published in McSweeney's, The Believer, GQ, The Observer magazine, Mad magazine, Vanity Fair, UK Glamour, Italian GQ, Italian Granta, NPR.com, NPR's "Selected Shorts," and The Barcelona Review, among other publications. His writing has also been selected for numerous anthologies including The Best of McSweeney's, and I Found This Funny, edited by Judd Apatow.
In 2013, Sony Pictures acquired the film rights to Rich's four-part novella Sell Out, which was originally published by the New Yorker that same year.
Rich wrote some additonal story material for the 2015 Disney/Pixar film Inside Out, and wrote the screenplay for the film An American Pickle, which premiered in 2020. Seth Rogen starred in the dual lead roles and served as producer.
Rich lives in Los Angeles with his wife, author Kathleen Hale. They have two daughters.
Rich's first play, All In: Comedy About Love by Simon Rich, which is based on some of his short stories, is set to premiere on Broadway on December 11, 2024. Scheduled for a 10-week run at the Hudson Theatre, the production will feature a rotating cast of four performers at a time, which will include Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Chloe Fineman, and Richard Kind for the first five weeks of performances.
SNL Career[]
- 2007-2011: Writer