Janelle James is the first person who will tell you that she and her Abbott Elementary character are very different people. While James has been a regular in Hollywood writers’ rooms—previously working on shows like Black Monday, The Rundown With Robin Thede, and History of the World: Part II—she catapulted to fame (and earned an Emmy nod) in her breakout role as scheming principal Ava Coleman. But James arrived on primetime after spending a decade hustling in the stand-up world, and she approaches her newfound fame with a solid sense of self that can only come from lived experience. When asked if she ever channels unflappable Ava in real life, James tells Marie Claire, “Maybe sadly to [fans], I'm never thinking about her when I'm being myself. I am such a strong character myself that I don't really need to channel anybody else when I'm out and about.”
Taking time out from a busy filming day to hop on a Zoom with MC, James explains how she balances the recognition playing Ava brings with her decision to keep her personal life private. (Though she has spoken about being a mom in her stand-up specials, James doesn't disclose her age and most details about her family in interviews.) She has an extremely grounded approach to her success, and credits the pre-social media way of fame as her inspiration. “Once you give people something, they want to know even more, or they feel like they're entitled to parts of my life. That's not what I signed up for,” she says. “I signed up to play a character that's hilarious. And I feel like I'm killing it at that.”
