Jen Ponton

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.^[1][2] She is a 2006 graduate of Ramapo College of New Jersey, where she earned her BA in Theatre.^[3]

Ponton began her career in 2010 with a guest role on the episode "Reaganing"^[4] on 30 Rock opposite Kelsey Grammer.^[2] She went on to make recurring appearances on Law & Order: SVU, The Heart She Holler, and The Slap, as well as guest appearances on Boardwalk Empire, The Good Wife, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,^[5][6] Blue Bloods, Deadbeat and The Blacklist. In 2018 she portrayed body positive activist Rubi on the AMC drama Dietland.^[7][8] 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.^[9] On stage, she originated the role of Dorrie in Halley Feiffer's How to Make Friends and then Kill Them at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre.^[10] She is a member of the Television Academy.^{[citation needed]}

She is a body positivity and fat acceptance activist,^[11] having spoken at length about the importance of size inclusion in entertainment.^{[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]} She was also a featured activist and speaker at the 2018 TCF Style Expo and the 2018 CurvyCon.^[20][21]

Ponton is also the co-creator and star of the puppet-led web series The Weirdos Next Door.^[22]

Ponton and her husband have been residents of the Budd Lake section of Mount Olive Township, New Jersey.^[23]