Michael Che Campbell (/te/; born May 19,[1] 1983) is a stand-up comedian, actor, and writer from the United States. He is most recognized for his work on Saturday Night Live, where he co-anchors Weekend Update and collaborates with Colin Jost as a co-head writer. The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards were co-hosted by Che and Jost in 2018.
Che formerly worked as a writer for Saturday Night Live and was a correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He replaced Cecily Strong as a Weekend Update co-anchor for the 40th season of Saturday Night Live in September 2014, alongside Colin Jost.
Early Years
Michael Che Campbell was born in Manhattan, New York City, on May 19, 1983. Michael Campbell, Nathaniel, and Rose Campbell’s youngest child were named after Che Guevara. Michael and his six siblings grew raised in poor housing on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. During a 2019 interview, “You go without heat,” Che explained to the New York Times. You go days without eating.
You don’t use doorknobs. You don’t have anything.” Michael went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music, Art, and Performing Arts, and subsequently worked at a Toyota dealership for two years as a customer service representative. She also produced and sold t-shirts with acrylic images of celebrities in Manhattan’s SoHo district.
Tommy Hilfiger noticed Michael’s ideas and offered him a freelance job designing logos. Che never submitted any drawings, claiming that he blew the opportunity “simply because he was terrified.” He got despondent and quit painting, so he turned to comedy, which he had enjoyed since he “was in diapers.”
Career
At the age of 26, Michael began performing stand-up comedy in 2009. He began playing at open mic nights in NYC comedy clubs, then at the Comedy Cellar and Caroline’s. He won New York’s Funniest Stand-Up Competition in 2012 and made his late-night talk show debut on David Letterman’s “Late Show.”
In 2013, “Rolling Stone” magazine named him one of “The 50 Funniest People” and “Variety” magazine named him one of “10 Comics to Watch.” He was also hired to write for “Saturday Night Live” that year, and he was a correspondent for Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” for a brief period in 2014.
She also appeared in Chris Rock’s film “Top Five” that year, and in September 2014, he took over the “Weekend Update” desk from Cecily Strong, becoming the show’s first African-American co-anchor. Michael joined Colin Jost as a co-head writer on the program in late 2017.
One of Che and Jost’s most popular “Weekend Update” segments has them creating jokes for each other, which they must then deliver without having read the jokes beforehand. Michael’s gags are supposed to make Jost say something, despite the fact that the piece was initially Colin’s idea “Colin has remarked of the segment, “I’m seeing all of them for the first time on television.” It’s a truly terrible situation. In some ways, it’s thrilling, but it’s also terrifying.”
What Is Michael Che’s Salary and Net Worth?
Michael Che has a $5 million net worth as an actor, comedian, writer, and producer in the United States. She is best recognized for his role as a cast member and co-head writer on the NBC sketch comedy series “Saturday Night Live,” which he joined in 2013. Since 2014, he has co-anchored “Weekend Update” with Colin Jost.
Michael developed the HBO Max sketch comedy series “That Damn Michael Che,” which premiered in 2021, and starred in the Netflix comedy specials “Michael Che Matters” (2016) and “Michael Che: Shame the Devil” (2021).
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He executive produced “That Damn Michael Che” and “Michael Che Matters,” and he wrote for the TV shows “Above Average Presents” (2012) and “Detroiters” (2017), as well as co-hosting the 2018 Primetime Emmy Awards with Jost. She has also appeared in the films “Chinese Puzzle,” “Lyle,” and “Top Five” (2014).
Personal Life
Michael stated on Instagram in April 2020 that he has lost his grandma to COVID-19. He wrote a few days later, “Residents in public housing are nevertheless expected to pay their rent, despite the fact that so many New Yorkers are unable to work. Obviously, I can’t provide much assistance on my own.
However, in honor of my late grandmother, I’m paying a month’s rent for all 160 apartments in the NYCHA building where she lived.” He sponsored the “A Night for NYCHA with Michael Che & Friends” benefit in 2019, which raised over $110,000.
Che is close pals with Colin Jost, his co-anchor on “Weekend Update,” and the two frequently exchange “interesting” gifts. Colin said on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in April 2018 that Michael had sent a party clown to his romantic birthday dinner at a restaurant the year before.
She also gifted Jost a “complete, authentic Hawkeye outfit” for Christmas, with Michael noting, “Because your girlfriend is Black Widow.” Che attended Jost’s wedding to Scarlett Johansson in 2020, and Colin told Ellen DeGeneres in February 2021, “I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop and see what his lengthy con would be because he was so well behaved. He just walked up to me in the hallway the other day and said, ‘Hey, uh, I got you something.’ ‘What do you mean?’ I asked. And he says, ‘Wedding gift.’ I’ll bring it over at some point.’ … So I’m curious as to what this thing is. However, we’re both concerned about our safety.”
Nominations and Awards
Since 2017, Che and his colleagues “Saturday Night Live” writers have earned five Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. In 2021, he was nominated for three Black Reel Awards for Television: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Actor, Comedy Series, and Outstanding Writing, Comedy Series for “That Damn Michael Che.”
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Awards and Honors
| Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated |
| 2016 | Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy/Variety – Sketch Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy/Variety – Sketch Series | Saturday Night Live | Won |
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy/Variety – Sketch Series | Saturday Night Live | Won |
| Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy/Variety – Sketch Series | Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy/Variety – Sketch Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Writers Guild of America Award for Comedy/Variety – Sketch Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated |
Michael has received nine Writers Guild of America Award nominations, with “Saturday Night Live” winning Comedy/Variety Sketch Series in 2017 and 2018. He received six further nominations in that category for “SNL,” as well as a Comedy/Variety Sketch Series nomination in 2022 for “That Damn Michael Che.”