# Jen Ponton

Jennifer Ponton (born June 27, 1984) 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 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, 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

Film :
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
| King Kelly | 2012 | Angela | Official selection of 2012 SXSW |
| Jack & Diane | 2012 | Stacy | Official selection of 2012 Tribeca Film Festival |
| Free the Nipple | 2014 | Charlie | Distributed by Sundance Selects and IFC |
| Enchantments | 2015 | Nancy | |
| Wiener-Dog | 2016 | Kristy | Official selection of 2016 Sundance |
| Love on the Run | 2016 | Franny | |
| Split | 2016 | Maria | |
| Occupy, Texas | 2016 | Harley | |
| Chuck | 2016 | PA | Official selection of 2016 Tribeca Film Festival |
| Going in Style | 2017 | Newlywed Wife | |
| Come on In | 2018 | Beverly | Bitch Pack Best in Show, Bluestocking Film Festival 2018 |
| Beckys Through History | 2019 | Becky | |
| Queens of Daytime | 2019 | Sara Jo 'Addy' Adderson | TV movie |
| Pizza Party | 2020 | #1 | |
| She Came to Me | 2023 | Elodie | |
| Love Magick | 2023 | Nancy | |
Television :
| Title | Year | Role | Channel | Notes | |
| Primetime: What Would You Do? | 2009 | Bride | ABC | Episode: "Momzilla" | |
| 30 Rock | 2010 | Brenda | NBC | Episode: "Reaganing" | Nominated for an Outstanding Writing Emmy |
| Law & Order: SVU | 2010 | Mia | NBC | Episode: "Gray" | |
| The Heart, She Holler | 2011 | Grinder | Adult Swim | 2 episodes | |
| Boardwalk Empire | 2012 | Student | HBO | Episode: "You'd Be Surprised" | |
| The Good Wife | 2014 | Emily Balsam | CBS | Episode: "We, the Juries" | |
| Believe | 2014 | Hallway Nurse | NBC | Episode: Pilot | |
| Blue Bloods | 2014 | Kasia Mazurski | CBS | Episode: "Exiles" | |
| The Slap | 2015 | Janice | NBC | 3 episodes | |
| Law & Order: SVU | 2015 | Layla | NBC | Episode: "Daydream Believer" | |
| Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | 2016 | Debbie Wells | Netflix | Episode: "Kimmy Meets a Celebrity!" | |
| Deadbeat | 2016 | Duchess Beatrix | Hulu | Episode: "The Duchess of Stourbridge" | |
| Orange Is the New Black | 2016 | Correcticon Check-In Girl | Netflix | Episode: "We'll Always Have Baltimore" | |
| The Blacklist | 2016 | Maisy | NBC | Episode: "Mato" | |
| Dietland | 2018 | Rubi | AMC | 3 episodes | |
| Helpsters | 2020 | Cindy Circle | Apple TV+ | Episode: "Scatter/Sid Square" | |
| Scratch This | 2021 | Angelica | | Episode: "Ommm My God" | |
| Dickinson | 2021 | Body Healer | Apple TV+ | Episode: "Forever - Is Composed of Nows" | |
| Three Women | 2023 | Barbara | Starz | 2 episodes | |