In the long line of tour-de-force comedians, Robby Hoffman is someone you absolutely need to be paying attention to. For the last decade, Hoffman has made a name for herself through the incisive wit evident in her stand-up, TV writing and even an advice show. In August 2023, she publically announced her relationship with Gabby Windey — but being the girlfriend of a former “Bachelorette” star is just one reason among many of why you need to know about her.
Here are 18 things to know about Robby Hoffman.
1. Robby Hoffman was born in Brooklyn, New York to a Hasidic Jewish family.
2. She’s the seventh of 10 siblings!
3. Her family moved to Canada when she was a kid and she grew up in Montreal. After moving, her family became less observant, or what Robby calls, “Lubavitch Conservative.”
“I’m a nomad,” Hoffman told Forbes. “I feel most at home when the lights are on me and I’m dancing around on stage.”
4. Robby first started doing bits for friends about “bus passes, her mother and school lunches.” She performed her first stand-up set at the age of 18.
5. She identifies as genderqueer.
6. Robby came out to her mom when she was 18 years old. We’ll let her tell the rest:
“I wasn’t Orthodox by then. I was outed at 18 at school [in Montreal], so I knew my family would maybe start to find out, and so I just told my mother, ‘Hey, Ma, I’m gay. I have a girlfriend. She’s blonde.’ And she’s like, ‘Does she want to come for Shabbos?’”
Despite the circumstances: awwwwww!
7. Please enjoy this set of Robby’s on growing up Jewish and poor:
8. She graduated from McGill University where she studied accounting and communications. After, she enrolled in a graduate program to become a CPA but dropped out on the first day to pursue comedy.
9. Though she no longer identifies as Hasidic, Robby still considers herself to be Jewish.
“I naturally feel Jewish and naturally do Jewish people things. I don’t have to do something because I’m Jewish. I like doing the things I do because I’m Jewish,” she told Hey Alma.
10. Robby’s first TV writing job was for the PBS show “Odd Squad,” for which she won a Daytime Emmy!
It’s clearly been put to good use.
11. If Robby wasn’t a comedian, she’d like to be a rabbi of a mega synagogue.
12. In 2019, Robby released her first special, “I’m Nervous,” and a year later was named a Comedian You Should Know by Vulture.
13. Please enjoy her Miami Boys’ Choir Halloween costume:
14. She’s written for “Workin’ Moms,” “Baroness von Sketch Show” and “The Chris Gethard Show,” and she hosted a weekly advice show called “Robby Hoffman Consulting Group.”
15. She had a “tiny but legendary” role in Mel Brooks’ “History of the World, Part II.”
16. She is dating former “Bachelorette” star Gabby Windey! After Gabby came out and made a post announcing their relationship, Robby shared her own:
We’re still not over this, BTW.
17. Gabby might not be Jewish, but Robby is definitely showing her the ropes.
18. Robby is currently working on a comedy for Showtime and A24. Titled “Rivkah,” the show will be inspired by her life.
