Hannah Einbinder

Hannah Einbinder ( ; born May 21, 1995) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. She is best known for her starring role as struggling comedy writer Ava Daniels in the HBO Max comedy-drama series Hacks (2021–2026), for which she received various accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award and Critics' Choice Television Award, as well as nominations for four Golden Globes. Einbinder had her first starring role in a film in the 2026 comedy Seekers of Infinite Love.

Early life and education Einbinder is the daughter of original Saturday Night Live cast member Laraine Newman and writer/director Chad Einbinder. She grew up in Los Angeles in a Jewish family.

As a teenager, Einbinder was a competitive cheerleader. She graduated from Beverly Hills High School and went on to study broadcast journalism at Chapman University before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in television writing and production. She was also named one of Vulture's best new up-and-coming comedians to watch in 2019; she was recognized for "her refreshingly absurdist charm." The same year, she was among the "New Faces of Comedy" at Just for Laughs.

In March 2020, she made her national television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and at the time was the youngest person to do a stand-up set on the show.

Starting in 2021, she co-starred as Ava Daniels in Hacks on HBO Max, together with Jean Smart and Carl Clemons-Hopkins. The show received a total of 15 Emmy nominations, including acting nominations for Einbinder, Smart, and Clemons-Hopkins.

She was on Variety's List of "10 Comics to Watch for 2021". She continued to perform stand-up comedy and toured nationally during the summer of 2022. Max released her debut stand-up special in June 2024, Hannah Einbinder: Everything Must Go.

In May 2025, it was announced that she would star alongside Gillian Anderson in Jane Schoenbrun's slasher film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Einbinder played a lead role in the Mubi and Plan B production.

In September 2025, she won her first Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in Hacks Season 4.

Activism In March 2025, Einbinder spoke about several issues while accepting the HRC Visibility Award. In her speech, she voiced her concerns about climate change, condemning the "architects of humanity's slow extinction and the destruction of planet Earth." She also denounced the detention of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, the Israeli government's actions in the Gaza war, and the United States government's support for Israel.

In May 2025, Einbinder signed on to a letter criticizing the film industry's "passivity" during the Gaza genocide. In September 2025, she signed the Film Workers for Palestine pledge, a campaign in which film professionals commit not to work with Israeli film institutions implicated in genocide and apartheid against Palestinians.

At the Emmy Awards in September 2025, after winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Einbinder concluded her acceptance speech with the words, "Go Birds, fuck ICE, and free Palestine!" Afterwards Einbinder said she had made the speech because she felt she had an "obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the State of Israel, because our religion and our culture is such an important and long-standing institution that is really separate to this sort of ethno-nationalist state". The speech was criticized by some pro-Israel figures, including Creative Community for Peace, actor Yuval David, and comedian Elon Gold. Other Jewish commentators have opined that the speech reflects an overall "decoupling from Israel" among young Jewish Americans.

In October 2025, Einbinder was interviewed for Zeteo by Simone Zimmerman, one of the subjects in the documentary Israelism. She also signed a pledge to boycott The New York Times over its alleged anti-Palestinian bias in its coverage of the Gaza war.

In January 2026, after the killing of Renée Good in Minneapolis, Einbinder posted an Instagram comment calling on artists and creatives to use their platforms to condemn ICE. In the same post Einbinder wrote, "The imperial boomerang has come back home. What we FUND and allow to happen to Palestinians by the hands of the IDF who TRAIN ICE will happen to our people here in America. They poisoned Flint Michigan and got away with it so they knew they could put Al data centers in poor communities and poison their water too. Hawaii burned and real estate developers snatched up the land from generational locals and they got away with it. So when LOS ANGELES burned the developers knew they could do the same here. And if this sadist Nazi murderer JONATHAN ROSS who killed RENEE NICOLE GOOD for consciously observing an ICE raid gets away with it? None of us are safe".

Personal life Einbinder resides in Los Angeles, California. She has ADHD.

Einbinder is bisexual. She dated comedian Alex Edelman from 2022 to 2023. In 2026, she has been romantically linked to journalist Jasper Nathaniel.

Einbinder has cited Dana Gould, Janeane Garofalo, Bo Burnham, Maria Bamford, Sklar Brothers, Marc Maron, and Steve Martin as being among her inspirations and influences. She is a longtime supporter of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Filmography

Film + Year Title Role Notes 2021 North Hollywood Waitress Cameo 2026 Seekers of Infinite Love Kayla Bachman Teenage Sex and Death at Camp MiasmaKris Williams

Television YearTitleRoleNotes 2021–2026 Hacks Ava Daniels Main role 2022 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Herself (guest judge) Episode: "Drag Race Gives Back Variety Extravaganza" 2023 History of the World, Part II Amelia Earhart Episode: "VI" Strange Planet Manager / various Voice role; 10 episodes Julia Gretchen Fletcher Episode: "Shrimp and Grits"

Comedy specials

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2021 Astra TV Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, ComedyHacks Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Online Film & Television Association Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 2022 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy Critics' Choice Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series MTV Movie & TV Awards Breakthrough Performance Astra TV Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Comedy Dorian TV Awards Best Supporting TV Performance Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Online Film & Television Association Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 2023 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress – Television Series Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series 2024 Dorian TV Awards Wilde Wit Award Best Supporting TV Performance - ComedyHacks Astra TV Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Comedy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Online Film & Television Association Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 2025 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress – Television Series Satellite Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Critics' Choice Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Astra TV Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Best Comedy or Standup Special Hannah Einbinder: Everything Must Go Dorian TV Awards Wilde Wit Award Best Supporting TV Performance - Comedy Hacks Television Critics Association Awards Individual Achievement in Comedy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 2026 Critics' Choice Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress – Television Series Satellite Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Actor Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series