This profile is part of Queerty’s 2024 Out For Good series, recognizing public figures who’ve had the courage to come out and make a difference in the past year, in celebration of National Coming Out Day on October 11.
Name: Ilana Glazer, 37.
Bio: It’s fitting that New Yorker Ilana Glazer—who was born and raised on Long Island—co-starred and co-created Broad City, a sacred text for millennials, and one of the most iconic comedy series set in the Big Apple.
It’s been over 10 years since the world was first introduced to the absurd antics of Broad City’s Ilana Wexler and Abbi Abrams, the exaggerated versions of the series’ stars and creators, Glazer and Abbi Jacobson.
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Since the Comedy Central series ended in 2019, Glazer has stayed busy both personally and professionally. Aside from starring in movies like False Positive and the Apple TV+ series The Afterparty, Glazer married her husband, scientist David Rooklin, in 2017. The couple had a daughter in July 2021.
“We had a quick, casual, quiet little wedding,” Glazer said in June 2017. “We put it together in three weeks. For us, it was about being married. It felt like a real fucking drug to share our most vulnerable romantic words about each other with our close friends. It was special, and the ceremony was meaningful.”
Coming out: Earlier this year, Glazer appeared in Babes, the raunchy comedy that she co-wrote with Josh Rabinowitz and co-starred alongside comedian Michelle Buteau. The film was inspired by Glazer’s real-life pregnancy, and in a May 2024 interview with USA Today, they revealed their pregnancy helped them realize they’re nonbinary (Glazer uses she/they pronouns).
“That’s what feels true to how I feel in my body, which is actually something I discovered while I was pregnant,” Glazer said. “For the first time, my femininity didn’t feel like drag or a joke or a role, but a powerful, open space. And my masculinity was also something I didn’t need to make a joke out of. It was something that I thought was cool and hot and a part of me. That was an interesting aspect of being a queer, birthing person.”
In an August 2024 interview with The Independent, Glazer elaborated on how being pregnant helped her better understand herself.
“For so long, my masculinity felt like something I had to hide or make a joke of, and my femininity was something that felt like drag. There was always this element of comedy to it that was limiting my genuine personal experience,” she explained. “Then this gift of being pregnant made space for me to be real with myself. It’s more a point in the process of a long journey of self-actualization. I’m moving through the world in a way that’s truer.”
A sold-out comedy kiki: Before Babes hit theaters, Glazer spent the first half of the year embarking on a 48-city stand-up tour across the U.S. and Canada, including a sold out show at the Beacon Theatre in New York.
“It’s always an honor to perform in nyc. last night also happened to be my last show before my 37th birthday 🥹😛” they wrote on Instagram following their Beacon Theatre show. “Thank u for making it the best bday week, I love performing for y’all!”
The Toronto stops on Glazer’s tour were filmed, and will be released as her next comedy special, “Human Magic,” which debuts in December on Hulu. It will be Glazer’s second stand-up special, following her debut effort in 2020, “The Planet is Burning.”
With less than a month until the election, Glazer is also using their celebrity for a good cause. They’ve joined forces with two organizations, Broadway for Harris and Knock for Democracy, to canvas and knock on doors in Pennsylvania.
With a renewed sense of self, we can’t wait to see what Glazer accomplishes next!
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