Vella Lovell has spent the past decade becoming one of television’s most reliable scene stealers. Whether she’s delivering razor sharp one liners in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, holding her own alongside Ted Danson in Mr. Mayor, or bringing warmth and wit to Fox’s workplace comedy Animal Control, she has a knack for making every character feel effortlessly real.

That ease is no accident. A Juilliard graduate, Lovell has built her career by balancing technical precision with natural comedic instincts, moving comfortably between network sitcoms, streaming series, and acclaimed films like The Big Sick. Now, with Five Star Weekend renewed for a second season and Animal Control returning for its fifth, she’s entering another busy chapter, one that also happens to coincide with an equally life changing role off screen: becoming a first time mother. 

That new perspective runs through much of our conversation. Lovell speaks candidly about sleep deprivation, ambition, advocating for herself, the family atmosphere that has developed on the Animal Control set, the generosity of Jennifer Garner, and the lessons she’s taken from working with everyone from Joel McHale to Tina Fey’s creative team. There’s plenty of humour, naturally, but also thoughtful reflections on career, creativity and finding balance when life changes faster than expected. 

In this edition of 18 Questions, Vella Lovell reflects on comedy, confidence, motherhood, and why she’s learning to appreciate just how far she’s already come.

1. What’s the first thing you usually do when you wake up on a workday versus a day off?

My whole life has recently been turned upside down because I had a baby in March. And that baby, while super cute, is not really sleeping through the night at the moment. A work day on set for me sometimes means being on set for a 5:30am call time, which used to feel super early and now is just another moment in the middle of the night that I’m up. And likewise, a day I’m not working used to mean sleeping in, and at the moment that means rising whenever the baby rises, or pulling myself from bed at 7am. People keep telling me this is just a season, which helps in the sleep deprived moments.

2. What’s a small daily habit that helps you stay grounded?

I like to move my body in some way every day. Even a walk or small stretching session makes a huge difference in my mental state and can take me from “what’s the point” to “life is pretty good” in a matter of minutes.

3. When do you feel most like yourself?

Either catching up with an old friend or sitting on my couch watching reality TV while I pet my cats.

4. What kind of environment helps you feel most creative?

I’ve learned that I do my best work in supporting and encouraging environments. My Animal Control showrunner Rob Greenberg joked that I just don’t like to get a note, but that’s not (quite) true. (I can take a note, I swear, hire me.) I just really thrive when someone is cheering me on versus nitpicking my deficiencies. I personally think that a supportive environment is conducive to creativity, especially in something as vulnerable as comedy, so I take that on as a personal mantra when guest stars come to our Animal Control set. I want everyone to feel supported and loved enough to do their very best work.

5. What’s something people often assume about you that isn’t quite true?

My ethnic background. People most often assume I am Indian or Middle Eastern, but I’ve also gotten Spanish, Dominican, even Greek. I am mixed, Black and white, and Ashkenazi Jewish through my mom’s side and also some Spanish and Portuguese on my dad’s. (Thanks, 23andMe.) Genetics are wild. Being mixed is an interesting lens I was handed to see the world through, especially as an actor, and someday I’ll need to write a book about it.

6. What always manages to make you laugh, even on a tough day?

I’ve definitely been bowled over by how much my baby’s smile turns everything around. I will move mountains to get him to chuckle. And in my adult life, I’m a sucker for a good internet video. I have a couple of special friends who send me curated TikTok videos that make me giggle. Cat videos, people being smart or stupid on the internet, those things bring me joy. Thank you to the people of the internet.

7. What’s a comfort watch or go to show you return to again and again?

Sex and the City. Especially seasons one through four. I probably have seen each episode ten to twenty times.

8. How has your relationship with ambition changed over the years?

I think I’m currently up against a shift or transformation of my own ambition. I have such high standards and hopes for myself and always want to push further, that sometimes I don’t look around and take stock of how far I’ve come and the life I’ve been lucky enough to build for myself. My younger self who lived in a studio garage apartment with my mother would be shocked if I told her I get to act on TV for a living and have a wonderful husband and baby, and I want to make sure I’m also building out my inner and personal life so that it’s not just 24/7 grinding. If you’re not enjoying the life you work for, what is the point?

9. What’s something you’re currently trying to get better at, personally or professionally?

I am trying to get better at advocating for myself and communicating my needs. As a Black woman in entertainment, often my biggest goal is to be easy going and to not be a “diva,” and I’m now aware of how much I don’t want that to come at the expense of championing my own needs.

10. What advice do you wish you’d listened to earlier in your career?

That this will take time. It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

11. You’ve played sharp, witty characters across sitcoms. What draws you to comedy as a storytelling space?

I’ve always leaned on humor to get me through sad or difficult situations in my own life. I can’t help but see the world through that lens.

12. How did your approach to acting evolve between Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Mr. Mayor?

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend felt like such a unicorn of a show that I was kind of convinced it was a fluke and I’d never work again. When Mr. Mayor came along, I had to really step into my big girl shoes and move past my own imposter syndrome, and accept that I could play alongside such heavy hitters as Ted Danson, Holly Hunter, and Bobby Moynihan, not to mention Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. I feel like by the time Mr. Mayor came to an end, I trusted myself as an actor a lot more.

13. Working on a network comedy like Animal Control comes with a fast pace. What keeps that environment exciting for you?

Our shooting schedule is fast and furious. The hours are grueling, but the friendships really keep me going. We all genuinely love each other and the crew and hang out after set and on the weekends. Grace Palmer, who plays Victoria, is my girl and we always live in the same apartment building or close by while filming, so we carpool to work. We’re a little family and I like to think that’s the secret sauce of our show.

14. What has it been like developing the dynamic opposite Joel McHale on Animal Control?

Joel is a secret sweetie. His sense of humor is very dry and sardonic, and I am super gullible and earnest, so I genuinely could not tell the difference between when he was joking or being serious when I first met him. But now I get it. The answer is he is joking all the time and he’s actually a huge softie who’s incredibly generous and welcoming. Don’t let the sarcasm fool you!

15. As someone trained at Juilliard, how do you balance technical craft with the looseness comedy often demands?

I am a huge fan of advance preparation and script analysis, which I do credit to my time at Juilliard. I work on a script repetitively and spend hours learning my lines and working on character so that when I show up on set, I can be loose, act completely stupid, and really have fun.

16. Looking back at your time on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, what did that role teach you about longevity in television?

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend taught me so much. I developed so much love for that whole cast, crew and creative team and learned how special an on set TV family is. The fans taught me how incredible that exchange is between the viewer and the show, as TV is a living, breathing conversation between story and fandom. The live shows we were able to do are some of the most fun I’ve ever had onstage and I’m forever grateful to anyone who watched that show.

17. You appear in the new series Five Star Weekend on Peacock. Did you have a favourite moment from filming?

The series was created and developed by Bekah Brunstetter, who is an amazing and prolific screenwriter and playwright. I used to work on her plays back in the day when we were young and scrappy artists in New York. It was such a joy to get to see Bekah operating at the top of her game, to watch her thrive and have her vision come to life with such an incredible team and get to be a small part of it. Seeing your friends from back in the day kill it is one of the best feelings in the world.

18. What was it like working opposite Jennifer Garner on Five Star Weekend?

I just had one day of shooting with Jennifer Garner on episode one, which was actually the first day of the whole shoot, and the rest of my scenes were phone calls I filmed by myself. Jennifer was an absolute dream on set and I learned so much from her. I’ve been a fan of her acting since Alias, so it was a dream come true to work with her in person. She is a consummate professional who knew everyone’s name on the crew, asked questions about my life, and sat with the rest of the cast who had smaller parts in between shots. She even stayed later after she was wrapped to film a phone call scene with me where she was off camera, which completely blew me away. She is incredibly kind, generous and graceful, and I absorbed so much from her in that one day. I’m almost done watching the series and I think she’s phenomenal in it, as is the entire cast. 

Follow via @vellalovell

Photography JJ Geiger