She and Liedman formed the comedy duo Gabe & Jenny. Their
stand-up shows with Max Silvestri, "
Big Terrific", were named best new variety show of 2008 by
Time Out New York. In 2015, Slate, Liedman, and Silvestri ended the show, citing their busy schedules, although they have since occasionally performed together. Slate first met Liedman in 2000 while attending
Columbia University. They describe their relationship as a "nonsexual romance"; Slate says, "I like to think of us as kind of like (
Seinfeld characters)
Elaine Benes and
George Costanza, but we like each other." , July 2007 Slate was a regular commentator on many
VH1 "talking head" programs with commentary. and guest appearances on several television programs. Slate joined the cast of
Saturday Night Live for the 2009–10 season. In her first episode, she accidentally said "fucking" during her debut sketch, which was heard on the live broadcast, but removed from reruns. Despite rumors to the contrary, Slate has insisted that her
SNL termination was not due to cursing but rather simply because "I didn't click." In August 2010, she co-wrote and voiced the animated short film
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. This led to
Marcel the Shell with Shoes on, Two. Slate also wrote a "Marcel"-themed children's book that was released on November 1, 2011. Her first live film role was as Zoe in
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked; more films followed in 2012, including the voice of Ted's mother in
The Lorax. Her first appearance in
Parks and Recreation was in the 2013 episode "Bailout", in which she portrayed Mona-Lisa Saperstein. Then, Slate released her own 12-episode mini-series on YouTube called
Catherine, celebrating late 1980s and early 1990s soap-opera aesthetics. In 2014, Slate starred in the comedy-drama film
Obvious Child, which follows the life of a young stand-up comic as she grapples with an unplanned pregnancy and eventual abortion. Slate won the
Critics Choice Award for Best Actress in a Comedy, Best Breakout Performance at the
Newport Beach Film Festival, the Virtuosos Award at the
Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and Best Comedic Actress at the
Women Film Critics Circle Awards for her performance in the film. She co-starred with
Judy Greer and
Nat Faxon in the first season of the
FX series
Married. Slate still appeared in a few episodes after season one.
Sarah Burns took her place in the series. Slate appeared as Liz B. in the recurring "PubLIZity" sketches in
Kroll Show, as well as many other recurring and one-off characters, performing in some capacity in almost every episode until the series ended in 2015. In 2016, Slate voiced Dawn Bellwether in the
Disney film
Zootopia and Gidget in
The Secret Life of Pets. She and her father co-wrote a book titled
About the House, about their time living in Slate's childhood home in Milton, Massachusetts, which was published in December 2016. From 2017 until 2019, Slate voiced the biracial character Missy Foreman-Greenwald on the animated
Netflix series
Big Mouth. Slate exited the role on June 24, 2020, writing on
Instagram that "At the start of the show, I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play Missy because her mom is Jewish and white—as am I. But Missy is also Black and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people." In 2017, Slate starred in the film
Gifted as Bonnie Stevenson, the teacher of a 7-year-old mathematical genius. In October 2019, she released a
stand-up comedy special on Netflix, titled
Stage Fright. Slate published her book titled
Little Weirds, about her struggles with and thoughts about life and relationships, in 2019. In 2022, she appeared in the critically acclaimed science fiction film
Everything Everywhere All at Once as Big Nose. Her character's original name was changed to Debbie the Dog Mom for the film's digital release due to its association with Jewish stereotypes. For their performance the cast won the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. ==Personal life==