2026 Headlining Entertainment
Vanessa Bayer
Vanessa Bayer starred in the Showtime series I Love That For You, which she also co-created, wrote, and executive-produced. Vanessa is also known for her seven seasons on Saturday Night Live. Most recently, she guest-starred in ABC’s reboot of the sitcom Scrubs and lent her voice to Pixar's Hoppers. Other notable projects include voicing the role of PB the pig in the animated film DC League of Super-Pets, appearing on NBC’s Will and Grace, FOX’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, ViacomCBS’s Drunk History, HBO’s Crashing, and ABC’s Modern Family and Single Parents. Her film appearances include Trainwreck and Ibiza, among many others. Vanessa’s children’s book How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear teaches readers how to support friends experiencing long-term illness and was inspired by her own story of overcoming childhood leukemia. Bayer also co-hosts the interview podcast How Did We Get Weird? with her brother, Jonah. Next, she can be seen in the upcoming Netflix series A Hundred Percent, alongside Nick Kroll, Jason Mantzoukas, and Sam Richardson.
Elevating the cause through entertainment
For more than three decades, the Leukemia Ball has reigned as one of Greater Washington, D.C.’s largest, non-political black tie events. The Ball has raised over $78 million for the Mid-Atlantic Region of Blood Cancer United formally known as The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since it began in 1988. Having grown from 375 guests to more than 2,000, the National Leukemia Ball presents star-studded entertainment that in past years has included Jerry Seinfeld, Smokey Robinson, Jay Leno, Hootie & The Blowfish, Foreigner, Huey Lewis & The News, Diana Ross, Barenaked Ladies, Jim Gaffigan, Andy Grammer, O.A.R. and Kathleen Madigan.
