Kalen Allen

Award-winning actor, television personality, and singer Kalen Allen has catapulted into the mainstream media, reaching millions of people worldwide across his social media platforms and through his unique, laugh-out-loud content. Kalen can next be seen on television screens reprising his role as Cyn in Amazon Prime’s romantic-comedy series “With Love,” which follows a pair of siblings on a mission to find love and purpose, ultimately crossing paths with seemingly unrelated residents during some of the most heightened days of the year — the holidays. Season two is set to premiere on June 2, 2023. On the film front, Kalen can be seen starring in Netflix’s upcoming romantic comedy “Meet Me Next Christmas,” opposite Christina Milian and Kofi Siriboe. In pursuit of a fairytale romance with the man of her dreams, Layla (Milian) must race through New York City to get her hands on the hottest ticket in town: the sold-out Pentatonix Christmas Eve Concert. “Meet Me Next Christmas” is scheduled to be released in December 2024. Kalen made his feature film acting debut in Seth Rogen's "An American Pickle” for HBO Max, and additional acting credits include appearing in season three of HBO’s critically acclaimed “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” alongside Robin Thede.

It was recently announced that Kalen will serve as a judge on Roku’s upcoming cooking competition series, “Celebrity Family Food Battle,” hosted by Manolo Gonzalez Vergara and executive produced by Sofia Vergara. In each episode, a food-loving celebrity and their family member will face off against another celebrity family duo in a two-round battle, with each round featuring a culinary challenge inspired by a hit movie or television series. The winning celeb-family duo will receive a cash prize to donate to a charity of their choice. “Celebrity Family Food Battle” is slated for production this summer 2023 (release date TBA). Additionally, Kalen’s talents captured the attention of the Food Network, where he has appeared as a judge on their breakout discovery+ baking competition series, “Cakealikes,” and as a host for the season finale of “Buddy vs Duff.” Kalen has also hosted season one of The Cooking Channel’s “Snack on This!” series, bringing viewers along for a fun, fascinating peek at the production of America's most-iconic food brands to get the stories and manufacturing feats behind everyone's favorite treats and flavorful munchies.

Kalen also serves as the co-host of the hit podcast, “Raised by Ricki,” alongside Ricki Lake. “Raised By Ricki” is produced by Lemonada Media and revisits the iconic 90s talk show, “The Ricki Lake Show,” and the era to which it belonged. Part-rewatch podcast, part-cultural retrospective, and mostly hilarious, Ricki and Kalen look back on the days where we were all raised by Ricki and introduce her to a whole new generation today.

Originally from Kansas City, KS, Kalen attended Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and a BoA in Film. Discovered in 2018 by renowned comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, Kalen first made a name for himself through his hilarious “Kalen Reacts” videos, giving colorful and witty commentary on culinary concoctions found on the internet. One of these videos caught Ellen’s attention, and after inviting Kalen to appear on her talk show, she knew she had found something special, and offered him an opportunity to collaborate and produce content for her digital platforms. For the next four years, Kalen held a regular guest spot on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” often taking his infectious personality to high-profile events, such as the Billboard Music Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards as Ellen’s correspondent. He also starred in and produced his own weekly digital series, “OMKalen,” offering fans his one-of-a-kind commentary on the week’s hot topics and trending stories. On the digital front, Kalen’s videos have garnered billions of views across all platforms and continue to grow by the day. His original content creations have earned him many award nominations and wins, including a Model D Award win for Best Host in a Web Series or Channel in 2018, and another win for Best Celebrity Integration in a Web Series or Channel in 2019. He was also nominated for Best YouTube Comedian at the 2019 Shorty Awards, as well as an Honoree at the 2020 Webby Awards. Additionally, Kalen was recently honored with the Social Influencer Award at Better Brothers Los Angeles 2019 Truth Awards. Kalen has a very prominent place in his heart for charity, and actively supports The Point Foundation, The Trevor Project, GLSEN, GLAAD, and Better Brothers LA.

While Kalen continues to entertain on screen, he is also a talented singer/songwriter, having made his original musical debut with the release of his Top 10 holiday album, “For Christmas Sake!” in 2020, featuring tracks with MJ Rodriguez (“Pose”) and Alex Newell (“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”).

Kalen currently resides in New York City, where he is hard at work on his master’s degree in journalism at New York University.