Raised in North Carolina, Jennifer Bartels graduated from East Carolina State with a BFA in acting and immediately made the trip to New York City. Once there, she quickly found a home with the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe. The exposure led her to a small role in "Men In Black 3" (2012), and a spot in the ensemble of the 2012 attempt to reboot "In Living Color" (Fox, 1990-94), although the pilot was not picked up to series. Not to be deterred, Bartels and a few of the other members of the cast started another sketch show, "Friends of the People" (TruTV, 2014-15) which aired for one season.
In 2018 it was announced that she was set as one of the leads in the sitcom, "American Woman" (Paramount Network, 2018-), inspired by the complicated childhood of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" (Bravo, 2010-) star Kyle Richards, the half-aunt of Paris and Nicky Hilton.