Marissa Paternoster (born August 1, 1986) is an American artist, singer and guitarist active in New Jersey's New Brunswick music scene.

She is the former lead singer and guitarist[1] of the band Screaming Females,[2] and continues to perform in the solo project Noun.

Her mother, Leslie Okun, who Paternoster has described as "culturally Jewish",[1] was an art teacher who now resides in Florida.

[10] Sleater-Kinney influenced her to start a band[10] with bassist Mike Abbate and drummer Jarrett Dougherty in 2005.

[17][18] Paternoster is an out lesbian[19] and has spoken about how bands like Sleater-Kinney gave her the confidence to be a queer woman in music.