Cameron Esposito

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Cameron Esposito
Cameron Esposito by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Esposito in 2016
Born
Cameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito[1]

(1981-10-17) October 17, 1981 (age 39)
Western Springs, Illinois, U.S.
EducationBenet Academy
Alma materBoston College
Occupation
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • podcaster
Years active2007–present
Spouse(s)
Rhea Butcher
​
​
(m. 2015; sep. 2018)​
,
Katy Nishimoto
​
(m. 2021)​
Comedy career
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • radio
  • internet
Websitecameronesposito.com Edit this at Wikidata

Cameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito (born October 17, 1981) is an American actress, comedian, and podcaster, known for her show Take My Wife, as well as her stand-up comedy and her podcast, Queery. Esposito substantially focuses on topics surrounding the LGBTQ+ community, feminism, social justice, and the challenges faced by members of marginalized communities.[2][3] Originally from Western Springs, Illinois, Esposito lives in Los Angeles.

Early life[]

Born to Italian American parents Brenda and Nick, Cameron Esposito was raised in Western Springs, Illinois.[4][5][1] In high school, Esposito swam breaststroke on the swim team,[6] was a member of a community service group called The Marians Society,[7] and was a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship Program.[8] She graduated from Benet Academy in 2000.[9][10]

Esposito studied theology and English at Boston College, intending to become a social worker in Chicago.[11] While in Boston, she played rugby[12] and performed in the school's improv troupe, My Mother's Fleabag.[13] Esposito graduated from Boston College in 2004.[14]

After returning to Illinois, Esposito took a semester of social work courses at the University of Chicago before deciding to pursue a different career.[11]

Career[]

Early stand-up career[]

Esposito began her stand-up career in Chicago, performing in various local venues, including as a regular at The Lincoln Lodge from 2007 to 2011.[15] She appeared at comedy festivals including SXSW, the Moontower, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and SF Sketchfest. To supplement her income, she worked with students in special education, as a law clerk at her father's law firm, and as a nanny.[16]

2013–present[]

In 2013, Esposito made her television debut on The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Fellow guest Jay Leno expressed admiration for Esposito, calling her "the future of comedy".[17] She has appeared on Conan[18] and on Last Call with Carson Daly. She voiced "Carroll the Cloud Person" on an episode of Cartoon Network's animated show Adventure Time. Entertainment website Consequence of Sound named Esposito its comedian of the year for 2014.[19]

In the fall of 2014, Esposito created a series of videos with BuzzFeed Motion Pictures titled "Ask a Lesbian",[20] in which she answers a variety of questions sent into BuzzFeed staff about lesbianism. The videos also featured then-partner Rhea Butcher.[21] In addition to touring regularly, Esposito was a regular panelist on Chelsea Lately with Chelsea Handler[citation needed] and used to write a regular blog on The A.V. Club.[22]

Esposito's comedy album Same Sex Symbol was released in December 2014 by Kill Rock Stars. She appeared on Comedy Central's Drunk History as a storyteller on October 20, 2015. Esposito co-hosted the stand-up comedy podcast "Put Your Hands Together" with Rhea Butcher, which was recorded weekly in front of a live audience at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles from 2013 until July 2019.[23][24]

Esposito is known for her lesbian content creation,[25] especially hers and Butcher's television show Take My Wife, which streamed on Seeso until the service was discontinued in November 2017.[26] In March 2018, Take My Wife was picked up by iTunes.[27] The show was acquired by Starz in April 2018.[28]

Esposito's podcast Queery is an interview-style podcast focusing on contemporary queer luminaries and their life experiences.[29] Queery guests have included Rhea Butcher, Lena Waithe, Tegan Quin, Sara Quin, Evan Rachel Wood, Jill Soloway, Mary Lambert, Andrea Gibson, Margaret Cho, Alia Shawkat, Roxane Gay, Trixie Mattel, and Lea DeLaria.[30]

On June 11, 2018, Esposito released Rape Jokes, an hour-long standup special about sexual assault from her perspective. The special was free to stream on Esposito's website, but viewers could pay to download a copy and proceeds would benefit RAINN, the United States' largest anti-sexual violence organization.[31][32][33][34] By September 2018, the special had raised $65,000 in donations.[35]

On 24 March 2020, Esposito released her memoir Save Yourself.[36]

Personal life[]

Esposito was married to stand-up comedian RB Butcher from 2015–2018.[37][38][39] Butcher and Esposito collaborated on multiple projects, including the Put Your Hands Together stand-up show, the podcast Wham! Bam! Pow!, and the TV show Take My Wife.

On April 29, 2021, Esposito came out on Twitter and Instagram as genderfluid, stating that they also use both she and they pronouns.[40]

On June 8, 2021, Esposito tweeted that they married editor Katy Nishimoto a few weeks previously in a private ceremony with friends and family on Zoom.[41]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Sleight Luna
2016 First Girl I Loved Jasmine
2016 Operator Chloe Johnston
2016 Mother's Day Max
2017 The Hero Herself
2020 We Bare Bears: The Movie Ranger Tabes (voice)
2020 The Dark Divide Monty

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
2013 The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson Guest 1 episode
2014–2016 Last Call With Carson Daly Guest 2 episodes
2014 Conan Guest 1 episode
2014–2017 Adventure Time Carroll the Cloud Person (voice) 2 episodes
2014 Ask a Lesbian Host Web series
2014–2016 Maron Zoe 5 episodes
2015 Comedy Bang! Bang! Server Episode: "Maya Rudolph Wears a Black Skirt & Strappy Sandals"
2015 Drunk History Herself Episode: "Journalism"
2016–2019 We Bare Bears Ranger Tabes (voice) 17 episodes
2016 Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Liz Episode: "Roger Me Rightly"
2016–2018 Take My Wife Cameron 14 episodes; also creator, writer, executive producer
2017 Danger & Eggs Rad (voice) Episode: "Chill Twins/Nightmare"
2018 Big City Greens Additional voices Episode: "Parade Day/DIY Guys"
2019 Brooklyn Nine-Nine Jocelyn Pryce 2 episodes
2020 The George Lucas Talk Show Herself Episode: "The Search for Watto"

Albums[]

Year Title Label
2010 Grab Them Aghast Rooftop Comedy Records
2015 Same Sex Symbol Kill Rock Stars
2016 Marriage Material Comedy Dynamics
2017 Back to Back aspecialthing records
2018 Rape Jokes aspecialthing records

Podcasts[]

Year Title Role
2021 Morbid: A True Crime Podcast Guest
2013–2019 Put Your Hands Together Host
2013–2015 Wham Bam Pow Host
2013–present Comedy Bang! Bang! Guest
2014 My Brother, My Brother and Me Guest
2014 You Made It Weird Guest
2014–2016 How Did This Get Made? Guest
2015 With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus Guest
2015 The Nerdist Podcast Guest
2016 Bad with Money with Gaby Dunn Guest
2017–present Queery Host
2017–2018 Nancy Guest
2017 Homophilia Guest
2021 Morbid Guest

Online[]

Year Title Role Notes
2018 Good Mythical Morning Guest

Books[]

Year Title Publisher ISBN Notes
2020 Save Yourself Grand Central Publishing ISBN 9781455591442 Memoir
2021 Hungry Hearts: Essays on Courage, Desire, and Belonging (contributor) The Dial Press ISBN 9780593229620 Essays

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Nekervis, Erin (August 1, 2011). "Chicago Crush of the Month: Cameron Esposito". Chicago Sun-Times.
  2. ^ West, Lindy (August 7, 2014). "Yo, Men, Cameron Esposito Doesn't Want to Have Sex with You Either". Jezebel. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  3. ^ NPR Staff (October 11, 2014). "Hugs For Hecklers: Cameron Esposito On Life As A Lesbian Comedian". NPR.
  4. ^ "Cameron Esposito, Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich". Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  5. ^ Bosch, Sandy Illian (March 13, 2008). "Western Springs native lands comedy nomination". The Doings (Burr Ridge–Darien–Willowbrook, Illinois).
  6. ^ Considine, Mike (December 5, 1997). "Lake Park places third at Upstate Eight meet: Benet". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). p. 5.
  7. ^ Wowchuk, Stefanie (December 27, 1998). "Marians open their hearts, ears at meetings". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). p. 1.
  8. ^ Wowchuk, Stefanie (November 7, 1999). "Seniors named National Merit Scholars". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). p. 3.
  9. ^ "Suburban childhood experiences are comedy gold". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). February 11, 2014. p. 1.
  10. ^ "Candidates for graduation from Benet Academy". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). May 26, 2000. p. 7.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Borrelli, Christopher (October 10, 2014). "Comedian Cameron Esposito is on a charm offensive". TCA Regional News (Chicago).
  12. ^ Ramirez, Kaylie (May 28, 2018). "Boston Calling Day 3 Burns Out with Enigmatic Eminem Set". University Wire (Carlsbad, New Mexico).
  13. ^ Zaino, Nick A., III (June 17, 2015). "No slowing down: Young comic Esposito is 'grinding' out a career". The Boston Globe. p. G11.
  14. ^ "Headliners: Week of June 14, 2015 Archived October 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine". Boston College Magazine. Boston College. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  15. ^ "Alumni". TheLincolnLodge.com. Accessed February 1, 2015.
  16. ^ Parikh, Rima (November 1, 2015). "A Q & A with comedian Cameron Esposito". University Wire (Carlsbad, New Mexico).
  17. ^ Luippold, Ross. "Jay Leno Interrupts Cameron Esposito's Stand-Up, Calls Gay Female Comic 'The Future'". The Huffington Post, September 4, 2013.
  18. ^ Bendix, Trish. "Watch Now! Cameron Gets Gay on Conan". AfterEllen.com, August 15, 2014.
  19. ^ Pickett, Leah. "Comedian of the Year: Cameron Esposito". Consequence of Sound, December 7, 2014.
  20. ^ Habersburger, Keith. "Questions You Wish You Could Ask a Lesbian". BuzzFeed.com, October 31, 2014.
  21. ^ Star, Erika. "Lez Stand Out: Rhea Butcher and Cameron Esposito". AfterEllen.com, February 20, 2013.
  22. ^ "Who in the World Is Cameron Esposito?" TheAVClub.com Accessed January 29, 2015.
  23. ^ "Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher". UCB Theatre. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  24. ^ Esposito, Cameron (2019-06-26). "After 6.5 great yrs, @pyhtshow will end July 30. It's been my baseline in LA — thank u to everyone who ran it, performed on it & came to laugh.pic.twitter.com/15encdzcWe". Twitter. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  25. ^ Walrath, Rowan. "With "Rape Jokes," Cameron Esposito Turns the Lowest Form of Comedy Into Something Groundbreaking". Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  26. ^ Johnson, Steve. "Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher's 'Back to Back' comedy tour feels more urgent with their TV show in limbo". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  27. ^ Lyons, Margaret. "How Much Watching Time Do You Have This Weekend?". Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  28. ^ Chuba, Kirsten (April 16, 2018). "Starz Acquires Original Comedy Series From Shuttered Seeso Service".
  29. ^ "QUEERY with Cameron Esposito by Cameron Esposito on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  30. ^ "Queery with Cameron Esposito podcast on Earwolf". www.earwolf.com.
  31. ^ Robinson, Joanna. "The #MeToo Movement Has a Place in Comedy: Just Ask Cameron Esposito". HWD. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  32. ^ Fox, Jesse David. "The Comedian Who Is Taking Rape Jokes Back for Survivors". Vulture. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  33. ^ "Cameron Esposito's 'Rape Jokes' Comedy Act Debuts Online". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  34. ^ Framke, Caroline (2018-06-13). "Cameron Esposito on 'Rape Jokes,' Her New Comedy Special Tackling Sexual Assault and Consent". Variety. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  35. ^ Wright, Megh (September 7, 2018). "21 Times Our Favorite Comedy Podcasts Got Dark". Vulture. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  36. ^ Save Yourself. Grand Central Publishing. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  37. ^ Harwood, Erika. "Comedians Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher Announce Their Split". Vanity Fair. Retrieved Dec 23, 2019.
  38. ^ Esposito, Cameron (Sep 13, 2019). "New Hope, New Pain, Same Old Divorce". The New York Times. Retrieved Dec 23, 2019.
  39. ^ "QUEERY with Cameron Esposito: 112. Fortune Feimster on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved Dec 23, 2019.
  40. ^ Esposito, Cameron (2021-04-29). "Fluid like water. She *&* they. Cameron *and* Cammy. A woman + also ur boi. (i went lap swimming in my high school team suit.)". Twitter. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  41. ^ Esposito, Cameron (2021-06-08). "A few weeks ago, Katy & i got married". Twitter. Retrieved 22 June 2021.

External links[]

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