Joel Kim Booster
Joel Kim Booster | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 29, 1988 South Korea |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Millikin University |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Website | ihatejoelkim |
Joel Kim Booster (born February 29, 1988)[1][2] is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents stand-up special.[3]
Early life[]
Booster was born in South Korea and was adopted by an American couple as an infant.[4][5] He was raised in Plainfield, Illinois in a "conservative, white, Evangelical Christian family" and was initially homeschooled.[6][7] He went to public school for the first time when he was 16, which he described as his "first time being around non-religious people."[4] He knew he was gay from childhood but kept it a secret.[8] His senior year in high school, his parents found out he was gay by reading his diary where he had described his sexual encounters with other boys.[6] Kim Booster moved out and began to couchsurf until he stayed with a family friend.[3][7]
He studied theater at Millikin University for his bachelor's degree.[6]
Career[]
Living in Chicago, he took a job as a copywriter and began to perform in theater and write jokes after work.[3] Kim Booster began his stand-up career in an unconventional fashion by opening up for plays in Chicago's theater scene.[4] He moved to New York in 2014 to pursue a career in comedy.[4][7] He performed a set on Conan in 2016.[3] He then appeared in his own Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special in 2017. Kim Booster has also written for the shows Billy on the Street, Big Mouth, and The Other Two.[7]
On November 3, 2018, he released his debut stand-up album, Model Minority.[6] The material covers racism in the gay community, growing up Asian in a white community, and his own non-adherence to stereotypes about Asian Americans.[3]
Kim Booster has acted in various roles such as with Susan Sarandon in Viper Club, a YouTube original film, Netflix's The Week Of, on Hulu's Shrill starring Aidy Bryant. He co-stars as Jun Ho in the NBC comedy series Sunnyside.[9] In 2019, he co-hosted a digital series called Unsend with Patti Harrison on Comedy Central.[10]
Kim Booster is a regular panelist on the NPR show Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! and has appeared multiple times.[11][12]
Kim Booster appeared on the December 8, 2020 episode of The George Lucas Talk Show with fellow guest Eliza Skinner.[13]
Kim Booster also co-hosts podcast Urgent Care with Joel Kim Booster + Mitra Jouhari with comedian Mitra Jouhari under Earwolf.[14]
Personal life[]
Kim Booster is gay and often talks about his sexuality in his stand-up. He has stated that he knew he was gay before he knew he was Asian.[4] On July 21, 2020, Kim Booster announced he has bipolar disorder.[15]
Accolades[]
Kim Booster was called a Comic to Watch by Variety[16] and one of Vulture's 20 Comedians You Should and Will Know,[17] and was named a Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment.[18]
References[]
- ^ Kim Booster, Joel [@ihatejoelkim] (2020-02-27). "Democratic presidential nominees as POKEMON GYM LEADERS: jk I'm fucking thirty two years old but also if I did this it would pull huge numbers" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Kim Booster, Joel [@ihatejoelkim] (2016-02-29). "Today I have a real birthday and I've never felt more powerful. Leap Day energy courses through my body. I will destroy Sam Smith" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Goodman, Elyssa; Trykowski, Tyler; Taete, Jamie Lee Curtis (2017-10-20). "Joel Kim Booster's Tough Journey from Closeted Gay Kid to 'Model Minority'". Vice. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Kozell, Isaac (2017-10-18). "Joel Kim Booster's Unlikely Path to Standup Stardom". Vulture. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
- ^ "