Katherine Ryan

Katherine Ryan
Born (1983-06-30) 30 June 1983
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Nationality Canadian[1]
Children 1
Website www.katherineryan.co.uk

Katherine Ryan (born 30 June 1983) is a Canadian[1] comedian, writer, presenter and actress, based in London, UK.

She has appeared on British panel shows including Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, A League of Their Own, 8 Out of 10 Cats, QI, Just a Minute, Safeword , Have I Got News For You, and in a youtube video called "Consent" made by Jack and Dean. In 2015, she replaced Steve Jones as the presenter of Hair on BBC Two. As an actress, she has appeared in the Channel 4 sitcom Campus,[2][3] BBC Two sitcom Episodes[4] and Don't Sit in the Front Row with Jack Dee.[4]

As a stand-up comedian, Ryan has appeared on the BBC's Live At The Apollo, both as a featured act and as a lead act.

Ryan won the Nivea Funny Women[5] Award, a comedy competition in the UK and was also runner-up in the Amused Moose Laugh-Off competition in 2008.[6][7]

Early life

The daughter of an Irish-immigrant draughtsman father who owns an engineering company,[1] and a Canadian-born mother of Irish/English descent who owns an IT Consulting company,[1][8][9] Ryan and her two younger sisters were born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario.[1][8] The three siblings spent time in Cork, Ireland visiting their paternal grandparents.

Her parents split up when she was 15. When she was 18 years old, she decided to leave home and chose to study city planning at university in Toronto.[10] While attending university, she worked at Hooters and then began training other waitresses. In her spare time, she undertook open mic nights as an alternative form of personal entertainment and by graduation had developed a basic comedic routine.[8]

Career

After graduation, Ryan continued working for Hooters as a corporate trainer, travelling around Canada to train other waitresses,[10] and helping to open the only UK branch in Nottingham.[1]

Her partner at the time wanted to explore London, so she agreed to do so for an initial month from summer 2007,[8] moving there permanently from January 2008.[1]

Ryan won the 2008 Nivea Funny Women Award[5] at the Comedy Store. Ryan was featured on the Whitney Cummings Just for Laughs 2013 Gala that was taped before a live audience on 28 July 2013.[11][12] She has since taken new routines to the Edinburgh Festival.[8]

Ryan first appeared on television on Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats in 2012. Soon after, she gained acting roles in Channel 4’s Campus and in the BBC Two sitcom Episodes, playing the blonde assistant to TV executive Merc and star Matt LeBlanc. On 23 February 2013, she appeared as a celebrity contestant on BBC One's Let's Dance for Comic Relief as Nicki Minaj dancing to "Starships".[13] Ryan reached the final, and finished in fourth place.

In 2015, Ryan replaced Steve Jones as the presenter of Hair on BBC Two.

Also in 2015, Ryan became a panellist for Tinie Tempah's team on Sky 1's music/comedy panel show Bring the Noise and on the ITV2 show, Safeword.

Ryan has a weekly column in the British entertainment magazine NME.

In 2016, Ryan appeared on series 2 of Taskmaster. She beat Doc Brown, Joe Wilkinson, Richard Osman and Jon Richardson, to win the entire series.

Personal life

Ryan has a daughter, Violet, by an ex-boyfriend. She has faced two bouts of skin cancer.[14][15] She and her daughter live in Crouch End, London.[16]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "New Interview: Katherine Ryan". Beyond The Joke.
  2. ↑ Mellor, Louisa (12 April 2011). "Campus episode 2 review: The Culling Fields". Den of Geek. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "Channel 4 goes off Campus : News 2011". Chortle. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Slipping makes her smile – Arts and Comedy". The News. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Female comic is tickled pink". thesun.co.uk.
  6. ↑ "Comedy review: Katherine Ryan – News". Scotsman.com. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "BBC – Funny Women Awards head to Bath for talent show heat". BBC News. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Viv Groskop (7 August 2014). "Meet the queen of confessional comedy: Katherine Ryan". Evening Standard.
  9. ↑ Was It Something I Said? (Series 1, Episode 4)
  10. 1 2 Denise Evans (8 February 2013). "Comic Katherine Ryan tom play The Lowry after appearances on Mock The Week and Never mind The Buzzcocks". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  11. ↑ Duguay, Denise (29 July 2013). "Just for Laughs closes with ... sex". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "Whitney Cummings Gala Press Release". Hahaha.com. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Let's Dance For Comic Relief 2013: Katherine Ryan steals the show with Nicki Minaj's 'Starships'(VIDEO)". www.unrealitytv.co.uk. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  14. ↑ Harding, Oscar. "Exclusive interview with Katherine Ryan". What Culture. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "Comic Katherine Ryan looks on the bright side". Reading Chronicle. Berkshire Media Group. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  16. ↑ Moore-Bridger, Benedict; Groskop, Viv (7 August 2014). "TV comedian Katherine Ryan gives her cheating boyfriend a star role in new show". London Evening Standard. Alexander Lebedev, Evgeny Lebedev and Daily Mail and General Trust. Retrieved 8 June 2015.

External links

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