Katherine Ryan
Katherine Louisa Ryan (born 30 June 1983)[1] is a Canadian comedian, writer, presenter, and actress based in the United Kingdom.[2][3]
Katherine Ryan | |
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![]() Ryan in 2014 | |
Born | Katherine Louisa Ryan 30 June 1983 |
Occupation |
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Partner(s) | Bobby Kootstra (civil partnership; 2019) |
Children | 1 |
Website | www![]() |
She has appeared on many British panel shows including as a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats and guest appearances on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, A League of Their Own, Mock the Week, Would I Lie to You?, QI, Just a Minute, Safeword, and Have I Got News for You. In 2015, she replaced Steve Jones as the presenter of Hair on BBC Two. As an actress, Ryan has appeared on numerous television series in the UK, including the sitcoms Campus and Episodes.
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. She has had two live stand-up specials released on Netflix – Katherine Ryan: In Trouble (2017) and Katherine Ryan: Glitter Room (2019).
Early life
Ryan's father, Finbar,[4] is a draftsman and owner of an engineering company, who originally emigrated from Ireland to Canada. Her mother, Julie McCarthy is Canadian and owns an IT consulting company.[5] Ryan and her two younger sisters were born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario.[6] The three siblings spent time in Cork, Ireland, visiting their paternal grandparents.[7]
Her parents separated when she was a teenager.[8] When she was 18 years old, she decided to leave home and chose to study city planning at the University of Toronto.[9] While attending university, she worked at restaurant chain Hooters and then began training other waitresses. She was fired from Hooters for writing "club sandwiches not seals" on the lunch board.[10] 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.[5]
Career
After graduation, Ryan continued working for Hooters as a corporate trainer, travelling around Canada to train other waitresses, and helping to open the only UK branch in Nottingham. Her partner at the time wanted to explore London, so she agreed to do so for an initial month from summer 2007, moving there permanently from January 2008.[5][3]
As a comedian
![](../I/m/Katherine_Ryan%2C_Scoundrels%2C_2012.jpg)
Ryan first appeared on television as herself in multiple episodes of the Canadian music video review show Video on Trial between season one in 2005 and her last appearance in 2008 in season 3. After relocating to England, she first appeared on Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats in 2012. She had previously appeared in the cast of Channel 4's Campus. 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". Ryan reached the final, and finished in fourth place.[11] Ryan was later featured on the Whitney Cummings Just for Laughs 2013 Gala that was taped before a live audience on 28 July 2013.[12][13] She has since taken new routines to the Edinburgh Festival.[5]
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.[14] 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.[15]
Ryan went on a comedy tour in 2016, called Kathbum, a name her toddler sister used to call her. [16] In February 2017, Netflix released Katherine Ryan: In Trouble, featuring her stand-up comedy live performance at the Hammersmith Apollo! in London, during that tour. [17][18][18]
She joined Jimmy Carr in 2017, to host four series of the reboot of Your Face or Mine?
In 2018, Ryan joined American comedy panel show, The Fix as a team captain.
In July 2019, Netflix released her second live stand-up special, Katherine Ryan: Glitter Room.[19]
Actress
As an actress, Ryan has appeared on numerous television series in the UK, including the sitcoms Campus,[20][21] Episodes[22] and Badults.
Other work
Ryan wrote a weekly column in the British entertainment magazine NME.[23]
On 6 June 2014, YouTube comedy duo Jack and Dean released a music video for their song "Consent", featuring Ryan in an acting role.[24]
In 2016, Ryan provided the voice of the stuck up white, odd-eyed cat and leader of The Sunshine Circle for Cats Ranceford in Disney XD and Teletoon's animated television series Counterfeit Cat.
Recognition
For her comedy work, Ryan won the Nivea Funny Women Award. She was also runner-up in the Amused Moose Laugh-Off competition in 2008.[25]
Personal life
Ryan has a daughter, Violet from her first marriage. She and her daughter live in Crouch End, London.
Katherine Ryan has previously dated actor and TV presenter Jeff Leach[26] and had an "on again, off again" relationship with comedian Alex Edelman.[27]
In 2019, Ryan entered into a civil partnership with Bobby Kootstra. The ceremony took place in Denmark in presence of her daughter. She and Kootstra had dated in Canada as teenagers and were reunited when Ryan returned to her hometown while filming an episode of the TV show Who Do You Think You Are?.[28][29]
Ryan has been open about the cosmetic surgery she has had.[30] She had a breast augmentation in her early 20s,[31] and then a second augmentation after a relationship ended.[32]
She has faced two bouts of skin cancer.[33][34]
References
- "Katherine Ryan - Who Do You Think You Are - "My daughter gives me a hard time about not being English. Well now I can tell her I am English – and from a castle no less..."". www.thegenealogist.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- Moore-Bridger, Benedict; Groskop, Viv (7 August 2014). "TV Katherine Ryan gives her cheating boyfriend a star role in new show". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- Dessau, Bruce (25 March 2014). "New Interview: Katherine Ryan". Beyond The Joke. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- "Series 6, Episode 7". Room 101: Extra Storage. 7 September 2018. BBC One.
- Viv Groskop (7 August 2014). "Meet the queen of confessional comedy: Katherine Ryan". Evening Standard.
- "Comedy review: Katherine Ryan – News". Scotsman.com. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- Was It Something I Said? (Series 1, Episode 4)
- Demchuk, Colin (producer, director); Ryan, Katherine (writer, performer) (14 February 2017). Katherine Ryan: In Trouble (Television production). Netflix. Statement occurs at time 57:25.
- How She Fell Into Comedy, 28 September 2018, retrieved 9 January 2019
- mistervincenoir (7 January 2017), The Big Fat Quiz of Everything 2017, retrieved 23 May 2018
- Groskop, Viv (7 August 2014). "Meet the queen of confessional comedy: Katherine Ryan". London Evening Standard.
- Duguay, Denise (29 July 2013). "Just for Laughs closes with ... sex". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- "Whitney Cummings Gala Press Release". Hahaha.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- Dessau, Bruce (4 June 2015). "New Game Show For Katherine Ryan, Rick Edwards, David Morgan". beyondthejoke.co.uk.
- Lee, Ben (11 March 2016). "Richard Osman will take on Katherine Ryan in Taskmaster". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- Demchuk, Colin (producer, director); Ryan, Katherine (writer, performer) (14 February 2017). Katherine Ryan: In Trouble (Television production). Netflix. Statement occurs at time 57:05.
- Wicks, Amanda. "Katherine Ryan Doesn't Bite Her Tongue". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- McCarthy, Sean L. (17 February 2017). "Cheeky Comedy Doesn't Get Katherine Ryan into Too Much 'Trouble' For Netflix". Decider | Where To Stream Movies & Shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, HBO Go. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- Husband, Andrew. "Katherine Ryan Is Up For The Challenge Of Winning Over Her 'Glitter Room' Audience". Forbes. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- Mellor, Louisa (12 April 2011). "Campus episode 2 review: The Culling Fields". Den of Geek. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- "Channel 4 goes off Campus : News 2011". Chortle. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- "Slipping makes her smile – Arts and Comedy". The News. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
- "Katherine Ryan, Author at NME". NME. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- Jack and Dean (6 June 2014), Consent – JACK AND DEAN, retrieved 26 October 2017
- "Funny Women Awards head to Bath for talent show heat". BBC News. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- "Katherine Ryan Pictures | Photo Gallery". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- Saunders, Tristram Fane (28 January 2020). "Comedian Alex Edelman on antisemitism, millennials and being treated badly by the Baftas". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- Levine, Nick. "Why Katherine Ryan Chose A Civil Partnership Over Marriage". refinery29. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- Barr, Sabrina (13 December 2019). "Katherine Ryan chose civil partnership as she 'didn't need to pretend to be a '". The Independent. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- Bruce Dessau (28 August 2018). "Katherine Ryan on cosmetic surgery, conquering Netflix and why her life is a Glitter Room". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- Alice Jones (17 September 2018). "Katherine Ryan: 'I don't hate men. I'm afraid of them in a way. I know what they're capable of'". The i. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- "Katherine Ryan Got a Boob Job Because of Her Ex - How Many Questions". YouTube. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- Harding, Oscar. "Exclusive interview with Katherine Ryan". What Culture. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- "Comic Katherine Ryan looks on the bright side". Reading Chronicle. Berkshire Media Group. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2014.