Cameron Esposito

Cameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito (born October 17, 1981) is an American comedian, actress, 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.

Cameron Esposito
Esposito in 2016
Birth nameCameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito[1]
Born (1981-10-17) October 17, 1981
Western Springs, Illinois, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • radio
  • internet
EducationBenet Academy
Alma materBoston College
Years active2007–present
Spouse
​
(
m. 2015;
sep. 
2018)
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

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

Esposito studied theology and English at Boston College, intending to become a social worker in Chicago.[10] While in Boston, she played rugby[11] and performed in the school's improv troupe, My Mother's Fleabag.[12] Esposito graduated from Boston College in 2004.[13]

After returning to Illinois, Esposito took a semester of social work courses at the University of Chicago when she realized she did not want to be a social worker after all.[10]

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.[14] She appeared at a number of 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.[15]

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".[16] She has also appeared on Conan[17] and on Last Call with Carson Daly. She also voiced "Carroll the Cloud Person" on an episode of Cartoon Network's animated show Adventure Time. The entertainment media website Consequence of Sound named Esposito its comedian of the year for 2014.[18]

In the fall of 2014, Esposito created a series of videos with BuzzFeed Motion Pictures titled "Ask a Lesbian",[19] in which she answers a variety of questions sent into BuzzFeed staff about lesbianism. The videos also feature Butcher, with whom she has performed comedy previously.[20] In addition to touring regularly, Esposito was a regular panelist on Chelsea Lately with Chelsea Handler[21] and used to write a regular blog on the website The A.V. Club.[22] Her comedy album Same Sex Symbol was released in December 2014 by the independent record label Kill Rock Stars. Esposito appeared on Comedy Central's Drunk History as a storyteller on October 20, 2015. Esposito also 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 until it ended in 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 and season 2 became available to the public.[27] The show was then acquired by Starz in April 2018.[28] Additionally, 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, on her website. The special was free to stream, 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]

Personal life

Esposito was married to fellow stand-up comedian Rhea Butcher from 2015–2018. In August 2018, the couple discussed their divorce in a Vanity Fair profile.[36] In Sept. 2019, in an article she wrote for the New York Times, Esposito discussed the couple's pending divorce.[37] She briefly mentioned the divorce in November 2019 at the end of Episode 112 of her podcast, Queery.[38] On November 26, 2019, she said on her Twitter that she has a girlfriend, Katy.[39]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
2016SleightLuna
2016First Girl I LovedJasmine
2016OperatorChloe Johnston
2016Mother's DayMax
2017The HeroHerself
2020We Bare Bears: The MovieRanger Tabes (voice)

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
2013The Late, Late Show with Craig FergusonGuest1 episode
2014–2016Last Call With Carson DalyGuest2 episodes
2014ConanGuest1 episode
2014–2017Adventure TimeCarroll the Cloud Person (voice)2 episodes
2014Ask a LesbianHostWeb series
2014–2016MaronZoe5 episodes
2015Comedy Bang! Bang!ServerEpisode: "Maya Rudolph Wears a Black Skirt & Strappy Sandals"
2015Drunk HistoryHerselfEpisode: "Journalism"
2016–2019We Bare BearsRanger Tabes (voice)17 episodes
2016Bajillion Dollar Propertie$LizEpisode: "Roger Me Rightly"
2016–2018Take My WifeCameron14 episodes; also creator, writer, executive producer
2017Danger & EggsRad (voice)Episode: "Chill Twins/Nightmare"
2018Big City GreensAdditional voicesEpisode: "Parade Day/DIY Guys"
2019Brooklyn Nine-NineJocelyn Pryce2 episodes

Albums
YearTitleLabel
2010Grab Them AghastRooftop Comedy Records
2015Same Sex SymbolKill Rock Stars
2016Marriage MaterialComedy Dynamics
2017Back to Backaspecialthing records
2018Rape Jokesaspecialthing records

Podcasts
YearTitleRole
2013–2019Put Your Hands TogetherHost
2013–2015Wham Bam PowHost
2013–presentComedy Bang! Bang!Guest
2014My Brother, My Brother and MeGuest
2014–2016How Did This Get Made?Guest
2015With Special Guest Lauren LapkusGuest
2016Bad with Money with Gaby DunnGuest
2017–presentQueeryHost
2017–2018NancyGuest
2017HomophiliaGuest

Online
YearTitleRoleNotes
2018Good Mythical MorningGuest

References
  1. 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. Bosch, Sandy Illian (March 13, 2008). "Western Springs native lands comedy nomination". The Doings (Burr Ridge–Darien–Willowbrook, Illinois).
  5. Considine, Mike (December 5, 1997). "Lake Park places third at Upstate Eight meet: Benet". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). p. 5.
  6. Wowchuk, Stefanie (December 27, 1998). "Marians open their hearts, ears at meetings". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). p. 1.
  7. Wowchuk, Stefanie (November 7, 1999). "Seniors named National Merit Scholars". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). p. 3.
  8. "Suburban childhood experiences are comedy gold". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). February 11, 2014. p. 1.
  9. "Candidates for graduation from Benet Academy". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). May 26, 2000. p. 7.
  10. Borrelli, Christopher (October 10, 2014). "Comedian Cameron Esposito is on a charm offensive". TCA Regional News (Chicago).
  11. Ramirez, Kaylie (May 28, 2018). "Boston Calling Day 3 Burns Out with Enigmatic Eminem Set". University Wire (Carlsbad, New Mexico).
  12. Zaino, Nick A., III (June 17, 2015). "No slowing down: Young comic Esposito is 'grinding' out a career". Boston Globe. p. G11.
  13. "Headliners: Week of June 14, 2015 Archived October 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine". Boston College Magazine. Boston College. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  14. "Alumni". TheLincolnLodge.com. Accessed February 1, 2015.
  15. Parikh, Rima (November 1, 2015). "A Q & A with comedian Cameron Esposito". University Wire (Carlsbad, New Mexico).
  16. Luippold, Ross. "Jay Leno Interrupts Cameron Esposito's Stand-Up, Calls Gay Female Comic 'The Future'". The Huffington Post, September 4, 2013.
  17. Bendix, Trish. "Watch Now! Cameron Gets Gay on Conan". AfterEllen.com, August 15, 2014.
  18. Pickett, Leah. "Comedian of the Year: Cameron Esposito". Consequence of Sound, December 7, 2014.
  19. Habersburger, Keith. "Questions You Wish You Could Ask a Lesbian". BuzzFeed.com, October 31, 2014.
  20. Star, Erika. "Lez Stand Out: Rhea Butcher and Cameron Esposito". AfterEllen.com, February 20, 2013.
  21. Fathelbab, Mo. "Why Aren't You Following?: Cameron Esposito". TheExperiement.com, May 19, 2014.
  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". @cameronesposito. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  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; 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. Harwood, Erika. "Comedians Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher Announce Their Split". Vanity Fair. Retrieved Dec 23, 2019.
  37. Esposito, Cameron (Sep 13, 2019). "New Hope, New Pain, Same Old Divorce". Retrieved Dec 23, 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
  38. "QUEERY with Cameron Esposito: 112. Fortune Feimster on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved Dec 23, 2019.
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