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Esther Povitsky

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Esther Povitsky
Povitsky in 2012
Born (1988-03-02) March 2, 1988 (age 36)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other namesLittle Esther
EducationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Occupations
  • Writer
  • actor
  • comedian
  • producer
Years active2008–present
Known forCrazy Ex-Girlfriend
Alone Together
Children1

Esther Povitsky (born March 2, 1988),[1][2] for a time known by the stage name "Little Esther," is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, and producer. Povitsky, from Chicago, is the co-creator and star of the comedy series Alone Together (2018); she starred as Izzy in the Hulu series Dollface. Her debut comedy special, Hot for My Name, premiered on Comedy Central on July 17, 2020.

Early life and education

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Povitsky was born in Chicago[3] to Mary and Morrie Povitsky.[4] Her father is of Russian-Jewish descent and her mother is a Christian and of Finnish descent.[5][6] Her mother worked as an administrative assistant for the Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook.[7] She has one older half-sister from her mother's first marriage.[8] Esther grew up in the Chicago suburb of Skokie;[9] she graduated there from Niles North High School in 2006.

After high school, Esther Povitsky attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign for three years before she dropped out to pursue a career in stand-up comedy and acting.[10] "I was really unhappy at my school," Povitsky recalled. "A lot of people were in sororities and a lot of people drank all the time, and I wasn't into either of those things, so I really did not feel like I fit in."[11]

She then studied comedy at iO Chicago and The Second City in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles, where she took classes with The Groundlings.[12] She has performed regularly at The Comedy Store, The Ice House, and The Improv which are all in southern California .[13][14]

Career

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2012–2014: Early projects

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Povitsky had a recurring role, starring as Maya on the series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend from 2016 until 2019. Other television appearances include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Love, and Parks and Recreation. She was in the semifinals of 2015's Last Comic Standing (season 9).[15]

Povitsky was the first[citation needed] female guest to appear on The Joe Rogan Experience; she began podcasting with Deathsquad.tv regularly after that. She hosted Little Esther's Piecast[16] and was the former co-host of Brode & Esther with fellow comedian Brody Stevens.[17] She was the host of Weird Adults with Little Esther[18] and along with Caroline Goldfarb, co-hosts Glowing Up, a makeup and beauty-themed podcast.[19] She often appears as a guest on Deathsquad.tv's Ice House Chronicles.[20]

In 2012, Povitsky turned down an offer from MTV to do a reality show based on her life as a comedian because she felt the series would be too invasive.[21][22]

2015–present: Alone Together and Hot for My Name

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Main article: Alone Together (TV series)

In 2015, Povitsky wrote, starred in, and produced the short film Alone Together. Later the short was adapted into a pilot for Freeform and produced by The Lonely Island.[23] In December 2016, the pilot was picked up to series.[24] In October 2017, Freeform renewed the series for a second season ahead of its January 2018 debut,[25] however the series was canceled after its second season in 2019.[11]

On July 17, 2020, Povitsky's debut comedy special, Hot for My Name, was released through Comedy Central.[26]

Fashion brand

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Povitsky has her own fashion brand, "Sleepover by Esther"; she advertises it on Instagram.[27] She regularly advertises her brand on the Trash Tuesday podcast and often posts herself on Instagram modeling her brand's clothing.[27]

Personal life

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Povitsky is engaged to comedy writer Dave King;[28] they welcomed their first child, a daughter, in March 2024.[29]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2008 The Express: The Ernie Davis Story Teen Model Uncredited
2010 April Val Monroe Short film
2011 All in All Nicole Short film
2011 The Eater Sandy Short film
2014 My Daughter's Boyfriend Sara Martinson Short film
2015 Alone Together Esther Short film
2015 What a Nice Party Short film
2016 Worst Birthday Short film
2018 Dude Alicia
2021 Mark, Mary & Some Other People Esther
2021 Home Sweet Home Alone Daisy Breckin
2024 Drugstore June June Also co-writer and executive producer
TBA Lost & Found in Cleveland Completed

Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2010–2011 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Little sister / Bristol Palin / Jimmy's Sister Guest role; 3 episodes
2011 New Girl Krystal Episode: "Bells"
2012 Daddy Knows Best Babysitter Episode: "The Babysitter"
2013 Parks and Recreation Julie Episode: "Swing Vote"
2013 Brody Stevens: Enjoy It! Herself Recurring role; 3 episodes
2013 Adam Devine's House Party Herself Episode: "Space Jump II" [30]
2014 Talking Marriage with Ryan Bailey Herself Episode: "Comedians in Car Ports"
2014 Esther With Hot Chicks Herself Web series (3 episode run for MTV)
2014 Pound House Phone Girl Recurring role; 2 episodes
2014 Hope and Randy Hope Television mini-series
2014 Key & Peele Cassie Episode: "Alien Impostors"
2014 Six Guys One Car Pawn Shop Girl Recurring role; 2 episodes
2015 Comics Unleashed Herself Guest appearance
2015 Difficult People Cissy Donato Episode: "The Children's Menu"
2015 Candidly Nicole Herself Episode: "Ex-Girlfriend"
2015–2017 Cocktales with Little Esther Herself Web series; host
2015–2016 @midnight Herself Guest appearance; 4 episodes [30]
2016 Workaholics Jordana Episode: "Save the Cat"
2016 Lady Dynamite Kristy Coombs Episode: "Loaf Coach"
2016 The Amazing Gayl Pile Jenny Recurring role; 3 episodes
2016 Brooklyn Nine-Nine Emily Episode: "Coral Palms: Part 2" [30]
2016 Not Safe with Nikki Glaser Herself Episode: "I'm the Boat"
2016–2018 Love Alexis Guest role; 3 episodes
2016–2019 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Maya Recurring role; 19 episodes
2018 Alone Together Esther Main role; 20 episodes; also co-creator, writer, executive producer
2018 The Story of our Times Candace Television film
2019 Shrill Kayla Episode: "Pencil"
2019–2022 Dollface Izzy Main role
2021 iCarly Brooke Episode: "iTake a Girls Trip"; also writer
2022 Reboot Marcy Episode: "What We Do in the Shadows"

Comedy specials

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Year Title Notes Ref.
2020 Hot for My Name Premiered on Comedy Central [26]

Podcasts

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Year Title Notes Ref.
2011–2014 Brode & Esther Co-hosted with Brody Stevens [17]
2012–2017 Weird Adults with Little Esther Interview-style podcast [31][32]
2017–present Glowing Up Beauty and lifestyle-themed podcast; co-hosted with Caroline Goldfarb [33]
2020–present My Pleasure (formerly Esther Club) Solo podcast [34]
2021–present Trash Tuesday (formerly Bloodbath) Co-hosted with Annie Lederman and Khalyla Kuhn [35]
2021 Edith! Plays Trudie Grayson

References

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  1. ^ "Esther Povitsky". DirecTV. AT&T. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020.
  2. ^ "Esther Povitsky". Noovie. National CineMedia, LLC. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020.
  3. ^ Skiles, Christa (2020). "Five Questions with Esther Povitsky". Dramatics. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020.
  4. ^ Swartz, Tracy (June 1, 2020). "Esther Povitsky returns home for new Comedy Central special". Concord Monitor. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Frydburg, Tracy (January 24, 2018). "For a couple of Jewish millennial BFFs, poor and platonic equals funny". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Povitsky, Esther (August 17, 2017). "You Had Your First Orgasm to the Pam Anderson Porn?". Guys We F****d (Interview). Interviewed by Fisher, Corinne; Hutchinson, Krystyna. Event occurs at 42:00. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2020 – via Acast.
  7. ^ Luc, Karie Angell (April 19, 2016). "Shout Out: Mary Povitsky". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 5, 2021.
  8. ^ Oltuski, Romy (July 16, 2020). "Please Pay Attention To Esther Povitsky (Please?)". Elle. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020.
  9. ^ Slefo, George (June 25, 2012). "MTV Buys Pilot From Skokie Native". Patch. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020.
  10. ^ Gardner, Tara (November 6, 2019). "Who to Watch: Esther Povitsky". Chicago Splash. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Floyd, Thomas (January 16, 2019). "'Alone Together's' Esther Povitsky is happy hitting the stage on her own". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020.
  12. ^ "Esther Povitsky - LA Casting". Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  13. ^ "Little Esther - Comedian". Improv.com. September 12, 2011. Archived from the original on September 12, 2011.
  14. ^ "The Ice House :: Esther Povitsky". Icehousecomedy.com. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  15. ^ "'Last Comic Standing' Season 9 Premiere Recap: Meeting The Comedians". Buddytv.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  16. ^ "Search Results piecast". Deathsquad.tv. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  17. ^ a b "Brode & Esther". Deathsquad.tv. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020.
  18. ^ "Feral Audio // Weird Adults with Little Esther". Feralaudio.com. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  19. ^ "Feral Audio //Glowing Up with Esther and Caroline". Feralaudio.com. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  20. ^ "Search Results little esther ice house". Deathsquad.tv. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  21. ^ "Belgian Man Arrested in Los Angeles for Allegedly Stalking Comedian Esther Povitsky". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018.
  22. ^ "Pierre Van Lint, Belgian Man, Arrested For Allegedly Stalking Comedian Esther Povitsky". HuffPost. Associated Press. February 29, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  23. ^ Petski, Denise (July 5, 2016). "Freeform Greenlights 'Alone Together' Comedy Pilot From Lonely Island". Deadline. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  24. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (December 15, 2016). "Freeform Greenlights The Lonely Island's Comedy 'Alone Together'". Variety. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  25. ^ Pedersen, Erik (October 18, 2017). "The Lonely Island's 'Alone Together' Gets Season 2 Renewal Ahead Of January Premiere On Freeform". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  26. ^ a b Braxton, Greg (July 16, 2020). "She was a rising star of L.A.'s comedy scene. Then COVID-19 halted comedy altogether". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020.
  27. ^ a b Symons, Alex (2023). Women Comedians in the Digital Age (1st ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-003-26868-0. OCLC 1349461077.
  28. ^ Oltuski, Romy (July 16, 2020). "Please Pay Attention to Esther Povitsky (Please?)". Elle.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  29. ^ Povitsky, Esther (April 7, 2024). "Hard launching our baby girl, Ace King, born 3/30/24 💗🫶🏼♾️". Instagram. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  30. ^ a b c "Esther Povitsky Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  31. ^ "Weird Adults with Little Esther". Stitcher. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018.
  32. ^ "Weird Adults with Little Esther". TuneIn. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020.
  33. ^ Manders, Hayden (September 1, 2017). "THE GLOWING UP GIRLS' GUIDE TO FAKING THAT COOL GIRL L.A. GLOW". Nylon. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020.
  34. ^ "My Pleasure on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  35. ^ "Trash Tuesday w/ Annie, & Esther, & Khalyla". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
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