Iliza Shlesinger

Iliza Shlesinger
Shlesinger in 2017 on stage
Born (1983-02-22) February 22, 1983 (age 40)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materEmerson College
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • actress
  • television host
Spouse
Noah Galuten
(m. 2018)
Children1

Iliza Vie Shlesinger (/ɪˈlaɪzə ˈʃlɛsɪŋɡər/ il-EYE-zə SHLESS-ing-gər; born (1983-02-22)February 22, 1983) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and television host. She was the 2008 winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing and went on to host the syndicated dating show Excused from 2011 to 2013. As well, she has hosted the TBS game show Separation Anxiety.

In 2017, Shlesinger hosted her own late-night talk show called Truth & Iliza on Freeform. As of 2022, she has released six comedy specials on Netflix. Her sketch comedy show The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show premiered on Netflix in April 2020.

Early life

Iliza Vie Shlesinger[better source needed] was born on (1983-02-22)February 22, 1983 in New York City to a Jewish family. She was raised in Dallas, Texas, where her family moved when she was a baby. She attended the private Greenhill School in Addison, Texas, where she studied Spanish and participated in the school's improvisation team.

Shlesinger studied at the University of Kansas for one year, and participated in a Semester at Sea program. She transferred to Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, where she majored in film. There, she refined her writing and editing skills, and became a member of one of the campus's comedy sketch groups, Jimmy's Traveling All Stars.

Career

Shlesinger performing in 2017

Shlesinger performed with the ComedySportz Dallas, and after graduating from Emerson, moved to Los Angeles to pursue stand-up comedy. She was one of the most popular members of a group of standup comedians in Los Angeles, whiteboy comedy, which brought her to the stage at The Improv in Hollywood for the "Last Comic Standing" competition.

In 2007, Shlesinger won Myspace's So You Think You're Funny contest, and was featured as the G4 network's Myspace Girl of the Week. In 2008, she became the first woman, and the youngest, winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing, in the series' sixth season. She was twice selected by other comedians to compete in the head-to-head eliminations, winning each time. She appeared in The Last Comic Standing Tour.

Shlesinger worked with Lewis Black to contribute to Surviving the Holidays, a History Channel holiday special, and narrated the 2009 documentary Imagine It!² The Power of Imagination. In 2010, she released an on-demand comedy video, Man Up and Act Like a Lady, and an on-demand comedy album, iliza LIVE, on her website, via The ConneXtion. Around the time of these releases, Shlesinger appeared in a business comedy video series for Slate.

Shlesinger hosted The Weakly News on TheStream.tv from July 2007 to April 2012. She also hosted Excused, a syndicated American reality-based dating competition series, which ran from 2011 to 2013. She co-starred in the 2013 film Paradise. As of April 2023, she was continuing an advice podcast called Truth and Iliza, which she began in August 2014. Featuring celebrity guests and personal friends, the semi-weekly podcast is a forum for discussing matters which bother her and those on the show, with a punk theme song performed by Being Mean to Pixley.

Shlesinger was comic co-host of StarTalk Radio Show with Neil DeGrasse Tyson for season 7, episode 12 titled Cosmic Queries: Galactic Grab Bag on May 20, 2016. On July 13, 2016, the ABC's streaming service premiered Shlesinger's "new short-form digital comedy series", Forever 31. The series was created, written, and executive produced by, and starred Shlesinger. A late night show for Shlesinger was placed into development in September 2016 for the cable channel Freeform. Truth & Iliza began airing on May 2, 2017, and ran for six episodes.

Netflix

Shlesinger's first comedy album and video, War Paint, was recorded on December 1, 2012, at The Lakewood Theater in Dallas, Texas, and released on Netflix on September 1, 2013. Her second stand-up special, Freezing Hot, was recorded in Denver, Colorado, and premiered on Netflix on January 23, 2015. Her third Netflix stand-up special, titled Confirmed Kills, was recorded at The Vic Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, and premiered on Netflix on September 23, 2016. Her fourth Netflix stand-up special, Elder Millennial, was recorded aboard USS Hornet, at the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum in Alameda, California, on February 23, 2018, and premiered on Netflix on July 24, 2018. Her fifth Netflix stand-up special, Unveiled was recorded in Nashville and premiered on Netflix on Nov 19, 2019.

Shlesinger also stars in the March 2020 Netflix film Spenser Confidential, and The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show, which premiered April 1, 2020. Shlesinger has stated that she intentionally hired a diverse team of writers so her sketches would appeal to a racially diverse audience, also intending her comedy was not "just for women."

Released on Netflix on January 7, 2021, following its world premiere on September 4, 2020, at the 77th Venice International Film Festival, Shlesinger played Anita Weiss in Pieces of a Woman, the sister to Martha, the main character. She starred, wrote, and executive produced the romantic comedy film Good on Paper, which premiered on Netflix on June 23, 2021.

Her sixth stand-up comedy special Iliza Shlesinger: Hot Forever premiered on Netflix in October 2022.

Other television credits

Shlesinger's television credits include E! Network's Forbes Celebrity 100, TV Guide's America's Next Top Producer, Comedy Central Presents, John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show, Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed, and History Channel's History of a Joke. Shlesinger also had her own show on GOTV's mobile network.

Writing

Shlesinger has written for Heavy.com. On November 7, 2017, Weinstein Books published Shlesinger's book Girl Logic: The Genius and the Absurdity with an introduction by Mayim Bialik.

Personal life

In December 2017, it was reported Shlesinger was sued by a man who was denied admission to one of her girls-only shows. The initial complaint was dismissed and then refiled as a class action suit.

Shlesinger married chef Noah Galuten on May 12, 2018, in a Jewish ceremony in Los Angeles. They had a daughter in 2022.

Video works

Comedy specials

Year Title Distributor
2013 War Paint Netflix
2015 Freezing Hot Netflix
2016 Confirmed Kills Netflix
2018 Elder Millennial Netflix
2019 Unveiled Netflix
2022 Iliza Shlesinger: Hot Forever Netflix

Series

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Forever 31 Veronica Mini-series. Stars, also creator, written by, and executive producer.
2017 Girlboss Veronica Episode: "Top 8"
2020 The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show Various roles
2020 Crank Yankers Herself Episode: "Adam Carolla, Iliza Schlesinger & Demetri Martin"
2020 Robot Chicken Dr. Liz Wilson / Realtor Voice role; episode: "Max Caenen In: Why Would He Know If His Mother's a Size Queen"
2021 Bosch IA Lt. Kristine Klotz Episode: "Workaround"
2022 Dollface Herself Episode: "Space Cadet”
2022 Celebrity Jeopardy! Herself 2 episodes
2023 The Righteous Gemstones Shay Marigold

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Paradise Carol
2018 Instant Family October
2019 Iliza Shlesinger: Over And Over Self Documentary
2020 Spenser Confidential Cissy
Pieces of a Woman Anita Weiss
The Opening Act Val
2021 The Right One Kelly
Hysterical Herself Documentary film
Good on Paper Andrea Singer Stars. Also written by, and executive producer.
Supercool Victoria

This page was last updated at 2023-12-07 03:30 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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