Atsuko Okatsuka | |
---|---|
Born | 1988 (age 35–36) Taiwan |
Medium | |
Years active | 2008–present |
Spouse | Ryan Harper Gray |
Website | https://atsukocomedy.com/ |
Atsuko Okatsuka ( /ˈɑːtskoʊ oʊˈkɑːtskə/ 岡塚 敦子, Okatsuka Atsuko) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer based in Los Angeles, California. [1] [2] She was named one of Variety's "Top 10 Comics to Watch" in 2022 and was the second Asian American woman to have a standup special on HBO. [3] [4] She started the viral #Dropchallenge with her grandmother. [5]
Atsuko was born in Taiwan to Japanese and Taiwanese parents, [6] and spent her childhood in Japan. At age eight, she moved to the United States with her mother and grandmother and lived undocumented for seven years. [7]
In 2020, Atsuko released her debut album with Comedy Dynamics, But I Control Me. [8] She hosted and executive produced Let's Go Atsuko, for the now defunct Quibi. [9] Paste said that her comedy style "has a childlike quality to it, with stage persona informed by a complex and challenging upbringing." [10]
Okatsuka notably performed a stand-up set during an earthquake at The Ice House comedy club in Pasadena, California, in 2019 which went viral. She was commended for keeping the audience calm and serving quick-witted jokes while the earthquake went on. [11]
She made her late-night debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden on November 1, 2021 which was praised by Vulture which said it "won late night" the week that it aired. [12]
In September 2022, Atsuko alongside Joel Kim Booster and EDM DJ Freya Fox, hosted a comedy special at Life is Beautiful 2022. [13] [14] [15]
Atsuko taught Chelsea Handler and Guillermo Rodriguez how to do her Drop Challenge as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2022. [16] She made Stephen Colbert laugh with silly Bible puns when she was on The Late Show in January 2023. She talks about how she discovered standup comedy through a Margaret Cho DVD, given to her by a friend during a boring sermon at church. [17]
On December 10, 2022 Atsuko's debut stand-up special The Intruder premiered on HBO and HBO Max, which The New York Times named Best Debut of 2022, [18] and Vulture listed as one of the Best Comedy Specials of 2022. [19] The show won best comedy special at the Gracie Awards and Variety listed her in their 2023 Comedy Impact Report. [20] [21]
Atsuko's life story of being kidnapped by her grandmother to come to the U.S. was told on This American Life in September 2023 in an episode titled The One Place I Can't Go. [22] She was featured in Vanity Fair November 2023 issue photographed by Mark Seliger playing the quarterback of a made-up football team while wearing couture. [23] She was profiled in PBS Newshour where she called the interviewer Amna Nawaz a 'fellow weirdo' and said that performing for people means finding community. [24] She was on the cover of New York Times Magazine with Margaret Cho where Margaret crowned Atsuko as her heir to comedy. [25]
Atsuko Okatsuka | |
---|---|
Born | 1988 (age 35–36) Taiwan |
Medium | |
Years active | 2008–present |
Spouse | Ryan Harper Gray |
Website | https://atsukocomedy.com/ |
Atsuko Okatsuka ( /ˈɑːtskoʊ oʊˈkɑːtskə/ 岡塚 敦子, Okatsuka Atsuko) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer based in Los Angeles, California. [1] [2] She was named one of Variety's "Top 10 Comics to Watch" in 2022 and was the second Asian American woman to have a standup special on HBO. [3] [4] She started the viral #Dropchallenge with her grandmother. [5]
Atsuko was born in Taiwan to Japanese and Taiwanese parents, [6] and spent her childhood in Japan. At age eight, she moved to the United States with her mother and grandmother and lived undocumented for seven years. [7]
In 2020, Atsuko released her debut album with Comedy Dynamics, But I Control Me. [8] She hosted and executive produced Let's Go Atsuko, for the now defunct Quibi. [9] Paste said that her comedy style "has a childlike quality to it, with stage persona informed by a complex and challenging upbringing." [10]
Okatsuka notably performed a stand-up set during an earthquake at The Ice House comedy club in Pasadena, California, in 2019 which went viral. She was commended for keeping the audience calm and serving quick-witted jokes while the earthquake went on. [11]
She made her late-night debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden on November 1, 2021 which was praised by Vulture which said it "won late night" the week that it aired. [12]
In September 2022, Atsuko alongside Joel Kim Booster and EDM DJ Freya Fox, hosted a comedy special at Life is Beautiful 2022. [13] [14] [15]
Atsuko taught Chelsea Handler and Guillermo Rodriguez how to do her Drop Challenge as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2022. [16] She made Stephen Colbert laugh with silly Bible puns when she was on The Late Show in January 2023. She talks about how she discovered standup comedy through a Margaret Cho DVD, given to her by a friend during a boring sermon at church. [17]
On December 10, 2022 Atsuko's debut stand-up special The Intruder premiered on HBO and HBO Max, which The New York Times named Best Debut of 2022, [18] and Vulture listed as one of the Best Comedy Specials of 2022. [19] The show won best comedy special at the Gracie Awards and Variety listed her in their 2023 Comedy Impact Report. [20] [21]
Atsuko's life story of being kidnapped by her grandmother to come to the U.S. was told on This American Life in September 2023 in an episode titled The One Place I Can't Go. [22] She was featured in Vanity Fair November 2023 issue photographed by Mark Seliger playing the quarterback of a made-up football team while wearing couture. [23] She was profiled in PBS Newshour where she called the interviewer Amna Nawaz a 'fellow weirdo' and said that performing for people means finding community. [24] She was on the cover of New York Times Magazine with Margaret Cho where Margaret crowned Atsuko as her heir to comedy. [25]