Esther Povitsky

Last updated
Esther Povitsky
Esther Povitsky 2015.jpg
Povitsky in 2015
Born (1988-03-02) March 2, 1988 (age 34)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other namesLittle Esther
Education University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (did not finish)
Occupation
  • Writer
  • actor
  • comedian
  • producer
Years active2008–present
Known for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Alone Together

Esther Povitsky (born March 2, 1988), [1] [2] sometimes known by the stage name "Little Esther", is an American actress and comedian. She is the co-creator and star of the comedy series Alone Together (2018), and stars as Izzy in the Hulu series Dollface as of 2019. Her debut comedy special, Hot for My Name, premiered on Comedy Central on July 17, 2020.

Contents

Early life and education

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

Following high school, Povitsky attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign for three years before dropping 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 subsequently studied comedy at iO Chicago and The Second City in Chicago before relocating to Los Angeles, where she took classes with The Groundlings. [12] In Los Angeles, Povitsky has performed regularly at The Comedy Store, The Ice House, and The Improv. [13] [14]

Career

2012–2014: Early projects

Povitsky recurred as Maya on the series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend from 2016 until 2019. Other television appearances include Brooklyn Nine-Nine , Love, and Parks and Recreation. Povitsky also survived several rounds of 2015's Last Comic Standing (season 9). [15]

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

In 2015, Povitsky wrote, starred in, and produced the short film Alone Together. The short was later adapted into a pilot for Freeform, 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] 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]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2008 The Express: The Ernie Davis Story Teen ModelUncredited
2010AprilVal MonroeShort film
2011All in AllNicoleShort film
2011The EaterSandyShort film
2014My Daughter's BoyfriendSara MartinsonShort film
2015Alone TogetherEstherShort film
2015What a Nice PartyShort film
2016Worst BirthdayShort film
2018 Dude Alicia
2021 Mark, Mary & Some Other People Esther
2021 Home Sweet Home Alone Daisy Breckin

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2010–2011 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Little sister / Bristol Palin / Jimmy's SisterGuest role; 3 episodes
2011 New Girl KrystalEpisode: "Bells"
2012 Daddy Knows Best BabysitterEpisode: "The Babysitter"
2013 Parks and Recreation JulieEpisode: "Swing Vote"
2013–2015 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson HerselfGuest role; 2 episodes [27]
2013 Last Call with Carson Daly HerselfGuest appearance [27]
2013 Brody Stevens: Enjoy It! HerselfRecurring role; 3 episodes
2013 Adam Devine's House Party HerselfEpisode: "Space Jump II" [27]
2014 Talking Marriage with Ryan Bailey HerselfEpisode: "Comedians in Car Ports"
2014Esther With Hot ChicksHerselfWeb series (3 episode run for MTV)
2014Pound HousePhone GirlRecurring role; 2 episodes
2014Hope and RandyHopeTelevision mini-series
2014 Key and Peele CassieEpisode: "Alien Impostors"
2014Six Guys One CarPawn Shop GirlRecurring role; 2 episodes
2015 Difficult People Cissy DonatoEpisode: "The Children's Menu"
2015 Candidly Nicole HerselfEpisode: "Ex-Girlfriend"
2015–2017Cocktales with Little EstherHerselfWeb series; host
2015–2016 @midnight HerselfGuest appearance; 4 episodes [27]
2016 Workaholics JordanaEpisode: "Save the Cat"
2016 Lady Dynamite Kristy CoombsEpisode: "Loaf Coach"
2016 The Amazing Gayl Pile JennyRecurring role; 3 episodes
2016 Brooklyn Nine-Nine EmilyEpisode: "Coral Palms: Part 2" [27]
2016 Not Safe with Nikki Glaser HerselfEpisode: "I'm the Boat"
2016–2018 Love AlexisGuest role; 3 episodes
2016–2019 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend MayaRecurring role; 19 episodes
2018 Alone Together EstherMain role; 20 episodes; also co-creator, executive producer
2018 Late Night with Seth Meyers HerselfEpisode: "Leslie Jones/Tracy Letts/Esther Povitsky/John Stanier"
2018 Harry HerselfGuest appearance
2018The Story of our TimesCandaceTelevision film
2019 Shrill KaylaEpisode: "Pencil"
2019–2022 Dollface IzzyMain role
2021 iCarly BrookeEpisode: "iTake a Girls Trip" and Writer for "iMLM"

Comedy specials

YearTitleNotesRef.
2020Hot for My NamePremiered on Comedy Central [26]

Podcasts

YearTitleNotesRef.
2011–2014Brode & EstherCo-hosted with Brody Stevens [17]
2012–2017Weird Adults with Little EstherInterview-style podcast [28] [29]
2017–presentGlowing UpBeauty and lifestyle-themed podcast; co-hosted with Caroline Goldfarb [30]
2020–presentEsther ClubSolo podcast [31]
2021–presentTrash Tuesday (formerly Bloodbath)Co-hosted with Annie Lederman and Khalyla Kuhn [32]
2021Edith!Plays Trudie Grayson

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References

  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". 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 – 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. 1 2 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" . 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 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  16. ↑ "Search Results piecast". Deathsquad.tv. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  17. 1 2 "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". The Huffington Post . 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 (2016-12-15). "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. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 4 5 "Esther Povitsky Credits". TV Guide . Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Weird Adults with Little Esther". Stitcher. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Weird Adults with Little Esther". TuneIn. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020.
  30. ↑ 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.
  31. ↑ "Esther Club with Esther Povitsky". Apple Podcasts . Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Trash Tuesday w/ Annie, & Esther, & Khalyla". Apple Podcasts . Retrieved December 30, 2021.
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