Felipe Esparza

Last updated
Felipe de Jesus Esparza
Born Sinaloa, Mexico
Medium Stand-up comedy. acting, podcasting
Years active1994–present [1]
Spouse
Lesa O'Daniel Esparza
​
​
(m. 2012)​
[1] [2]
Children4
Website felipesworld.com

Felipe de Jesus Esparza is a Mexican-born American stand-up comedian and actor. He began performing stand-up in 1994. He won Last Comic Standing in 2010. Felipe is currently on tour for his comedy show, "At My Leisure". In addition, Felipe hosts a weekly popular youtube podcast named "What's up Fool?"

Contents

Early life and education

Felipe Esparza was born in Sinaloa, Mexico. He lived on his mother's family's ranch in Sinaloa before moving with his family to live with his aunt in Tijuana, where they lived for about two years. His father had left the family to go to the United States alone. Eventually, before President Reagan's amnesty law, Esparza, his two brothers, and his mother illegally immigrated to the United States, traveling in the car of a "coyote" smuggler. During the trip, they were stopped at a checkpoint in San Clemente, California, and he was held in a holding cell with his brothers, separate from their mother, for a short period of time. The family was deported. They attempted the trip again, but they were stopped and deported again. They tried a third time, using the passports of cousins who lived in California. They changed cars twice and were driven to Carson, California. They were then moved to the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, where his father was living. [3] Esparza was raised in the Aliso Village housing projects of Boyle Heights. [4] He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School. [5]

Career

Esparza began performing stand-up in 1994 after a stint in drug rehab. [1] He won Last Comic Standing in 2010. Felipe's international comedy tour "At My Leisure" launched in 2024 and will continue through 2025. He has a popular podcast "What's up fool?" He has also acted in various TV shows and films.

Personal life

Felipe Esparza has been married to Lesa O'Daniel Esparza since 2014. [1] He became vegan in 2011. [6]

Filmography and discography

Stand-up comedy releases

Solo albums and TV specials
TitleRelease dateDebut medium
They're Not Gonna Laugh at YouJanuary 1, 2012Television (Showtime)
Rebound MaterialDecember 11, 2013 Audio streaming
Translate ThisSeptember 30, 2017Television (HBO)
Bad DecisionsSeptember 1, 2020 Streaming TV (Netflix)
Malas DecisionesSeptember 1, 2020
Raging FoolFebruary 11, 2025

Films

YearTitleRole
2003El matadorPablo [7]
2009The DeportedFernando
2010I'm Not Like That No MoreFelipe Valenzuela
2015The FixPablo
2016She's Allergic to CatsTow Truck Driver
2018Taco ShopMugres
2020 The Opening Act Cabbie Steve
2023 Blue Beetle Security Tech #3

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2014–2015,
2020–present		 The Eric Andre Show Himself6 episodes
2015The ShopFelipe7 episodes
2016Campus LawAlan2 episodes
2016–2018 Superstore Cody5 episodes
2020 Gentefied Crazy DaveRecurring role
2023 Royal Crackers Mexican Officer (voice)Episode: "Casa de Darby"
2025 Primos Churro (voice)Episode: "Summer of Silencio"
2025 Shifting Gears BobEpisode: "Grief"

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sager, Rebekah (September 12, 2017). "'Translate This': Comedian Felipe Esparza Finds the Funny in His Latino Identity". NBC News. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Basically how it happened... Happy 7th anniversary to my wife (& partner for the last 15 years) @lesainla. Let's keep going!". instagram.com.
  3. ↑ Rogan, Joe (July 31, 2018). "JRE #1150 - Felipe Esparza". The Joe Rogan Experience (Podcast). Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Ep 94 – Author Paul Hunt". felipesworld.com. March 18, 2018. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  5. ↑ Lee, Bobby; Kuhn, Khalyla (October 10, 2018). "Episode 163: Felipe Esparza Is Carnage Asada". TigerBelly (Podcast). Event occurs at 00:58:54. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.{{cite podcast}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Kelemen, Matt (February 16, 2018). "Q&A: Felipe Esparza". Las Vegas Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Felipe Esparza". IMDB. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
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