Amber Preston is a

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

originally from

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and now living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 2011, comic

Marc Maron Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...

named her one of his five top comedians to watch, calling her a "brassy gal ... who could play a one-nighter at a bowling alley or a 1,000-seat theater and just nail it." In 2018, entertainment website

Thrillist Thrillist is an online media website covering food, drink, travel and entertainment. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in New York City, United States. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands '' The Dodo'', NowThis News ...

named her one of the best undiscovered comedians in America. Her debut album, ''Sparkly Parts'', was released April 17, 2020, on

Stand Up! Records Stand Up! Records is an American independent comedy record label founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Grammy-winning producer Dan Schlissel. It has been called "the country's most respected indie comedy label." Stand Up! has released more than 20 ...

, debuting at No. 1 on both the Amazon and iTunes comedy charts.

Early life

Preston grew up in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

and graduated from

West Fargo High School West Fargo High School is a public high school located in West Fargo, North Dakota. It serves about 2,000 students and is a part of the West Fargo Public Schools system. The school colors are green and white and the athletic teams are known as ...

in 1996. She is related to television accordionist and bandleader

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, tele ...

, a topic she has joked about in her standup. She moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in the late 1990s, where she earned a theater degree from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. In 2014, she moved to Los Angeles to concentrate on her standup and acting career.

Career

Preston began performing standup shortly after college. Her comedy is often autobiographical, and includes topics such as her Upper Midwest accent and Fargo upbringing. A lifelong fan of pop group

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

, Preston will sometimes read aloud onstage from a series of novels published in the early 1990s in which the group has adventures in the mode of the

Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterpa ...

. She was the 2011 winner of the Best of the Midwest competition at Gilda's Laughfest in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was a finalist in the 2012 Great American Comedy Festival competition held in

Norfolk, Nebraska Norfolk ( or ) is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 83 miles west of Sioux City at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,210 at the 2010 census, making it the nint ...

, hometown of

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

. In 2011, she was named one of the top 100 creative people in Minneapolis by ''

City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...

''. Preston and comic

Andy Erikson Andrea "Andy" Erikson (born February 6, 1987) is a stand-up comedian known as one of the top five finalists on the 2015 season of the TV show ''Last Comic Standing''. In addition she is outspoken against misogyny in comedy, Marfan syndrome, Marf ...

(a fellow Minnesota transplant) co-host a weekly comedy showcase, Punchline Punchout, at the

Hollywood Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. History Originally, it was a single venue founded in 19 ...

in Los Angeles; similar to a game show in format, the showcase gives comics 10 minutes to come up with punchlines on a given topic.

Discography

*''Sparkly Parts'' (

, 2020) Because of the coronavirus quarantine, Preston livestreamed a comedy set from her home in lieu of a traditional record-release show for ''Sparkly Parts''. Reviewer Richard Lanoie, writing on The Serious Comedy Site, called ''Sparkly Parts'' "a hoot to listen to" with "no weak moments."

Filmography

Preston starred in the 2019 short film ''The Poacher'', which screened at the 2020 Los Angeles Short Film Festival, Culver City Film Festival, and Yucca Valley Film Festival.

Other work

Podcast appearances

''WTF with Marc Maron'', Episode 1132: Amber Preston, J-L Cauvin (June 18, 2020)

''Stuffed Animal Party'', Episode 3: Erik Allen is a Real Doctor (March 22, 2013)

WTF with Marc Maron ''WTF with Marc Maron'' is a weekly podcast and radio show hosted by stand-up comedian Marc Maron. The show was launched in September 2009. The show is produced by Maron's former Air America co-worker Brendan McDonald. Background The show's ti ...

'', Episode 292: Live From Gilda's Laughfest (June 28, 2012)

''WTF with Marc Maron'', Episode 576: Whitney Cummings, Shelby Fero, Pamela Adlon, Desi Jedeikin, Amber Preston (Feb. 12, 2015)

''Magnotronic'', Episode 315: Amber Preston (June 11, 2015)

''The Dork Forest with

Jackie Kashian Jackie Kashian (born July 20, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian. Early life and career Kashian, who is of Armenian and Irish descent, was born in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised by her father, Elliot, and her stepmother, Nancy, along ...

'', Episode 293: Live From the Bridgetown Comedy Festival (June 10, 2015)

''Lady to Lady'', Episode 130: Outrage Du Jour ft. Amber Preston (June 24, 2015)

''Probably Science'', Episode 178 with Amber Preston! (Sept. 9, 2015)

''Obsessed with Joseph Scrimshaw'', Episode 92: Amber Preston on New Kids on the Block (Jan. 7, 2016)

''Magnotronic'', Episode 626: Amber Preston (March 11, 2017)

''Middle Of Somewhere'', Winnipeg Vance and Amber Preston (March 30, 2020)

References

External links

Official Amber Preston website
* *
Amber Preston at Stand Up! Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Amber Living people American stand-up comedians American women comedians 21st-century American comedians Comedians from North Dakota Comedians from Minnesota People from Fargo, North Dakota University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Stand Up! Records artists Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women