Katherine Louisa Ryan (born 30 June 1983) is a Canadian comedian, writer, presenter, and actress based in the United Kingdom. She has appeared on many British

panel show A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...

s, including as a regular team captain on '' 8 Out of 10 Cats'' and '' Never Mind the Buzzcocks'', '' A League of Their Own'', '' Mock the Week'', '' Would I Lie to You?'', '' QI'', '' Just a Minute, Safeword'', and '' Have I Got News for You''. In 2015, she replaced

Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist *Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...

as the presenter of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'' on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. As an actress, Ryan has appeared on numerous television series in the UK, including the sitcoms ''

Campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

'', '' Episodes'', and her Netflix show '' The Duchess''. As 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 ...

, Ryan has appeared on the BBC's '' Live at the Apollo'', both as a featured act and as a lead act. She has had two live stand-up specials released on Netflix: ''Katherine Ryan: In Trouble'' (2017) and '' Katherine Ryan: Glitter Room'' (2019).

Early life

Ryan's father, Finbar, is a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

and owner of an engineering company who originally emigrated from Ireland to Canada. Her mother Julie McCarthy is British/Canadian and owns an IT consulting company. Ryan and her two younger sisters were born and raised in

Sarnia, Ontario Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron flo ...

. The three siblings spent time in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland, visiting their paternal grandparents. Ryan's parents separated when she was a teenager. When she was 18, she decided to leave home and chose to study city planning at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in Toronto. While attending university, she worked at restaurant chain Hooters, and she then began training other waitresses. In her spare time she undertook open mic nights as an alternative form of personal entertainment, and by graduation, she had developed a basic comedic routine. She was one of the many dancers in MuchMusic's '' Electric Circus'' program.

Career

After graduation, Ryan continued working for Hooters as a corporate trainer, travelling around Canada to train other waitresses, and helping to open the then-only UK branch in Nottingham. Her partner at the time wanted to explore London, so she agreed to do so for an initial month from summer 2007, moving there permanently from January 2008.

As a comedian

Ryan won the

Funny Women Funny Women is an online and in-person workshop community dedicated to the support of female comedians. It was founded by Lynne Parker in 2002 as a reaction to misogynistic comments from a comedy promoter. Funny Women helps women find their voice, ...

award in 2008, Rachel Stubbings and Sara Pascoe were runners up. Ryan first appeared on television as herself in episodes of the Canadian music video review show '' Video on Trial'' between season one in 2005 and her last appearance in 2008 in season three. After relocating to England, she first appeared on Channel 4's '' 8 Out of 10 Cats'' in 2012. She had previously appeared in the cast of Channel 4's ''

''. On 23 February 2013, she appeared as a celebrity contestant on BBC One's '' Let's Dance for Comic Relief'' as Nicki Minaj dancing to "

Starships A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1882 in '' Oahspe: A Ne ...

". Ryan reached the final, and finished in fourth place. Ryan was later featured on the Whitney Cummings Just for Laughs 2013 Gala that was taped before a live audience on 28 July 2013. She has since taken new routines to the Edinburgh Festival. In 2015, Ryan replaced

as the presenter of ''

'' on

. Also in 2015, Ryan became a panellist for Tinie Tempah's team on Sky 1's music/comedy panel show '' Bring the Noise'' and on the

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...

show, '' Safeword''. In 2016, Ryan appeared on series 2 of '' Taskmaster''. She beat Doc Brown, Joe Wilkinson, Richard Osman and Jon Richardson, to win the season. Ryan went on a comedy tour in 2016, called ''Kathbum'', a name her toddler sister used to call her. In February 2017, Netflix released ''Katherine Ryan: In Trouble'', featuring her stand-up comedy live performance at the

Hammersmith Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ham ...

in London, during that tour. She joined Jimmy Carr in 2017 to host four series of the reboot of '' Your Face or Mine?''. In 2018, Ryan joined American comedy panel show, '' The Fix'' as a team captain. In July 2019, Netflix released her second live stand-up special, '' Katherine Ryan: Glitter Room''.

Actress

As an actress, Ryan has appeared on numerous television series in the UK, including the sitcoms ''

'', '' Episodes'' and '' Badults''. Ryan stars in the August 2020 season 1, Netflix comedy '' The Duchess,'' based on a single mother's life in London; she is credited as its writer, executive producer, and creator.

Other work

On 6 June 2014, YouTube comedy duo

Jack and Dean Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

released a music video for their song "Consent" featuring Ryan in an acting role. In 2015 and 2016 Ryan wrote a weekly column in the British entertainment magazine '' NME''. In 2016 she featured in Disney XD and Teletoon's animated television series '' Counterfeit Cat'', where she voiced Ranceford, the stuck-up, white, odd-eyed cat and leader of the Sunshine Circle for Cats. In 2021 Ryan hosted the six-part reality competition ''All That Glitters: Britain's Next Jewellery Star'' on BBC2. Also in 2021 she presented the

dating show ''

Ready to Mingle ''Ready to Mingle'' ( es, Solteras, lit=Singles) is a 2019 Mexican romantic comedy film directed by Luis Javier Henaine, written by Luis Javier Henaine, Alejandra Olvera Avila and starring Cassandra Ciangherotti, Gabriela de la Garza and Irán C ...

''. In November 2022 Ryan was the subject of an interview in the BBC series ''Louis Theroux Interviews...'' with Louis Theroux, during which she told Theroux about the "open secret" of an alleged sexual abuser who was a prominent TV personality.

Recognition

For her comedy work, Ryan won the 2008 Funny Women Award and was described as "the funniest new female stand up in Britain" by a national newspaper.

Personal life

Ryan has previously dated British actor and TV presenter

Jeff Leach Jeff Alexander Leach (born 12 February 1984) is an English actor, writer and stand-up comedian. He has also worked as a television and radio presenter with shows airing in the UK, USA, Australia and Europe. He is most well known for appearing ...

and had a relationship with American comedian

Alex Edelman Alex Edelman (born March 20, 1989) is an American stand-up comedian based in New York City. He is an internationally touring comic and found early success in the United Kingdom where he was named Best Newcomer at the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe ...

. In 2019, Ryan entered into a civil partnership with Bobby Kootstra. The ceremony took place in Denmark in the presence of her daughter. The two had dated in Canada as teenagers and were reunited when Ryan returned to her hometown while filming an episode of the TV show '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' Ryan lives with her partner and daughter in Berkhamsted,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. Her second child, a son, was born in June 2021. In July 2022 Ryan announced that she was expecting her third child. In December 2022, she gave birth to her second daughter. Her family lives in London in a house described as "stunning" and "incredibly stylish"; ''

Hello! ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the ''Norwich C ...

'' magazine said, "With its double-height ceilings, beautiful garden space and modern interiors, it could rival a Kardashian pad." Ryan has been open about the

cosmetic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniofa ...

she has had. She had her first breast augmentation in her early 20s, while employed at Hooters, and then a second augmentation after a relationship ended. She has twice been treated for skin cancer.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Katherine 21st-century Canadian comedians 1983 births Canadian expatriates in England Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian stand-up comedians Canadian women comedians Comedians from Ontario Living people People from Crouch End People from Sarnia Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Hooters people