Sierra Lynn Katow is an American

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 ...

, actress, writer and

podcaster A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. ...

Early life

Sierra Lynn Katow was born to Vincent and Corinne Katow at the

Huntington Memorial Hospital Huntington may refer to: Places Canada * Huntington, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Huntington, New Zealand a suburb in Hamilton, New Zealand United Kingdom * Huntington, Cheshire, England * Huntington, East Lothian, Scotland * Huntington, ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

and is a fourth-generation American of Chinese and Japanese heritage. She grew up in La Cañada in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

. Katow attended La Cañada Elementary School,

La Cañada High School La Cañada High School is a combined junior-senior high school located in La Cañada Flintridge, California, US. It sits at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, below the Angeles National Forest, in the City of La Cañada Flintridge. The schoo ...

, and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where she was part of a number of comedy groups including the Harvard College Stand-Up Comic Society and vice-president of ''

The Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates ...

''; and from 2013 to 2014 a cartoonist for ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...

'', and graduated with a degree in

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

in 2016. While attending college, Katow performed in and around

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and around Hollywood when home on summer break, and participated in a ''Lampoon''

roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization ...

of and award ceremony for

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...

in 2015.

Career

Katow began performing at comedy clubs at the age of 16, and broke into the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

stand-up industry during high school. During college she often performed at open mics at comedy clubs in the

area, and through this organised further gigs with fellow comedians while backstage. She was the youngest comedian to feature on Season 9 of ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' was an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group ...

'' (2015), which she auditioned for during her junior year, and has also performed stand-up on television in ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''Th ...

'', ''Just For Laughs Digital'', ''Laughs'' (on Fox) and ''Acting Out'' (

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

). In 2020, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' announced Katow was joining the cast of the

Chris Blake Chris Blake is a Welsh international lawn and indoor bowler. Bowls career He won a silver medal in the fours at the 1996 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Adelaide. He won the 1994 triples title and 2001 pairs title at the Welsh National Bo ...

quarantine comedy, '' Distancing Socially''. The film was shot at the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in 2020, using remote technologies and the iPhone 11. The film was acquired and released by Cinedigm in October 2021. In 2021, Katow voiced two characters in

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Raya and the Last Dragon ''Raya and the Last Dragon'' ( ) is a 2021 American computer-animated fantasy action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 59th film produced by the studio, it wa ...

'' and appeared as recurring character Evangeline in Mindy Kaling's ''

The Sex Lives of College Girls ''The Sex Lives of College Girls'' is an American teen comedy-drama streaming television series created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble that premiered on HBO Max on November 18, 2021. In December 2021, the series was renewed for a second seas ...

'' on

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

. Katow will create a short adult animated series to feature on ''

Cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...

'' on

FXX FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and fe ...

in 2022. Katow has written for '' Take My Wife''; ''

Drop the Mic ''Drop the Mic'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on October 24, 2017, airing on TBS for its first two seasons before moving to TNT for its third season on January 23, 2019. The show is based on a rec ...

''; ''

Earth to Ned ''Earth to Ned'' is an American television show on Disney+ that streamed in 20 episodes from September 4, 2020, to January 1, 2021. It stars Ned, an alien from outer space, who comes to Earth on a mission to invade it, but upon arriving, falls in ...

'' and ''

Close Enough ''Close Enough'' is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel. Originally intended to air on TBS in 2017, the project faced various delays and setbacks before eventually premiering on HBO Max on July 9, 2020. The series has received ...

'' on

; ''The Wedding Coach'' on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

; and ''Eureka!'' on

Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven yea ...

. She has also been involved in several projects with

Wong Fu Productions Wong Fu Productions is an American filmmaking group founded by Wesley Chan (born April 27, 1984), Ted Fu (born October 26, 1981), and Philip Wang (born October 28, 1984). The trio met at the University of California, San Diego in 2004 and prod ...

, including appearing in and writing for the series ''Dating After College''. She also appeared as

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...

in the Screen Junkies web production ''The Roast of Beauty and the Beast'' in 2017. She co-hosted the comedy podcast ''SCUSSION with SCLARQ + SKATOW'' with fellow comedian and Harvard alumnus Sam Clark in 2016. Katow is the host of the podcast ''Stay Podsitive with Sierra Katow'', which she started in 2019. Outside of comedy, Katow does freelance work as a full-stack web developer.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katow, Sierra Living people American writers of Japanese descent American writers of Chinese descent People from Pasadena, California Writers from Los Angeles Harvard College alumni The Harvard Lampoon alumni The Harvard Crimson people American podcasters American women podcasters American actresses of Japanese descent American film actors of Chinese descent American comedians of Asian descent 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians Comedians from California American actresses of Chinese descent American film actresses American stand-up comedians American television actresses American television writers American women comedians Year of birth missing (living people) American film actors of Japanese descent