Zarna Garg (born 1975) is an Indian-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 ...

and screenwriter. CNBC called her "the zany, outspoken voice of the Indian American woman."

Early life, family and education

Garg was born in India. She lived in Mumbai as a teenager. Her mother died of

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving abnormal heme meta ...

when Garg was fourteen. Her father demanded that Garg get married the day after the death. Rather than have an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

, Garg moved out of the house and stayed with friends and family. Eventually, she immigrated to the US, relocating to live with her sister in Akron, Ohio. She earned a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Akron, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the

Case Western Reserve University School of Law Case Western Reserve University School of Law is one of eight schools at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the first schools accredited by the American Bar Association. It is a member of the Association of American ...

. After being a stay-at-home mother for 16 years, she was encouraged by her children to try stand-up comedy.

Career

Garg first performed at an open mic in New York City in 2018, and her first official standup show was in February 2019 at Carolines on Broadway in New York City. Her debut romantic comedy screenplay ''Rearranged'' won the Best Comedy Screenplay Award at the 2019

Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers’ creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the ...

, and was also a 2019 Academy Nicholl Fellowships Semi-Finalist. In 2021, Garg won Kevin Hart's comedy competition on Peacock, ''Lyft Comics''. She also won the Ladies of Laughter Award in the Newcomer Winner category. In 2022 she was highlighted as "one of the gutsiest women comedians in America" in ''Gutsy'' on

Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

, hosted by Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. She appeared on '' Tamron Hall'', '' Today'', and '' This American Life'' to discuss how her daughter Zoya inspired her to start her stand up comedy career. She then made a second appearance on This American Life appearance with her husband, Shalabh. In 2023, Garg hosted the National Women's History Museum's Women Making History Awards. Her first comedy special
''Zarna Garg: One in a Billion''
was released on Prime Video on May 16, 2023. It was filmed in September 2022 at Gramercy Theatre in New York City. "Quick set-ups, rapid-fire punchlines ... Garg has the kind of presence that powers network sitcoms." - Jason Zinoman, The New York Times. Garg has produced and published her family podcast
The Zarna Garg Show
which airs on all major podcast platforms including YouTube, Spotify, and Apple. She is starring i
"A Nice Indian Boy"
as the mother of the Gavaskar family. The film is premiering on

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

. Garg made he
late night debut
on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in January 2024, where she performed her new set at their New York City set. She is currently opening for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's tour and touring her next stand-up hour, "Practical People Win," in the US and internationally. She is also touring her hit podcast "The Zarna Garg Show".

Personal life

In 1998 Zarna married Shalabh Garg in the USA. They met on an online platform. They have three children together and live in New York City.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garg, Zarna 20th-century births Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indian emigrants to the United States American stand-up comedians Comedians from New York City 21st-century American comedians American women comedians American women screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters Screenwriters from New York (state) Writers from New York City University of Akron alumni Case Western Reserve University School of Law alumni American comedians of Indian descent Comedians from Ohio