Zainab Johnson is an American comedian and actress. She is best known as a semi-finalist on NBC's ''

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 ...

''. Johnson is a series regular on Amazon's ''Upload''.

Life and career

Johnson was born and raised in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, New York, one of 13 children. She was raised by her parents as a devout Muslim. She received her bachelor's degree in mathematics with the intention of becoming a teacher. Johnson later moved to Los Angeles to become an actress. She took a job as a production assistant for comedy shows and began to cultivate an interest in comedy. She gained wider visibility when she appeared on season 8 of ''

''. Johnson advanced as a semi-finalist. In 2016, Johnson appeared on the HBO special '' All Def Comedy''. In 2017, it was announced that a project created and starring Johnson was in development via

Wanda Sykes Wanda Yvette Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on ''The Chris Rock Show'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, ''Entertainm ...

' production company at

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. That year, she co-starred in the web series ''Avant-Guardians'', opposite series creator Alesia Etinoff. She was named to ''

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), ...

''s 10 Comics to Watch for 2019. Johnson co-hosts the Netflix series ''

100 Humans ''100 Humans'' is a 2020 streaming television series. The premise revolves around 100 people who go through different experiments on the theme of behavior. It is based on the Dutch TV program '' Het Instituut'', broadcast in 2016 and 2017. Cast ...

''. She also has a recurring role in the 2020 Amazon series, ''

Upload Uploading refers to ''transmitting'' data from one computer system to another through means of a network. Common methods of uploading include: uploading via web browsers, FTP clients], and computer terminal, terminals (SCP/ SFTP). Uploading c ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women comedians African-American female comedians African-American actresses Comedians from New York City People from Harlem American Muslims 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people American stand-up comedians {{US-comedian-stub