Felipe Esparza
Felipe de Jesus Esparza | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 11, 1976 |
| Spouse |
Lesa O'Daniel Esparza
(m. 2012) |
| Children | 4 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1994–present[1] |
| Medium | Stand-up comedy. acting, podcasting |
| Website | felipesworld |
Felipe de Jesus Esparza is a Mexican-born American stand-up comedian and actor. He began performing stand-up in 1994. He won Last Comic Standing in 2010. Felipe is currently on tour for his comedy show, "At My Leisure". In addition, Felipe hosts a weekly popular YouTube podcast named "What's up Fool?"
Early life and education
Felipe Esparza was born in Sinaloa, Mexico. He lived with his mother's family in Sinaloa before moving with his family to live with his aunt in Tijuana, where they lived for about two years. His father had left the family to go to the United States alone. Eventually, before President Reagan's amnesty law, Esparza, his two brothers, and his mother illegally immigrated to the United States. Eventually they made their way to the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, where his father was living and they were able to follow the path to citizenship.[3] Esparza was raised in the Aliso Village housing projects of Boyle Heights.[4] He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School.[5]
Career
Esparza began performing stand-up in 1994 after a stint in drug rehab.[1] He won Last Comic Standing in 2010. And grew in popularity ever since, fueled by 4 standup specials for HBO and Netflix and multiple sold out tours of comedy clubs and theaters.
Felipe is currently on his "Laughter Will Save Us" tour as of 2026
He also has several popular podcasts, including "What's up fool? Podcast", a laid back "hang" podcast that has showcased multiple comedians, actors, authors, musicians and artists since 2014. He also co-hosts "History for Foos Podcast" with fellow comedian Butch Escobar and "Do you Even Binge? Podcast", a movie/TV binge podcast with his wife, Lesa.
Various TV shows and film appearances, including Superstore (NBC/Hulu), The Eric Andre Show (Adult Swim), You People (Netflix with Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy), Blue Beetle (Xolo Maridueño, George Lopez), This Fool (Hulu), 7th and Union (with Omar Chapparro), and more.
Personal life
Felipe Esparza has been married to Lesa O'Daniel Esparza since 2014.[1] He became vegan in 2011.[6]
He has three children and one step child.
Filmography and discography
Stand-up comedy releases
| Title | Release date | Debut medium |
|---|---|---|
| They're Not Gonna Laugh at You | January 1, 2012 | Television (Showtime) |
| Rebound Material | December 11, 2013 | Audio streaming |
| Translate This | September 30, 2017 | Television (HBO) |
| Bad Decisions | September 1, 2020 | Streaming TV (Netflix) |
| Malas Decisiones | September 1, 2020 | |
| Raging Fool | February 11, 2025 |
Films
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | El matador | Pablo[7] |
| 2009 | The Deported | Fernando |
| 2010 | I'm Not Like That No More | Felipe Valenzuela |
| 2015 | The Fix | Pablo |
| 2016 | She's Allergic to Cats | Tow Truck Driver |
| 2018 | Taco Shop | Mugres |
| 2020 | The Opening Act | Cabbie Steve |
| 2023 | Blue Beetle | Security Tech #3 |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2015, 2020–2023 | The Eric Andre Show | Himself | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | The Shop | Felipe | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | Campus Law | Alan | 2 episodes |
| 2016–2018 | Superstore | Cody | 5 episodes |
| 2020 | Gentefied | Crazy Dave | Recurring role |
| 2023 | Royal Crackers | Mexican Officer (voice) | Episode: "Casa de Darby" |
| 2025 | Primos | Churro (voice) | Episode: "Summer of Silencio" |
| 2025 | Shifting Gears | Bob | Episode: "Grief" |
References
- 1 2 3 4 Sager, Rebekah (September 12, 2017). "'Translate This': Comedian Felipe Esparza Finds the Funny in His Latino Identity". NBC News. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ↑ "Basically how it happened... Happy 7th anniversary to my wife (& partner for the last 15 years) @lesainla. Let's keep going!". instagram.com.
- ↑ Rogan, Joe (July 31, 2018). "JRE #1150 - Felipe Esparza". The Joe Rogan Experience (Podcast). Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ↑ "Ep 94 – Author Paul Hunt". felipesworld.com. March 18, 2018. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ↑ Lee, Bobby; Kuhn, Khalyla (October 10, 2018). "Episode 163: Felipe Esparza Is Carnage Asada". TigerBelly (Podcast). Event occurs at 00:58:54. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
{{cite podcast}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Kelemen, Matt (February 16, 2018). "Q&A: Felipe Esparza". Las Vegas Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ↑ "Felipe Esparza". IMDB. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- Living people
- 1976 births
- American male comedians
- American stand-up comedians
- Comedians from Los Angeles
- Last Comic Standing winners
- Mexican emigrants to the United States
- Mexican expatriate male actors in the United States
- Mexican male comedians
- People from Boyle Heights, Los Angeles
- People from Sinaloa
- Hispanic and Latino American male comedians
- Hispanic and Latino American stand-up comedians
- American comedian stubs
- Mexican entertainer stubs
- Comedian stubs