Debra DiGiovanni (born March 21, 1972) is a Canadian

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a 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-liners, stories, ...

originally from

Tillsonburg Tillsonburg is a town in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada with a population of 18,615 located about 50 kilometres southeast of London, on Highway 3 at the junction of Highway 19. History Prior to European settlement, the present site of Tills ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. She is a frequent guest on the

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined belo ...

program ''The Debaters'', for which she earned a

Canadian Comedy Award The Canadian Comedy Awards (CCA) is an annual ceremony that awards the Beaver for achievements in Canadian comedy in live performance, radio, film, television, and Internet media. The awards were founded and produced by Tim Progosh in 2000. T ...

nomination for writing. Her previous work includes being a regular contributor to Much’s '' Video on Trial'' series and its spinoff ''

Stars on Trial ''Stars on Trial'' is a MuchMusic television special based on the MuchMusic television program '' Video on Trial''. It premiered in late December 2005, as part of the network's annual "Holiday Wrap." ''Stars on Trial'' uses basically the same conc ...

'', as well as a permanent panelist on

The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy and formerly known as The Comedy Network) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming. The channel first launched on Octob ...

’s Canadian revival of ''Match Game'', among other things.

Personal life

Debra DiGiovanni was born in

Pointe-Claire, Quebec Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 cen ...

, on March 21, 1972. She is of Italian descent, and was raised in a big Italian family. She grew up in

Tillsonburg, Ontario Tillsonburg is a town in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada with a population of 18,615 located about 50 kilometres southeast of London, on Highway 3 at the junction of Highway 19. History Prior to European settlement, the present site of Tills ...

. DiGiovanni began her studies in university pursuing

fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

, though she admits it was not a fit for her.

Career

DiGiovanni's comedy career began at the age of 27 with the help of

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

's inaugural year of their Comedy Writing and Performance course in 1999. Three months into enrolling in the program, she was on stage for the first time. She credits

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

and ''Laverne & Shirley'' (starring

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

and

Cindy Williams Cynthia Jane Williams (born August 22, 1947) is an American actress and producer, known for her role as Shirley Feeney on the television sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1975–1979), and ''Laverne & Shirley'' (1976–1982). Early life Williams was bo ...

) as some of her inspirations. "I watched these women be funny and secretly wanted to do that myself." In 2002, she won the

for the Best Stand-up Newcomer in Stand Up. In 2003, ''NOW Magazine'' named her headline show as the 3rd Best of the Year. In 2005, she made her first appearance at the Just for Laughs Festival where she was invited on a cross-Canada tour opening for

Russell Peters Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970) is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and producer. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and won a Gemini Award in 2008. In 2013, he was number three on ''Forbes'' list of the world's highe ...

. In 2007, 2009, and 2011, she won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Female Stand Up. She was previously a contributor on the popular Much show '' Video on Trial'' and its spinoff ''

''. In 2007, she appeared in the fifth season 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 grou ...

''. By winning an audition in Montreal, she was selected to participate in a semifinal qualifying round in Hollywood, making it to the top 10 finalist. She participated in the show until she was eliminated and placed 8th. Also that year, she hosted the Canadian New Media Awards and the Canadian Comedy Awards. In July 2008, she appeared on '' eTalk'', interviewing contestants on the sixth season of ''

Canadian Idol ''Canadian Idol'' is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show '' Pop Idol''. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Do ...

''. She also hosted the

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scul ...

alongside

Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian–American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Rita Wu on the HBO comedy '' Arliss'' (1996–2002), Dr. Cristina Yang on the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005 ...

, as well as one night of the

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

s in 2008. From 2010, she was a permanent panelist on

’s Canadian revival of ''Match Game''. On February 27, 2018, she performed on '' Conan''."Debra DiGiovanni Watches Too Many Horror Movies - CONAN on TBS"
TBS, February 27, 2018. In 2019, her comedy album ''Lady Jazz'' received a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

nomination for Comedy Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2019."Shawn Mendes and the Weeknd lead the 2019 Juno nominations"

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

, January 29, 2019. In 2022, she was a contestant on '' LOL: Last One Laughing Canada''.David Friend
"Tom Green, Andrew Phung vie to be ‘last one laughing’ on Canadian reality competition"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...

'', January 12, 2022. She is presently a frequent guest on the

program ''The Debaters'', for which she earned a

nomination for writing.

Filmography

Television

Comedy specials

Awards

* 2001: Nominated for

Cream of Comedy ''Cream of Comedy'' was an annual award show broadcast by The Comedy Network that promoted emerging Canadian comedic talent in the early stage of their careers. The show was established in the memory of Toronto comedic performer Tim Sims and has r ...

award * 2002:

for the Best Stand-up Newcomer in Stand Up. * 2003: ''NOW Magazine'' named her headline show as the 3rd Best of the Year. * 2005: Nominated in the Canadian Comedy Awards * 2007, 2009, & 2011: Canadian Comedy Award for Best Female Stand Up. * 2009:

for best individual comedy performance * 2019: Her comedy album ''Lady Jazz'' received a

nomination for Comedy Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2019.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Digiovanni, Debra Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian stand-up comedians Last Comic Standing contestants Living people People from Pointe-Claire People from Tillsonburg Canadian women comedians Anglophone Quebec people 21st-century Canadian comedians Comedians from Ontario Canadian Comedy Award winners 1972 births