Benito Skinner (born November 3, 1993) is an American comedian and actor. He is known for his online persona Benny Drama, and performs celebrity impressions, skits, and original characters on platforms such as

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, YouTube, and

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. In 2025, Skinner created and starred in '' Overcompensating'' for

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Early life and education

Skinner was born and raised in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, and attended Bishop Kelly High School. His family is

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, but he has said they "weren't really practicing". While a senior in high school, Skinner founded the nonprofit OATHS, which stands for Organization Assisting the Homeless Student, and was recognized at the 2011 National Philanthropy Day Idaho. He also played on Bishop Kelly's football team as a wide receiver. Some of his early comedic inspirations were

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

in his role as '' Mrs. Doubtfire'', and ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. While he would perform renditions of

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

and

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

songs for his family, he has discussed repressing some of his early proclivities toward performance and comedy due to bullying and homophobic comments. He went on to attend

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in Washington, D.C., where he studied acting, English, and film and media studies. In college, Skinner began experimenting with performance in the form of recorded lip syncs and other videos. He had created the @BennyDrama7 Instagram account in high school – with the "7" referencing his football jersey number – but only began to post comedic videos while in college. While at Georgetown, Skinner was also the co-creator and host of BEAT$, a weekly campus radio show known for its pop music stylings.

Career

After graduating, Skinner worked as a video editor while continuing to create online content. In 2016, Skinner made his social media accounts public, and this early work developed into comedy videos on

and YouTube. He is known for his celebrity impressions such as

Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes ( , ; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian singer. He gained a following in 2013 when he posted song covers on the video-sharing platform Vine (software), Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manage ...

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, and

Kourtney Kardashian Kourtney Kardashian Barker (born Kourtney Mary Kardashian, April 18, 1979) is an American media personality and socialite. In 2007, she and her family began starring in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians''. Its suc ...

, as well as for original characters such as Jenni the Hairdresser. He has described his work as fully rooted in pop culture. In 2018, he performed his debut show "Overcompensating" at Carolines on Broadway to a sold-out audience at the New York Comedy Festival. He hosted the pop culture podcast ''Obsessed'' with Mary Beth Barone on Spotify for one season and 50 episodes. Skinner and Barone launched a new pop culture podcast, ''Ride,'' in 2023. In 2024, Skinner starred in Chelsea Peretti's first feature '' First Time Female Director.'' In 2025, he hosted the Press Conference organized by

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for Lady Gaga's '' Mayhem'' album release and interviewed the singer. The same year, Skinner created the series '' Overcompensating'' for

Personal life

Skinner is gay, and came out in his senior year of college. He has been in a relationship with director and photographer Terrence O'Connor since 2016. They reside in Los Angeles, California. They are known for their elaborate and carefully constructed annual couples' Halloween costumes.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Benito 1993 births 21st-century American LGBTQ people American gay actors American LGBTQ comedians American male comedians American sketch comedians Comedians from Idaho Gay comedians Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences alumni Living people