Desiree Lea Burch (born January 26, 1979) is an American comedian, actress, television presenter, and voice actress. Originally from

Diamond Bar, California Diamond Bar is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The 2020 census listed a population of 55,072. It is one of a few cities in California with a majority Asian population (59.24% as of 2020). It is named after the ...

, Burch has also lived in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

and

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

, having moved to London to live with her boyfriend Samy Ouarkoub in 2014. She won the

Funny Women Funny Women is an online and in-person workshop community dedicated to the support of female comedians. It was founded by Lynne Parker (Funny Women), Lynne Parker in 2002 as a reaction to misogynistic comments from a comedy promoter. Funny Women h ...

title in 2015 having completed an arduous series of gigs around the UK. She followed up this success with five-star reviews and a

Fringe First The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

Award for her one-woman, self-written show, ''Tar Baby'' at the 2015

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

Early life and education

Burch was born in

and attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

where she earned a bachelor's degree majoring in

Theatre Studies Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also enco ...

. After university, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where she became a founding member of the New York Neo-Futurists, and performed regularly as a stand-up comedian and actress on the New York comedy circuit. In 2014 she moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where she achieved wider acclaim in television following her win in the annual

competition in the following year, and Fringe First Award for her self written, one-woman show, ''Tar Baby''. She later became the founding Artistic Director of Degenerate Fox Theatre with

Kate Jones Kate Jennifer Jones (born 10 April 1979) is an Australian former politician. She served as a Labor Party Member of Parliament in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2006 to 2012, and again from 2015 to 2020. Jones first represented th ...

Career

Burch has appeared on '' Live at the Apollo'', ''

Have I Got News for You ''Have I Got News for You'' (''HIGNFY'') is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme focuses on two teams, one usually captained by Ian Hislop and one ...

'', '' QI'', '' The Mash Report'', '' The Russell Howard Hour'', '' The Fake News Show'', '' Chris Ramsey's Stand Up Central'', '' Frankie Boyle's New World Order'', ''

Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presenter Dara Ó Briain and pan ...

'', ''American Autopsy'', ''

Richard Osman's House of Games ''Richard Osman's House of Games'' is a British quiz show hosted by Richard Osman and produced by Banijay UK Productions subsidiary Remarkable Entertainment for the BBC. The show is played on a weekly basis, with four celebrities playing on f ...

'' and '' Would I Lie to You?''. She also plays Pamela Winchell, the former Mayor of Night Vale and current Head of Emergency Press Conferences, in ''

Welcome to Night Vale ''Welcome to Night Vale'' is an absurdist supernatural fiction podcast created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. It is presented as a community radio show in the fictional American desert town of Night Vale, with the eccentric local radio ho ...

''. In 2021, Desiree Burch was set to co-star with

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

in the Kartoon Channel series '' Superhero Kindergarten''. Later that same year, she was in the Netflix movie ''

A Castle for Christmas ''A Castle for Christmas'' is a 2021 American Christmas by medium, Christmas romantic comedy film directed by Mary Lambert (director), Mary Lambert. The film was released on November 26, 2021, by Netflix. Plot Best-selling American author Sophi ...

'' starring Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes. Burch hosts '' Flinch'', a physical game show on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, alongside

Seann Walsh Sean Christopher Walsh (born 2 December 1985), known professionally as Seann Walsh, is an English stand-up comedian and actor. Early life Walsh was born in Camden in London, but was brought up in Brighton. He left school with one GCSE examin ...

, and

Lloyd Griffith Lloyd Griffith is an English comedian, actor, presenter and singer from Grimsby, England, and was a presenter on Sky Sports show ''Soccer AM'' until the end of the 2018–19 Premier League, 2018–19 season. Career Lloyd Griffith originally tra ...

, which debuted in May 2019. ''Desiree's Coming Early'' was a 31-date UK tour in October and November 2019 with support from comedian Ingrid Dahle. In 2020, she became the narrator for

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

dating show '' Too Hot to Handle''. In May 2020 Burch appeared as a contestant in

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

’s '' I'll Get This'', in which participants play games during dinner to avoid paying the bill. In January 2021 she was a contestant on the BBC ''Best Home Cook'' show. Burch appeared on Series 12 of Channel 4's ''Taskmaster'' as a contestant.

Personal life

Burch identifies as

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burch, Desiree 1979 births Living people Comedians from California Comedians from New York (state) American expatriate actresses American expatriates in England American radio actresses American emigrants to England American bisexual actresses Bisexual comedians 21st-century American LGBTQ people Yale College alumni American game show hosts People from Diamond Bar, California LGBTQ people from California American LGBTQ comedians American women comedians