Esther Povitsky (born March 2, 1988), for a time known by the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

"Little Esther," is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, and producer. Povitsky, from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, is the co-creator and star of the comedy series ''Alone Together'' (2018); she starred as Izzy in the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

series ''

Dollface ''Dollface'' is an American comedy television series created by Jordan Weiss that premiered on November 15, 2019, on Hulu. It stars Kat Dennings, Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell, and Esther Povitsky. In January 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a ...

''. Her debut comedy special, ''Hot for My Name'', premiered on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

on July 17, 2020.

Early life and education

Povitsky was born in Chicago to Mary and Morrie Povitsky. Her father is of

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

descent and her mother is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and of Finnish descent. Her mother worked as an

administrative assistant A person responsible for providing various kinds of administrative assistance is called an administrative assistant (admin assistant) or sometimes an administrative support specialist. In most instances it is identical to the modern iteration of th ...

for the Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook. She has one older half-sister from her mother's first marriage. Esther grew up in the Chicago suburb of Skokie; she graduated there from

Niles North High School Niles North High School, officially Niles Township High School North, is a public four-year high school located in Skokie, Illinois, a North Shore suburb of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. It is part of Niles Township Community High Sch ...

in 2006. After high school, Esther Povitsky attended the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

for three years before she dropped out to pursue a career in

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

and acting. "I was really unhappy at my school," Povitsky recalled. "A lot of people were in sororities and a lot of people drank all the time, and I wasn't into either of those things, so I really did not feel like I fit in." She then studied comedy at

iO Chicago iO, or iO Chicago, (formerly known as ImprovOlympic) is an improv theater and training center in central Chicago. The theater teaches and hosts performances of improvisational comedy. It was founded in 1981 by Del Close and Charna Halpern. The ...

and

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York. Since its debut in 1959, it has b ...

in Chicago before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where she took classes with

The Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improv techniques we ...

. She has performed regularly at

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

, The Ice House, and

The Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. History Originally, it was a 50-seat single venue (whic ...

which are all in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

Career

2012–2014: Early projects

Povitsky had a recurring role, starring as Maya on the series ''

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' is an American romantic musical comedy-drama television series that premiered on October 12, 2015, on The CW and ran for four seasons, ending on April 5, 2019. The series was created, written, and directed by Rachel Bloo ...

'' from 2016 until 2019. Other television appearances include ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'', ''Love'', and '' Parks and Recreation.'' She was in the semifinals of 2015's ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' is an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, and again in 2014 and 2015. Each season a comedian from an initially large group of hopefuls was picked as ...

'' (season 9). Povitsky was the first female guest to appear on ''

The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and produce ...

''; she began podcasting with Deathsquad.tv regularly after that. She hosted ''Little Esther's Piecast'' and was the former co-host of ''Brode & Esther'' with fellow comedian Brody Stevens. She was the host of ''Weird Adults with Little Esther'' and along with Caroline Goldfarb, co-hosts ''Glowing Up'', a makeup and beauty-themed podcast. She often appears as a guest on Deathsquad.tv's ''Ice House Chronicles''. In 2012, Povitsky turned down an offer from

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

to do a reality show based on her life as a comedian because she felt the series would be too invasive.

2015–present: ''Alone Together'' and ''Hot for My Name''

In 2015, Povitsky wrote, starred in, and produced the short film ''Alone Together''. Later the short was adapted into a pilot for Freeform and produced by

The Lonely Island The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). The th ...

. In December 2016, the pilot was picked up to series. In October 2017, Freeform renewed the series for a second season ahead of its January 2018 debut, however the series was canceled after its second season in 2019. On July 17, 2020, Povitsky's debut comedy special, ''Hot for My Name'', was released through

Fashion brand

Povitsky has her own fashion brand, "Sleepover by Esther"; she advertises it on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. She regularly advertises her brand on the ''Trash Tuesday'' podcast and often posts herself on Instagram modeling her brand's clothing.

Personal life

Povitsky is engaged to comedy writer Dave King; they welcomed their first child, a daughter, in March 2024.

Filmography

Film

Television

Comedy specials

Podcasts

References

External links

* *
Podcast - Weird Adults with Little Esther
{{DEFAULTSORT:Povitsky, Esther 1988 births 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians Actresses from Chicago American comedy podcasters American film actresses American people of Finnish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American stand-up comedians American television actresses American women comedians American women podcasters Comedians from Chicago Jewish American comedians Jewish women comedians Living people People from Decatur, Illinois People from Skokie, Illinois University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers