Monica Padman is an American podcaster, actor, and producer. She co-created and co-hosts the podcast ''
Armchair Expert'' with
Dax Shepard
Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker and podcast host. Since 2018, he has hosted ''Armchair Expert'', a podcast that interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives.
Shepard ha ...
.
As an actor, she has appeared in films and television shows including ''
CHiPs
''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...
'', ''
The Good Place
''The Good Place'' is an American fantasy comedy television series created by Michael Schur. It premiered on NBC on September 19, 2016, and concluded on January 30, 2020, after four seasons and 53 episodes.
Although the plot evolves signifi ...
'', ''
Rutherford Falls
''Rutherford Falls'' is an American sitcom television series that premiered on the streaming service Peacock on April 22, 2021. It was created by Ed Helms, Michael Schur, and Sierra Teller Ornelas. In July 2021, the series was renewed for a se ...
'', and ''
Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television
''Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television'' is an action comedy series created by Rawson Marshall Thurber and starring Ryan Hansen that premiered on October 25, 2017, on YouTube Red (now YouTube Premium). In July 2018, it was announced that the s ...
''.
Early life and education
Padman was born in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
, to an engineer father and a computer programmer mother. Her mother moved to the United States from
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
at the age of six, and her father moved to the United States from India as a college student for educational opportunities.
While attending
Duluth High School, Padman took
Advanced Placement classes and was on the
cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...
squad- where she served as a flyer. During her time at DHS, Padman and her team secured two state championships in cheerleading. Padman graduated from Duluth High School in 2006 and attended the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
on the Hope Scholarship, which was awarded to high performing high school students in Georgia.
Padman cites her love of the show ''
Friends'' and the film ''
Good Will Hunting
''Good Will Hunting'' is a 1997 American psychological drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver.
The film received positiv ...
'' as making her want to become an actor when she was in eighth grade. She began studying theater in high school and, in college at the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
, she double-majored in theater and
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
, choosing the latter in order to placate her parents.
Padman completed an internship at the Radmin Company while in college. She graduated in 2009 from UGA with a 4.0 GPA with both
BA and
ABJ degrees
[ and afterwards moved to Los Angeles.
]
Career
In 2011, Padman moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
to pursue an acting career. She trained in improvisational comedy
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...
at the Upright Citizens Brigade
The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, ...
, and supported herself by babysitting and working at the front desk at SoulCycle
SoulCycle is a fitness company owned by Equinox Group which offers indoor cycling and spinning workout classes. It was founded in 2006, and has operations in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In early 2020, before the COVID-19 p ...
. Padman met Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. Beginning her acting career by starring in stage productions while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, she made her Broadway stage debut as Becky Thatc ...
and Dax Shepard
Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker and podcast host. Since 2018, he has hosted ''Armchair Expert'', a podcast that interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives.
Shepard ha ...
through social circles, then coincidentally booked an acting job on an episode of ''House of Lies
''House of Lies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Matthew Carnahan. The show, which premiered on Showtime (TV network), Showtime on January 8, 2012, is based on the book ''House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Y ...
'' playing an assistant to Bell's character. Bell subsequently hired Padman to occasionally babysit for them, and Padman eventually became their full-time nanny. Her role gradually evolved into serving as an assistant to Bell and then becoming a professional partner to both Bell and Shepard. In 2019, Bell referred to Padman as her "chief of staff".
During this time, Padman booked several major commercial campaigns including Geico
The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...
and Herbal Essence. She also had appearances in shows and a movies affiliated with Dax and Kristen Bell. Her professional relationship also continued to develop with the couple, and she began writing things for Kristen Bell and helping to produce content, like Momsplaining with Kristen Bell.
''Armchair Expert''
Padman is the co-creator and co-host of the podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
'' Armchair Expert'' with Dax Shepard, which evolved from Padman's and Shepard's habit of debating ideas on the back porch of Shepard and Bell's home. The show launched on February 14, 2018, and focuses on in-depth conversations about guests' upbringings, challenges and successes. Episodes typically run 90–120 minutes, ending with a fact check, in which Padman and Shepard discuss the show after Padman has researched any verifiable claims made by Shepard or their guests during the interview. The fact check typically lasts about 30 minutes, often straying into personal anecdotes and featuring Padman more heavily than the interview portion of the show. Padman has said she felt anxiety early on about whether her voice was being heard enough on the podcast, particularly when their guests were Hollywood figures who could potentially aid her acting career, but eventually she realized, "I don't need to prove myself to any of these people. I can just be." In addition to her role as co-host, she also edits each episode and books guests.
Featured guests have included celebrities such as Kristen Bell, Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a S ...
, Will Ferrell
John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 20 ...
, Kumail Nanjiani
Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ur, کمیل علی ننجیانی, ; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-w ...
, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), '' The New Adventure ...
. On June 7, 2018, the show released their first episode of "Experts on Expert", a recurring series of interviews in which Padman and Shepard interview experts in their fields. Featured experts on the show have included Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
, Ibram X. Kendi
Ibram Xolani Kendi (born Ibram Henry Rogers, August 13, 1982) is an American author, professor, anti-racist activist, and historian of race and discriminatory policy in America. In July 2020, he assumed the position of director of the Center for ...
, and Atul Gawande
Atul Atmaram Gawande (born November 5, 1965) is an American surgeon, writer, and public health researcher. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a professor in the Departme ...
. In 2018, Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...
named ''Armchair Expert'' among its top 15 podcasts of the year. On iTunes, ''Armchair Expert'' was the most downloaded new podcast of the year.
On February 14, 2020, the first of a ten-episode series within ''Armchair Expert'' was released called "Monica and Jess Love Boys". The series follows Padman and her friend and co-host Jess Rowland as they consult a variety of sex and relationship experts to improve their personal love lives. The final episode of the mini-series aired April 15, 2020.
In May 2021, Padman and Shepard signed a lucrative deal with Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
to have all episodes of their show exclusively available on the streaming platform.
Personal life
Padman is a close friend of Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. Padman purchased a house across the street from the Shepards in the Los Feliz
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
neighborhood of Los Angeles in late 2019.
At the age of 31, Padman said she had been on fewer than 10 dates in her life and had never had a boyfriend. On her podcast ''Monica and Jess Love Boys'', she details her dating history and completes several challenges to improve her love life, including joining the celebrity dating app Raya.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
In 2019, Padman received an Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nomination for her work as a producer on ''Momsplaining'', a web series hosted by Kristen Bell and airing on the YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
channel of ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pr ...
''.
References
External links
*
@mlpadman
on Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
Armchair Expert podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Padman, Monica
Living people
21st-century American comedians
American people of Indian descent
American podcasters
21st-century American actors
Actors from Georgia (U.S. state)
1987 births