Urooj Ashfaq is a Mumbai-based comedian, writer and actor. She won the Best Newcomer award at the

Edinburgh Comedy Awards The Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier Comedy Awards, and also briefly known by other names for sponsorship reasons) are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. Establ ...

in 2023.

Early life and education

Ashfaq was born in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, moving to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

at the age of 12. She has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. She went to

Jai Hind College Jai Hind College (Autonomous) (Marathi: जय हिंद कॉलेज) is an autonomous college in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, affiliated to the University of Mumbai. It was established in 1948. In 2000, ''India Today'' named Jai Hind C ...

, Mumbai.

Career

Ashfaq started performing in stand up comedy in 2016, the age of 21. In interview she has stated that her comedy heroes include "

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, nd

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." In 2017 she was a contestant and finalist on the television channel TLC's show ''Queens of Comedy.'' In 2023, she was part of a group of comedians brought to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by London's

Soho Theatre Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...

. Whilst there, Ashfaq won the Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for her show ''Oh No!,'' the first person of South Asian heritage to win since

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in 1997, and the first India-based artist to ever win the award. The show was Ashfaq's first experience of performing in the UK, with a run at Soho Theatre in London earlier in 2023.

Awards

* Best Newcomer,

2023

References

External links

Urooj Asfaq biography at IMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashfaq, Urooj Indian women comedians Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Jai Hind College alumni Comedians from Mumbai