Jessica Alice Fostekew (born 5 July 1983) is an English actor and stand-up comedian.[1][2][3][4][5]

Jessica Fostekew
Born (1983-07-05) 5 July 1983 (age 41)
Alma materLondon School of Economics
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active2008–present
Websitejessicafostekew.com

Biography

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Fostekew was born in Sheffield in 1983 and grew up in Langton Matravers, Dorset.[6][7] She is of one-quarter Austrian ancestry. She earned an LL.B. from the London School of Economics.[4]

Fostekew has written for Mock The Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and The News Quiz.[8] She has co-hosted The Guilty Feminist podcast.[9] In 2019, her show Hench was nominated for the Main Award at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Also, in 2019, she appeared on Live at the Apollo and on the BBC Radio 4 comedy talk show The Museum of Curiosity. She has appeared on QI in 2020 and 2021.[10]

In April 2022, Fostekew published an article in The Guardian criticising an election candidate for expressing opposition to the legality of same-sex marriage, arguing that this amounts to hate speech.[11]

Fostekew is a keen weightlifter; whilst it has been claimed that she integrates this hobby into her act,[12] she has clarified in a recent radio interview that this is not the case.[13]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 Hallo Panda Zoo Worker & The General Public Short (billed as Jessica Fortiskew)
2013 Battlecock! Anya Krullmuller Short (billed as Jessica Fortekew)
Timeholes The Woman Short
2019 Official Secrets Courtroom Guard
Greed Sally
2023 Scrapper Sian

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2017 Three Girls Sonia Mini-series, Episode: "#1.2"
Motherland Clare Episode: "The After Party"
2019 Cuckoo Angela Episode: "Ivy Nanny"
Live at the Apollo Herself - Special Guest Episode: "Darren Harriott, Jessica Fostekew, Stephen Bailey"
2020 Trigonometry Mum 1 Mini-series, Episode: "Viel zu verliebt"
The Trouble with Maggie Cole Betty Jarvis 2 episodes: "#1.2" and "#1.4"
Out of Her Mind Laptop Woman Episode: "I Don't"
House of Games Herself - Contestant Episodes: "#4.36" to "#4.40"
2020, 2021 QI Herself - Panellist 2 episodes: "Revolutions" and "Sensational"
2021 Hypothetical Herself - Guest Episode: "#3.7"
Grave New World Commercial Voice Over (voice) Mini-series, Episode: "Taxis, Conspiracies, Editors"
Comedians Giving Lectures Herself - Guest Speaker Episode: "#2.3"
2022 Halo Borovoi Episode: "Allegiance"
Avoidance Amanda Episode: "#1.1"
Sky Comedy Shorts Mr. Whippy Episode: "Real Friends" (also writer)
2023 EastEnders DS Gaunt Episode: "#1.6796"
Sorry, I Didn't Know Herself - Panellist Episode: "#4.5"
2024 World's Most Dangerous Roads Herself - Guest Episode: "Colorado" (with Desiree Burch)
Pointless Celebrities Herself - Contestant Episode: "#16.16"
Travel Man: 48 Hours in... Herself - Guest Episode: "Lanzarote"

References

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  1. ^ Healy, Rachael (13 January 2020). "Joy of pecs: Jessica Fostekew, the weightlifting comic shredding body fascism" – via The Guardian.
  2. ^ "Q&A: Jessica Fostekew". 22 April 2015. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  3. ^ Fostekew, Jessica [@jessicafostekew] (5 July 2015). "ITS MY BIRTHDAY SO PLEASE COME TO MY PREVIEWS @museumofcomedy on 17th, 18th & 19th. 2for1 with this code: MOC2FOR1 http://t.co/iafwzpiw0i" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 September 2021 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b Best, Steve (21 September 2017). Joker Face: Over 450 Comedians Share Their Best One-liners. Unbound Publishing. ISBN 9781783523399 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Homan, Sidney; Rhinehart, Brian (22 February 2018). Comedy Acting for Theatre: The Art and Craft of Performing in Comedies. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781350012783 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "A Moment's Peace: Dancing Ledge, Dorset". 3 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Hoovering: A Sea Breeze". 10 March 2015.
  8. ^ "About Me".
  9. ^ Frances-White, Deborah (31 December 2019). The Guilty Feminist: You Don't Have to Be Perfect to Overthrow the Patriarchy. Basic Books. ISBN 9781580059534 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "Stream Jessica Fostekew stand-up comedy". The Home of Stand-Up Comedy | NextUp Comedy. 1 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Maureen from Lewisham doesn't approve of queer parents like me. That's my vote lost | Jessica Fostekew". The Guardian. 24 April 2022.
  12. ^ Logan, Brian (17 August 2019). "Jessica Fostekew review – punchy polemic about gender stereotyping" – via www.theguardian.com.
  13. ^ "Gavin Richards: Jessica Fostekew". Cambridge 105 Radio. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
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