Deborah Frances-White

{{Infobox comedian

| name = Deborah Frances-White

| image = ThatXmasBFILFF191024 - Deborah Frances-White (117 of 119) (54100762670) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Deborah Frances-White at the 68th BFI London Film Festival premiere of That Christmas on 19 October 2024

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|12|10|df=y}}{{Cite web |last=Steafel |first=Eleanor |date=2019-12-29 |title=The woman who pushed Phoebe Waller-Bridge to Fleabag stardom |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/the-woman-who-pushed-phoebe-waller-bridge-to-fleabag-stardom-20191226-p53mwy.html |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}

| birth_place = Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia{{Cite web |title=Deborah Frances-White |url=https://www.earwolf.com/episode/deborah-frances-white/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Earwolf |language=en-US}}

| death_date =

| death_place =

| medium = Stand-up, improvisation, Podcast

| nationality = British, Australian

| alma_mater = Harris Manchester College, Oxford

| active = 2007–present

| genre = Observational humour, Self-help, storytelling

| subject = Feminism, religion

| influences =

| influenced =

| spouse = Tom Salinsky

| domesticpartner =

| notable_work = The Guilty Feminist

| signature =

| website = {{URL|www.deborahfrances-white.com/}}

| footnotes =

}}

Deborah Frances-White (born 10 December 1967{{cite web | url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/zh88PrMC7V6yfqTDhUgkSZMvjJ4/appointments | title=Deborah WHITE personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK }}) is a London-based comedian, author and screenwriter.{{cite web |last = Rudd|first=Matt|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/exclusive-interview-deborah-frances-white-the-creator-of-the-guilty-feminist-podcast-on-how-to-crush-the-patriarchy-pnkks8qfs|title=Exclusive interview: Deborah Frances-White, the creator of the Guilty Feminist podcast, on how to crush the patriarchy|work=The Times|date=26 August 2018|access-date=16 July 2019}} She has both British and Australian citizenship.{{cite web | title = Deborah Frances-White Rolls The Dice Episode Guide | website = British Comedy Guide | url = http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/radio/deborah_frances_white_dice/episodes/1/3/ | access-date = 14 October 2015}} She hosts the podcasts Global Pillage and The Guilty Feminist.{{cite web |url= http://guiltyfeminist.com |title=The Guilty Feminist|access-date=10 November 2019}} She wrote the 2018 comedy film Say My Name.

Early life

Frances-White was born in Australia and adopted at ten days old.{{cite web|title = Deborah Frances-White.com|website = |url = http://www.deborahfrances-white.com/about_deborah.html|access-date = 14 October 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150813193523/http://deborahfrances-white.com/about_deborah.html|archive-date = 13 August 2015|url-status = dead}} She grew up in Brisbane, Queensland. Her family converted to Jehovah’s Witnesses when she was a teenager; Frances-White has since left the community and describes herself as an atheist.{{cite web|last = Grady|first = Kitty |url=https://www.ft.com/content/b46701e0-d87b-11e8-aa22-36538487e3d0|title=The Guilty Feminist: 'Laughing at somebody robs them of power'|publisher=Financial Times|date=1 November 2018|access-date=15 July 2019}} During her gap year, she moved to London and later studied English at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/sep/09/on-my-radar-deborah-frances-white-guilty-feminist|title=On my radar: Deborah Frances-White's cultural highlights|work=The Guardian|date=9 September 2018|access-date=15 July 2019}}

Career

Frances-White is one of three directors at the improv theatre company The Spontaneity Shop, which she co-founded with Tom Salinsky in 1996.{{cite web|title =History - The Spontaneity Shop |website = The Spontaneity Shop|url = https://the-spontaneity-shop.com/about-us/history/|access-date = 15 July 2019}} After developing a number of improvisation formats at The Spontaneity Shop (including the improvised romantic comedy DreamDate which had a pilot made for ITV{{Citation|last = Deans|first = Jason|title = ITV pilots improvised dating show|newspaper = The Guardian|location = London|date = 27 October 2004|url = https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/oct/27/broadcasting3}}), Frances-White turned to stand-up comedy. Her first significant solo show was How to Get Almost Anyone to Want to Sleep With You which she performed at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2007{{cite web|last = Bennett|first = Steve|title = Deborah Frances-White: How to Get Almost Anyone to Want to Sleep with You|website = Chortle|date = 27 April 2008|url = http://www.chortle.co.uk/shows/edinburgh_fringe_2007/d/15223/deborah_frances-white%3A_how_to_get_almost_anyone_to_want_to_sleep_with_you|access-date = 14 October 2015}} and at The Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2008{{Citation|last = Kent|first = Melissa|title = Venus and Mars, bah! Dating a man is easy|newspaper = The Age|location = Melbourne|date = 23 March 2008|url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/venus-and-mars-bah-dating-a-man-is-easy/2008/03/22/1205602734597.html}} where she also hosted The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow.{{cite web|title = Deborah Frances-White|website = Bloomsbury|url = http://www.bloomsbury.com/author/deborah-frances-white|access-date = 14 October 2015|archive-date = 23 November 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151123221018/http://www.bloomsbury.com/author/deborah-frances-white/|url-status = dead}}

Frances-White's recent shows have been more personal. Cult Following (2012) dealt with her experiences as a teenage Jehovah's Witness,{{Citation|last = Richardson|first = Jay|title = Comedy review: Deborah Frances-White: Cult Following, Assembly Roxy|newspaper = The Scotsman|location = Edinburgh|date = 21 August 2012|url = http://www.scotsman.com/what-s-on/theatre-comedy-dance/comedy-review-deborah-frances-white-cult-following-assembly-roxy-venue-139-edinburgh-1-2480035}} Half a Can of Worms (2013) was about tracking down her biological family{{Citation|last = Bijleveld|first = Celine|title = I tracked down my biological family online: 'It was like a treasure hunt'|newspaper = The Guardian|location = London|date = 20 September 2013|url = https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/sep/20/tracked-down-biological-family-online}} and Friend of a Friend of Dorothy (2015) was about feminism, sexism and homophobia.{{cite web|title=Friend of a Friend of Dorothy |publisher=The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society |date=29 August 2015 |url=https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/deborah-frances-white-friend-of-a-friend-of-dorothy |access-date=14 October 2015 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Frances-White has continued to develop new improvisation formats. Voices in Your Head is a show which allows comedians, improvisers and actors to create comedy characters while the audience watches. Guests have included Phill Jupitus, Sara Pascoe, Russell Tovey, Mike McShane and Hannibal Buress.{{cite web|title = Voices in Your Head|website = Soho Theatre|date = 4 February 2015|url = http://www.sohotheatre.com/whats-on/voices-in-your-head/|access-date = 14 October 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064737/http://www.sohotheatre.com/whats-on/voices-in-your-head/|archive-date = 4 March 2016|url-status = dead}} In 2015 she created The Beau Zeaux a long-form improvised comedy featuring a rotating cast including Marcus Brigstocke, Thom Tuck, Rachel Parris, Brendan Murphy, Ed Coleman, Milly Thomas and Pippa Evans.{{cite web|title = The Beau Zeaux|publisher = So Television|url = http://www.sotelevision.co.uk/the-beau-zeaux.html|access-date = 14 October 2015|archive-date = 28 August 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150828044051/http://www.sotelevision.co.uk/the-beau-zeaux.html|url-status = dead}} Guests have included Russell Tovey{{cite web|title = The Beau Zeaux|website = Etcetera Theatre|url = http://www.etceteratheatre.com/details.php?show_id=2013|access-date = 14 October 2015|archive-date = 4 March 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093444/http://www.etceteratheatre.com/details.php?show_id=2013|url-status = dead}} and Dan Starkey.

Her BBC Radio 4 series Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice was first broadcast in spring 2015 and featured stories about her adoption, green card marriage, and the quest to find her biological family. The episodes were titled "Half a Can of Worms", "Cult Following", "Visa Issues" and "Who's Your Daddy"? In January 2016, the show won Frances-White the Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for "Best Radio Comedy".{{cite web|title = Writers Guild Award Winners |website = Writers Guild of Great Britain| date=18 January 2016 |url = https://writersguild.org.uk/writers-guild-award-winners-2016/|access-date = 29 January 2016}} A second series was first broadcast in autumn 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wtkg1| title=Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice: "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" Series 2| date=7 October 2016| publisher=BBC Radio 4}}

On television, Frances-White has appeared as a guest on Mock the Week, Politics Live and Tonight With Vladimir Putin.{{cite web|title = Deborah Frances-White: Filmography|publisher = IMDb|url =https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2617198/?ref_=tt_ov_wr|access-date = 16 July 2019}}

With Sofie Hagen, she created the podcast The Guilty Feminist. She is also the creator and host of the podcast Global Pillage, a long running comedy panel show that blends comedy, intersectional feminism and politics. In 2019, The Guilty Feminist and Amnesty International joined forces for the Secret Policeman’s Tour, consisting of three shows with comedy, music and discussion, all in support of human rights.{{cite web|title = News: Amnesty & Guilty Feminist Team Up for Secret Policeman Shows|website = BeyondTheJoke.co.uk| date=24 April 2019 |url =https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/7082/amnesty-guilty-feminist|access-date = 16 July 2019}} In 2023, The Guilty Feminist also launched Media Storm, a news podcast hosted by journalists Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia.{{Cite web |title=Media Storm |url=https://shows.acast.com/media-storm/ |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=shows.acast.com}} Deborah also created and hosted the intersectional comedy panel show Global Pillage, which pits teams of comedians and commentators against each other and the hive mind of the audience.

Corporate work

Frances-White regularly appears at corporate events speaking about confidence, charisma, diversity and sexism.{{cite web|title = Deborah Frances-White Live in the West End!|work = WeAreTheCity - Supporting Women in Business|date = 21 January 2015|url = http://www.wearethecity.com/16022015-deborah-frances-white-live-west-end/|access-date = 14 October 2015}} Her TEDx talk on Charisma vs Stage-Fright{{cite web|title = TedxTalks|website = Charisma versus Stage Fright|url = http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Charisma-versus-Stage-Fright-De|access-date = 14 October 2015}} was cited by James Caan as the secret of his presenting skills.{{cite web|last = Caan|first = James|title = Wonder where I got my presenting skills from?|website = Twitter|date = 8 October 2015|url = https://twitter.com/jamescaan/status/652147476028264448|access-date = 14 October 2015}}

Writing

With her writing partner Philippa Waller, Frances-White contributed two episodes of Young Dracula in 2014. She has co-written two books: The Improv Handbook with Tom Salinsky{{cite book|title = The Improv Handbook|id = {{ASIN|0826428584|country=uk}}}} and Off the Mic with Marsha Shandur,{{cite book|title = Off the Mic: The World's Best Stand-Up Comedians Get Serious About Comedy |id = {{ASIN|1472526384|country=uk}}}} both published by Bloomsbury. She writes for Standard Issue Magazine.{{cite web|title = Standard Issue Magazine|website = Standard Issue|url = http://standardissuemagazine.com/author/dfrances-white/|access-date = 14 October 2015|archive-date = 13 December 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151213064530/http://standardissuemagazine.com/author/dfrances-white/|url-status = dead}} In 2018, Virago published The Guilty Feminist, a spin-off from her podcast.{{Citation | author1=Frances-White, Deborah | title=The guilty feminist : from our noble goals to our worst hypocrisies | date=2018 | publisher=Virago | isbn=978-0-349-01014-4 }}

Her debut feature film, the comedy thriller Say My Name,{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt7250378/|title=Say My Name|access-date=4 July 2020|via=www.imdb.com}} premiered on 19 March 2019.

Religion

Frances-White became a Jehovah's Witness while still a teenager. Her years in the religion and how she left it were the focus of her 2012 Edinburgh Fringe stand-up comedy show and two of the episodes of her BBC Radio 4 show Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice.{{cite web|title = Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice (Series 1)|publisher=BBC|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05r3srd|access-date = 14 October 2015}}{{cite web|title = Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice (Series 2)|publisher=BBC|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07x6mf3|access-date = 15 October 2016}}