Jessica Fostekew
{{short description|English stand-up comedian}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| name = Jessica Fostekew
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1983|7|5}}
| honorific_suffix =
| caption =
| birth_place = Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|comedian}}
| partner =
| alma_mater = London School of Economics
| other_names =
| years_active = 2008–present
| website = {{URL|jessicafostekew.com}}
}}
Jessica Alice Fostekew (born 5 July 1983) is an English actor and stand-up comedian.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jan/13/jessica-fostekew-hench-london-weightlifting-body-fascism-muscly|title=Joy of pecs: Jessica Fostekew, the weightlifting comic shredding body fascism|first=Rachael|last=Healy|date=January 13, 2020|via=The Guardian}}{{Cite web|url=http://standardissuemagazine.com/voices/qa-jessica-fostekew/|title=Q&A: Jessica Fostekew|date=April 22, 2015|access-date=6 July 2020|archive-date=18 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718025246/http://standardissuemagazine.com/voices/qa-jessica-fostekew/|url-status=dead}}{{cite tweet |last=Fostekew |first=Jessica |author-link=Jessica Fostekew |user=jessicafostekew |number=617740135828992000 |date=July 5, 2015 |title=ITS MY BIRTHDAY SO PLEASE COME TO MY PREVIEWS @museumofcomedy on 17th, 18th & 19th. 2for1 with this code: MOC2FOR1 http://t.co/iafwzpiw0i |language=en |access-date=September 5, 2021}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vh92DQAAQBAJ&q=%22Jessica+Fostekew%22&pg=PA66|title=Joker Face: Over 450 Comedians Share Their Best One-liners|first=Steve|last=Best|date=September 21, 2017|publisher=Unbound Publishing|isbn=9781783523399|via=Google Books}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oMVIDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Jessica+Fostekew%22&pg=PA58|title=Comedy Acting for Theatre: The Art and Craft of Performing in Comedies|first1=Sidney|last1=Homan|first2=Brian|last2=Rhinehart|date=February 22, 2018|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781350012783|via=Google Books}}
Biography
Fostekew was born in Sheffield in 1983 and grew up in Langton Matravers, Dorset.{{Cite web|url=http://jessicafostekew.com/moments-peace-dancing-ledge-dorset/|title=A Moment's Peace: Dancing Ledge, Dorset|date=December 3, 2014}}{{Cite web|url=http://jessicafostekew.com/hoovering-sea-breeze/|title=Hoovering: A Sea Breeze|date=March 10, 2015}} She is of one-quarter Austrian ancestry. She earned an LL.B. from the London School of Economics.
Fostekew has written for Mock The Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and The News Quiz.{{Cite web|url=http://jessicafostekew.com/about-me/|title=About Me}} She has co-hosted The Guilty Feminist podcast.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4K-HDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Jessica+Fostekew%22&pg=PT273|title=The Guilty Feminist: You Don't Have to Be Perfect to Overthrow the Patriarchy|first=Deborah|last=Frances-White|date=December 31, 2019|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=9781580059534|via=Google Books}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://nextupcomedy.com/acts/rising/jessicafostekew/|title=Stream Jessica Fostekew stand-up comedy|date=March 1, 2019|website=The Home of Stand-Up Comedy | NextUp Comedy}}
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.{{Cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/24/maureen-lewisham-queer-parents-mayoral-election-vote-lost | title=Maureen from Lewisham doesn't approve of queer parents like me. That's my vote lost | Jessica Fostekew | website=The Guardian | date=24 April 2022 }}
Fostekew is a keen weightlifter; whilst it has been claimed that she integrates this hobby into her act,{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/aug/17/jessica-fostekew-review-monkey-barrel-comedy-edinburgh|title=Jessica Fostekew review – punchy polemic about gender stereotyping|first=Brian|last=Logan|date=August 17, 2019|via=www.theguardian.com}} she has clarified in a recent radio interview that this is not the case.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-24 |title=Gavin Richards: Jessica Fostekew |url=https://cambridge105.co.uk/gavin-richards-29-02-2024/ |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=Cambridge 105 Radio |language=en-GB}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Hallo Panda | Zoo Worker & The General Public | Short (billed as Jessica Fortiskew) |
| rowspan=2 | 2013 | Battlecock! | Anya Krullmuller | Short (billed as Jessica Fortekew) |
| Timeholes | The Woman | Short | |
| rowspan=2 | 2019 | Official Secrets | Courtroom Guard | |
| Greed | Sally | ||
| 2023 | Scrapper | Sian |
=Television=
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan=2 | 2017 | Three Girls | Sonia | Mini-series, Episode: "#1.2" |
| Motherland | Clare | Episode: "The After Party" | |
| rowspan=2 | 2019 | Cuckoo | Angela | Episode: "Ivy Nanny" |
| Live at the Apollo | Herself - Special Guest | Episode: "Darren Harriott, Jessica Fostekew, Stephen Bailey" | |
| rowspan=4 | 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" |
| rowspan=3 | 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" | |
| rowspan=3 | 2022 | Halo | Borovoi | Episode: "Allegiance" |
| Avoidance | Amanda | Episode: "#1.1" | |
| Sky Comedy Shorts | Mr. Whippy | Episode: "Real Friends" (also writer) | |
| rowspan=2 | 2023 | EastEnders | DS Gaunt | Episode: "#1.6796" |
| Sorry, I Didn't Know | Herself - Panellist | Episode: "#4.5" | |
| rowspan=3 | 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
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://jessicafostekew.com/ Official page]
- {{IMDb name|3345842}}
- {{Twitter|jessicafostekew}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fostekew, Jessica}}
Category:English women comedians
Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics
Category:English people of Austrian descent