Esther Povitsky

Esther Povitsky (born March 2, 1988),[1][2] sometimes known by the stage name "Little Esther", is an American actress and comedian. She is the co-creator and star of the comedy series Alone Together (2018–2019), and stars as Izzy in the Hulu series Dollface as of 2019.

Esther Povitsky
Povitsky in 2012
Born (1988-03-02) March 2, 1988
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other namesLittle Esther
Occupation
  • Writer
  • actor
  • comedian
  • producer
Years active2008–present
Known forCrazy Ex-Girlfriend
Alone Together

Early life and education

Esther Povitsky was in Chicago, Illinois.[3] Her father is of Russian-Jewish descent and her mother is a Christian of Finnish descent.[4][5] Povitsky was raised in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Illinois.[6] She graduated from Niles North High School in 2006.

Following high school, Povitsky attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign for three years before dropping out to pursue a career in stand-up comedy and acting.[7] "I was really unhappy at my school," Povitsky recalled. "A lot of people were in sororities and a lot of people drank all the time, and I wasn't into either of those things, so I really did not feel like I fit in."[8] She subsequently studied comedy at iO Chicago and The Second City in Chicago before relocating to Los Angeles, where she took classes with The Groundlings.[9] In Los Angeles, Povitsky has performed regularly at The Comedy Store, The Ice House, and The Improv.[10][11]

Career

Povitsky recurred as Maya on the series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend from 2016 until 2019. Other television appearances include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Love, and Parks and Recreation. Povitsky also survived several rounds of 2015's Last Comic Standing (season 9).[12]

Povitsky was the first female guest to appear on The Joe Rogan Experience, after which she began podcasting with Deathsquad.tv regularly. She hosted Little Esther's Piecast[13] and was the former co-host of Brode & Esther with fellow comedian Brody Stevens[14] as well as Weird Adults with Little Esther[15] and Glowing Up with Esther and Caroline.[16] She often appears as a guest on the network's Ice House Chronicles.[17]

In 2012, Povitsky turned down an offer from MTV to do a reality show based on her life as a comedian because she felt the series would be too invasive.[18][19]

Alone Together
Main article: Alone Together (TV series)

In 2015, Povitsky wrote, starred in, and produced the short film Alone Together. The short was later adapted into a pilot for Freeform, produced by The Lonely Island.[20] In December 2016, the pilot was picked up to series.[21] In October, 2017, Freeform renewed the series for a second season ahead of its January 2018 debut.[22] The series was canceled after its second season in 2019.[8]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2008 The Express: The Ernie Davis Story Teen Model Uncredited
2010 April Val Monroe Short film
2011 All in All Nicole Short film
The Eater Sandy Short film
2014 My Daughter's Boyfriend Sara Martinson Short film
2015 Alone Together Esther Short film
What a Nice Party Short film
2016 Worst Birthday Short film
2018 Dude Alicia

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2010 The Adam Carolla Show Herself Podcast
The Joe Rogan Experience Herself Podcast
2010–11 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Little sister / Bristol Palin / Jimmy's Sister Guest role; 3 episodes
2011 Poor Choices Show Herself Podcast
Little Esther's Piecast Herself Podcast
New Girl Krystal Episode: "Bells"
2012 Daddy Knows Best Babysitter Episode: "The Babysitter"
2013 Parks and Recreation Julie Episode: "Swing Vote"
2013–15 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Herself Guest role; 2 episodes
2013 Last Call with Carson Daly Herself Guest appearance
Brody Stevens: Enjoy It! Herself Recurring role; 3 episodes
Adam Devine's House Party Herself Episode: "Space Jump II"
2014 Talking Marriage with Ryan Bailey Herself Episode: "Comedians in Car Ports"
Esther With Hot Chicks Herself Web Series (3 episode run for MTV)
Pound House Phone Girl Recurring role; 2 episodes
Hope and Randy Hope Television mini-series
Key and Peele Cassie Episode: "Alien Impostors"
Six Guys One Car Pawn Shop Girl Recurring role; 2 episodes
2015 Difficult People Cissy Donato Episode: "The Children's Menu"
Candidly Nicole Herself Episode: "Ex-Girlfriend"
2015–present Cocktales with Little Esther Herself Host
2015–16 @midnight Herself Guest appearance; 4 episodes
2016 Workaholics Jordana Episode: "Save the Cat"
Lady Dynamite Kristy Coombs Episode: "Loaf Coach"
The Amazing Gayl Pile Jenny Recurring role; 3 episodes
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Emily Episode: "Coral Palms: Part 2"
Not Safe with Nikki Glaser Herself Episode: "I'm the Boat"
2016–18 Love Alexis Guest role; 3 episodes
2016–19 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Maya Recurring role; 19 episodes
2018 Alone Together Esther Main role; 20 episodes, also Co-Creator and Executive Producer
Late Night with Seth Meyers Herself Episode: "Leslie Jones/Tracy Letts/Esther Povitsky/John Stanier"
Harry Herself Guest appearance
The Story of our Times Candace Television film
2019 Shrill Kayla Episode: "Pencil"
Dollface Izzy Main role

References
  1. "Esther Povitsky". DirecTV. AT&T. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020.
  2. "Esther Povitsky". Noovie. National CineMedia, LLC. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020.
  3. Skiles, Christa (2020). "Five Questions with Esther Povitsky". Dramatics. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020.
  4. Frydburg, Tracy (January 24, 2018). "For a couple of Jewish millennial BFFs, poor and platonic equals funny". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020.
  5. Povitsky, Esther (August 17, 2017). "You Had Your First Orgasm to the Pam Anderson Porn?". Guys We F****d (Interview). Interviewed by Fisher, Corinne; Hutchinson, Krystyna. Event occurs at 42:00 – via Acast.
  6. Slefo, George (June 25, 2012). "MTV Buys Pilot From Skokie Native". Patch. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020.
  7. Gardner, Tara (November 6, 2019). "Who to Watch: Esther Povitsky". Chicago Splash. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020.
  8. Floyd, Thomas (January 16, 2019). "'Alone Together's' Esther Povitsky is happy hitting the stage on her own". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020.
  9. "Esther Povitsky - LA Casting". Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  10. "Little Esther - Comedian". Improv.com. September 12, 2011. Archived from the original on September 12, 2011.
  11. "The Ice House :: Esther Povitsky". Icehousecomedy.com. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  12. "'Last Comic Standing' Season 9 Premiere Recap: Meeting The Comedians". Buddytv.com. Archived from the original on 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  13. "Search Results piecast". Deathsquad.tv. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  14. "Search Results esther brode". Deathsquad.tv. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  15. "Feral Audio // Weird Adults with Little Esther". Feralaudio.com. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
  16. "Feral Audio //Glowing Up with Esther and Caroline". Feralaudio.com. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  17. "Search Results little esther ice house". Deathsquad.tv. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  18. "Belgian Man Arrested in Los Angeles for Allegedly Stalking Comedian Esther Povitsky". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018.
  19. "Pierre Van Lint, Belgian Man, Arrested For Allegedly Stalking Comedian Esther Povitsky". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. February 29, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  20. Petski, Denise (2016-07-05). "Freeform Greenlights 'Alone Together' Comedy Pilot From Lonely Island". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  21. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (2016-12-15). "Freeform Greenlights The Lonely Island's Comedy 'Alone Together'". Variety. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  22. Pedersen, Erik (October 18, 2017). "The Lonely Island's 'Alone Together' Gets Season 2 Renewal Ahead Of January Premiere On Freeform". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
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