Cameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito is an American comedian, actress, and podcaster, known for her show Take My Wife, as well as her stand-up comedy and her podcast, Queery. Esposito substantially focuses on topics surrounding the LGBTQ+ community, feminism, social justice, and the challenges faced by members of marginalized communities. Originally from Western Springs, Illinois, Esposito lives in Los Angeles.
Early life
Born to Brenda and Nick Esposito, Cameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito was raised in Western Springs, Illinois. In high school, Esposito swam breast stroke on the swim team, was a member of a community service group called The Marians Society, and was a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship Program. She graduated from Benet Academy in 2000. Esposito studied theology and English at Boston College, intending to become a social worker in Chicago. While in Boston, she played rugby and performed in the school's improv troupe, My Mother's Fleabag. Esposito graduated from Boston College in 2004. After returning to Illinois, Esposito took a semester of social work courses at the University of Chicago when she realized she did not want to be a social worker after all.
Early stand-up career
Esposito began her stand-up career in Chicago, performing in various local venues, including as a regular at The Lincoln Lodge from 2007 to 2011. She appeared at a number of comedy festivals, including SXSW, the Moontower, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and SF Sketchfest. To supplement her income, she worked with students in special education, as a law clerk at her father's law firm, and as a nanny.
2013–present
In 2013, Esposito made her television debut on The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Fellow guest Jay Leno expressed admiration for Esposito, calling her "the future of comedy". She has also appeared on Conan and on Last Call with Carson Daly. She also voiced "Carroll the Cloud Person" on an episode of Cartoon Network's animated showAdventure Time. The entertainment media website Consequence of Sound named Esposito its comedian of the year for 2014. In the fall of 2014, Esposito created a series of videos with BuzzFeed Motion Pictures titled "Ask a Lesbian", in which she answers a variety of questions sent into BuzzFeed staff about lesbianism. The videos also feature Butcher, with whom she has performed comedy previously. In addition to touring regularly, Esposito was a regular panelist on Chelsea Lately with Chelsea Handler and used to write a regular blog on the website The A.V. Club. Her comedy album Same Sex Symbol was released in December 2014 by the independent record labelKill Rock Stars. Esposito appeared on Comedy Central's Drunk History as a storyteller on October 20, 2015. Esposito also co-hosted the stand-up comedy podcast "Put Your Hands Together" with Rhea Butcher, which was recorded weekly in front of a live audience at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles until it ended in July 2019. Esposito is known for her lesbian content creation, especially hers and Butcher's television show Take My Wife, which streamed on Seeso until the service was discontinued in November 2017. In March 2018, Take My Wife was picked up by iTunes and season 2 became available to the public. The show was then acquired by Starz in April 2018. Additionally, Esposito's podcast Queery is an interview-style podcast focusing on contemporary queer luminaries and their life experiences. Queery guests have included Rhea Butcher, Lena Waithe, Tegan Quin, Sara Quin, Evan Rachel Wood, Jill Soloway, Mary Lambert, Andrea Gibson, Margaret Cho, Alia Shawkat, Roxane Gay, Trixie Mattel, and Lea DeLaria. On June 11, 2018, Esposito released Rape Jokes, an hour long standup special about sexual assault from her perspective, on her website. The special was free to stream, but viewers could pay to download a copy and proceeds would benefit RAINN, the United States' largest anti-sexual violence organization. By September 2018, the special had raised $65,000 in donations.
Personal life
Esposito was married to fellow stand-up comedian Rhea Butcher from 2015–2018. In August 2018, the couple discussed their divorce in a Vanity Fair profile. In Sept. 2019, in an article she wrote for the New York Times, Esposito discussed the couple's pending divorce. She briefly mentioned the divorce in November 2019 at the end of Episode 112 of her podcast, Queery. On November 26, 2019, she said on her Twitter that she has a girlfriend, Katy.
