Esther Povitsky (born March 2, 1988), for a time known by the stage name "Little Esther," is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, and producer. Povitsky, from Chicago, is the co-creator and star of the comedy series Alone Together (2018); she starred as Izzy in the Hulu series Dollface. Her debut comedy special, Hot for My Name, premiered on Comedy Central on July 17, 2020.

Early life and education Povitsky was born in Chicago to Mary and Morrie Povitsky. Her father is of Russian-Jewish descent and her mother is of Christian Finnish descent. Her mother worked as an administrative assistant for the Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook. She has one older half-sister from her mother's first marriage. Esther grew up in the Chicago suburb of Skokie; she graduated there from Niles North High School in 2006.

After high school, Esther Povitsky attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign for three years before she dropped out to pursue a career in stand-up comedy and acting. "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."

She then studied comedy at iO Chicago and The Second City in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles, where she took classes with The Groundlings. She has performed regularly at The Comedy Store, The Ice House, and The Improv which are all in southern California.

Career 2012–2014: Early projects Povitsky had a recurring role, starring as Maya on the series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend from 2016 until 2019. Other television appearances include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Love, and Parks and Recreation. She was in the semifinals of 2015's Last Comic Standing (season 9).

Povitsky was the first female guest to appear on The Joe Rogan Experience; she began podcasting with Deathsquad.tv regularly after that. She hosted Little Esther's Piecast and was the former co-host of Brode & Esther with fellow comedian Brody Stevens. She was the host of Weird Adults with Little Esther and along with Caroline Goldfarb, co-hosts Glowing Up, a makeup and beauty-themed podcast. She often appears as a guest on Deathsquad.tv's Ice House Chronicles.

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.

2015–present: Alone Together and Hot for My Name

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

On July 17, 2020, Povitsky's debut comedy special, Hot for My Name, was released through Comedy Central.

Fashion brand Povitsky has her own fashion brand, "Sleepover by Esther"; she advertises it on Instagram. She regularly advertises her brand on the Trash Tuesday podcast and often posts herself on Instagram modeling her brand's clothing.

Personal life

Povitsky is married to comedy writer Dave King; they had their first child, a daughter named Ace King, on March 30, 2024. Their second child, Bernard King, was born February 23, 2026.

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 Alicia2021 Mark, Mary & Some Other People Esther Home Sweet Home Alone Daisy Breckin2024 Drugstore June June Also co-writer and executive producer Lost & Found in Cleveland Sara Levine

Television Year Title Role Notes 2010–2011 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Little sister / Bristol Palin / Jimmy's Sister Guest role; 3 episodes 2011 New Girl Krystal Episode: "Bells" 2012 Daddy Knows Best Babysitter Episode: "The Babysitter" 2013 Parks and Recreation Julie Episode: "Swing Vote" 2013 Brody Stevens: Enjoy It! Herself Recurring role; 3 episodes 2013 Adam Devine's House Party Herself Episode: "Space Jump II" 2014 Talking Marriage with Ryan Bailey Herself Episode: "Comedians in Car Ports" 2014 Esther With Hot Chicks Herself Web series (3 episode run for MTV) 2014 Pound House Phone Girl Recurring role; 2 episodes 2014 Hope and Randy Hope Television mini-series 2014 Key & Peele Cassie Episode: "Alien Impostors" 2014 Six Guys One Car Pawn Shop Girl Recurring role; 2 episodes 2015 Comics Unleashed Herself Guest appearance 2015 Difficult People Cissy Donato Episode: "The Children's Menu" 2015 Candidly Nicole Herself Episode: "Ex-Girlfriend" 2015–2017 Cocktales with Little Esther Herself Web series; host2015–2016 @midnight Herself Guest appearance; 4 episodes 2016 Workaholics Jordana Episode: "Save the Cat" 2016 Lady Dynamite Kristy Coombs Episode: "Loaf Coach" 2016 The Amazing Gayl Pile Jenny Recurring role; 3 episodes 2016 Brooklyn Nine-Nine Emily Episode: "Coral Palms: Part 2" 2016 Not Safe with Nikki Glaser Herself Episode: "I'm the Boat"2016–2018 Love Alexis Guest role; 3 episodes 2016–2019 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Maya Recurring role; 19 episodes 2018 Alone Together Esther Main role; 20 episodes; also co-creator, writer, executive producer 2018 The Story of our Times Candace Television film 2019 Shrill Kayla Episode: "Pencil"2019–2022 Dollface Izzy Main role 2021 iCarly Brooke Episode: "iTake a Girls Trip"; also writer 2022 Reboot Marcy Episode: "What We Do in the Shadows"

Comedy specials Year Title Notes 2020 Hot for My Name Premiered on Comedy Central

Podcasts Year Title Notes 2010 Red Bar Radio 12-29-10 Mike David and Co-host James Fritz talk comedy, The Joe Rogan Podcast, and dating Brian "Redban" 2011–2014 Brode & Esther Co-hosted with Brody Stevens 2012–2017 Weird Adults with Little Esther Interview-style podcast 2017–present Glowing Up Beauty and lifestyle-themed podcast; co-hosted with Caroline Goldfarb 2020–present My Pleasure (formerly Esther Club) Solo podcast 2021–presentTrash Tuesday (formerly Bloodbath)Co-hosted with Annie Lederman and Khalyla Kuhn 2021Edith!Plays Trudie Grayson

References

External links

at YouTube (Archived)