Russell Peters
| Russell Peters | |
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Russell Peters in 2008
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| Birth name | Russell Dominic Peters |
| Born |
September 29, 1970 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Medium | Stand-up, television, film, radio, books |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Genres | Satire, observational comedy, improvisational comedy, black comedy, Insult comedy |
| Subject(s) | Racism, race relations, stereotypes, multiculturalism, Indian culture |
| Spouse | Monica Diaz (2010–2012; divorced; 1 child) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | RussellPeters.com |
Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970) is a Canadian comedian and actor of Indian descent. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and won a Gemini Award in 2008. He currently lives in Los Angeles.
Peters was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Eric and Maureen Peters. When he was four, the family moved to the nearby city of Brampton, Ontario. His older brother Clayton now serves as Peters' manager. Peters was raised Catholic and is of Anglo-Indian descent. His late father was born in Bombay, India and worked as a federal meat inspector; Peters regularly features stories about him in his comedy work.
Peters attended Chinguacousy Secondary School for grades 9–10, and North Peel Secondary School in Bramalea for grades 11–12. In school, he was regularly bullied because of his ethnicity. He eventually learned boxing, which helped him resist the bullying.
Peters also became a hip hop "junkie" in his youth. By the 1990s, he was a well-connected DJ in the Toronto scene.
Peters began performing in Toronto in 1989. He has since gone on to perform in several countries worldwide.
In 1992, Peters met comedian George Carlin, one of his biggest influences, who advised him to get on stage whenever and wherever possible. Peters said he "took that advice to heart, and I think that's the reason I am where I am now." In 2007, 15 years later, he hosted one of Carlin's last shows before Carlin's death the following year.
Peters attributes his 2004 performance on the Canadian TV comedy show Comedy Now!, which was uploaded onto YouTube and became viral, as the turning point in his career. While the initial video upload featured his entire 45-minute performance, YouTube users subsequently uploaded segments of the performance where Peters focused on individual cultural groups. According to Peters, those segments made their way to the "targeted" cultural groups and were well received by them. The video and its viral nature was referenced by Peters on his performance, Outsourced, when the audience cheered to the reference he made to his previous jokes, to which Peters exclaimed, "Look at you, you filthy downloaders!"
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