Amy Anderson
A flat, unbothered Midwestern delivery applied to the assumptions of strangers.
1 special · 2003
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Amy Anderson stands at the microphone and speaks in the flat, unbothered tone of a Midwesterner explaining a mild delay at the grocery store. There is very little physical animation. She relies on the gap between what the audience sees and what she actually is. She introduces herself as a Korean adoptee raised by a Scandinavian family in suburban Minnesota, then lets the silence sit before delivering a punchline. She doesn’t pace. She just stands there and lets the premises unfold.
Specials
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Premium Blend: D.L. Hughley host (S7E2) with D.L. Hughley, Joe Matarese & 2 more
Four rising comedians offer distinct, punchy sets on a late-night showcase.
Comedy Central · 25 min
On stage
She is a veteran of the Los Angeles club scene who spent years carving out space for Asian-American comics. By creating ChopSchtick, an early all-Asian standup showcase at the Laugh Factory and the Improv, she pushed back against the expectation that Asian comics needed to perform stereotypical jokes to get stage time. She remains a club fixture, working out material about middle age and raising a teenager.
Her best material targets the polite but invasive questions strangers ask adoptees. She responds to casual ignorance not with outrage, but with the weary patience of someone explaining how a door handle works. She will recount a stranger asking about her “real” grandfather, then deliver a comeback so dry it takes the room a beat to realize how hard it landed. She occasionally drifts into familiar club complaints about dating or traffic, but the set tightens when she pivots back to the weird details of her own life.
Anderson earned a degree in classical music before moving into standup. She is the mother of Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, the actor who played Lily on Modern Family.
Turning points
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Creation of the ChopSchtick Comedy Showcase
Anderson created and hosted ChopSchtick Comedy at the Hollywood Laugh Factory and Hollywood Improv, recognized as the first all-Asian American standup showcase in the United States.
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National Standup Debut on Premium Blend
Anderson achieved national standup exposure with her Comedy Central debut on the seventh season of Premium Blend hosted by D.L. Hughley.
At a glance
Fans also like
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Margaret ChoAnderson has drawn direct stylistic comparisons to Margaret Cho for her groundbreaking, stereotype-challenging standup on the Asian-American experience.
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Wendy LiebmanA fellow veteran comedian and peer who joined Anderson as a guest on the Casting Notice Podcast to talk shop about standup and personal life.
Podcasts
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Casting Notice Podcast · co-host
Amy Anderson and Heather Dragulescu explore the unique facets of their guests' lives and commiserate on their experiences as Asian-American actors, adoption, and aging in entertainment.
Also on screen
- Modern Family
- The Newsroom
- Raising Hope
- The Bold and the Beautiful
- Lucifer
A clip to start with
Amy Anderson • Hot Tamales Live • Part 1 | LOLflix