Beth Stelling
Quiet, devastating punchlines delivered with the weary patience of an older sister.
5 specials · 2015–2023
Start with Girl Daddy, the breakout (2020 · 57 min · HBO Max)
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Beth Stelling speaks slowly, almost like she is already tired of the conversation but feels obligated to finish her thought. She does not pace the stage or wave the microphone. Instead, she stands still and lets silence hang in the room, wearing a faint, knowing smirk while the crowd catches up to what she just said. When she hits a punchline, she drops her volume rather than raising it. You have to lean in to hear the strangest, darkest details of the story.
Specials
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A dry, patient homecoming hour about aging, family, and fake husbands.
Netflix · 59 min
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A dry, highly specific hour on medical neglect and terrible ex-boyfriends.
HBO Max · 57 min
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Dry observations on dating, babysitting, and airport security in thirty minutes.
Netflix · 30 min
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Measured deadpan stand-up on terrible boyfriends and regrettable tattoos.
Comedy Central · 30 min
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Dry, unhurried stand-up recorded live at Chicago's Beat Kitchen.
Comedy Dynamics · Album · 50 min
On stage
She is a theater act whose specials reliably land on end-of-year lists. Within the industry, she holds quiet respect as a heavy-hitting punch-up writer for film and television, operating as the comic other writers call when a script needs actual jokes.
She builds material out of her childhood without leaning on regional stereotypes. She talks about her family with an affection that never softens the joke, weaving in details about her mother’s habits or her father feeding Hershey’s Kisses to a backyard raccoon army. She will describe a terrible relationship or an invasive medical procedure with the flat, unbothered tone of someone reading a grocery list. She doesn’t ask for sympathy. She just lays out the mechanics of a bad situation and waits for the crowd to realize how strange it is.
Raised in Dayton, Ohio, she came up through the Chicago comedy scene before moving to Los Angeles. Her time in Chicago still shows in the tight construction of her bits, even if her slow delivery makes them sound like off-the-cuff stories.
Turning points
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Named Best Stand-up Comedian in Chicago
After three years performing in the Chicago comedy scene and co-founding the Entertaining Julia variety show, Stelling was voted the city's top stand-up comic by The Chicago Reader.
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Conan O'Brien Produces Debut Hour Girl Daddy
HBO Max released Stelling's first full-length special Girl Daddy, produced by Conan O'Brien and Team Coco, earning critical recognition as The New York Times' Best Debut Special of the year.
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Hometown Homecoming for Netflix's If You Didn't Want Me Then
Stelling filmed her second hour special at the Victoria Theatre in her hometown of Dayton, Ohio; upon its Netflix release, it landed on the platform's Top Ten TV list and topped several year-end comedy rankings.
At a glance
- Born
- , Oakwood, Ohio
- Style
- observational, storytelling
- Breakout
- Girl Daddy
- Influences
- Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Jim Gaffigan
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Website, Wikipedia
Fans also like
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Michelle WolfBoth comedians share an incisive, razor-sharp wit and fearless approach to female bodily experiences and modern adult life, though Stelling delivers hers through a softer, conversational warmth.
Podcasts
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We Called Your Mom · co-host
Beth Stelling and her mother Diane chat together and call the mothers of fellow comedians and celebrities.
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Sweethearts · co-host
A comedy podcast hosted by best friends and comedians Beth Stelling and Mo Welch.
Also on screen
- Red Oaks
- 2021–2022
- Rutherford Falls
- –
- Corporate
- –
- Drinks of My Life
A clip to start with
Who Gives a Fleshlight as a Gift? - Beth Stelling