Steph Tolev
Guttural yells, bizarre postures, and an absolute refusal to maintain any dignity.
1 special · 2025
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Steph Tolev stalks the stage in a jumpsuit and a shaggy mullet, delivering punchlines in a guttural, gravelly yell. She refuses to stand still, contorting her face and throwing her limbs into bizarre postures. When she describes a terrible date or a strange bodily function, she does not tell the story from a safe distance. She reenacts the embarrassing details with sweaty, loud enthusiasm, dropping her voice into a raspy growl to close out a bit. She will happily make herself the ugliest person in the room to land a joke.
Specials
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Gravelly growls, heavy physical comedy, and vulgar dating stories from Boston.
Netflix · 56 min
On stage
She is the kind of act other comedians watch from the back of the room. Bill Burr took her on tour and put her on his showcase special long before she broke wider. After years of grinding as a staple at the Comedy Store, she has graduated to theater headliner and streaming specials. A massive online audience now tunes in just to watch her yell at latecomers in the front row.
The core of her act is a total refusal of dignity. She leans into the gross-out mechanics of dating and physical aging with sweat and volume. The delivery is so loud that it is easy to miss the timing underneath. What looks like an improvised meltdown is actually a tight physical performance. If a premise runs thin, she just powers through it on sheer force of will, winning the crowd back with a contorted expression or a sudden animal noise.
She grew up in Toronto doing competitive highland dance, a bizarre piece of trivia that entirely explains the leg strength required to squat and thrash her way through an hour of comedy.
Turning points
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Breakout Set on Bill Burr Showcase
Tolev gained widespread national attention after performing on Bill Burr Presents: Friends Who Kill at the Netflix is a Joke Festival, leading to tour opening slots and film roles.
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Release of Debut Netflix Special Filth Queen
Tolev filmed her hour-long standup special Filth Queen at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, marking her solo hour debut on Netflix.
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Steph Infection Moves to YMH Studios
Tolev partnered with Tom Segura's YMH Studios to bring her podcast Steph Infection onto their digital production network.
At a glance
- Born
- , Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- On stage
- since 2009
- Style
- raunchy, physical, self deprecating, observational, crowd work
- Breakout
- Filth Queen
- Influences
- The Kids in the Hall, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, SCTV
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Website, Wikipedia, Instagram
Fans also like
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Jessica KirsonBoth comedians share an aggressive, high-energy tone, raunchy sensibilities, physical presence, and mentorship under Bill Burr.
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Bill BurrBurr has actively championed Tolev, casting her in his showcases and films and executive producing her Netflix special.
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Stavros HalkiasBoth share a generational comedy cohort and lean into bawdy, bodily humor with high crowd rapport.
Podcasts
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Steph Infection · host
Steph Tolev interviews guests about bodily ailments, outrageous medical mishaps, and strange physical quirks.
Also on screen
- Canada's Drag Race
- Tires
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- Old Dads
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- Hacks
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- This Fool
A clip to start with
Teaching Americans What Canadian Women Are Like - Steph Tolev - Bill Burr Presents: The Ringers