Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessimae Peluso.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started doing stand-up comedy in my early 20s in Boston, MA with absolutely no plan B, which in hindsight explains a lot. I came up the old-school way, open mics, road gigs, bombing publicly, learning fast, and developing a thick skin. Both in NY and now LA. Comedy quickly became both my job and my language for understanding the world.
Over time, that led to television, hosting, podcasting, touring, and building a career that’s lasted nearly two decades in an industry that doesn’t hand out longevity awards. Along the way, life got heavier. I lost both of my parents within a few years of each other, which fundamentally changed me as a person and as a performer. Grief stripped away a lot of noise and forced me to get honest, onstage and off. Nothing will make you more authentic then everybody dying.
That honesty reshaped my work. I’m still a comic first, but my voice has evolved into something more grounded, more human, and more intentional. Now my focus is creating comedy that holds humor and depth at the same time, through stand-up, my podcast Dying Laughing, and projects centered on loss, resilience, and joy. I didn’t arrive here overnight, and I didn’t arrive untouched but I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. A silly billy who makes people laugh AND feel.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not even a little. Whenever people ask how I became a comedian, I usually say: ten years of failure. That’s not self-deprecation it’s the apprenticeship. Comedy is built on rejection, bad sets, empty rooms, and learning how to keep going when no one is clapping yet.
The struggle has been real and, honestly, kind of revolutionary. Over the years, I’ve developed such an intimate relationship with loss that friends and coworkers now call me when they’re grieving or going through something hard. I never set out to be that person, but lived experience has a way of shaping your role.
I’m a firm believer in resilience, especially in creative industries where nothing is guaranteed. Hardship has a way of sharpening you if you let it. That said, I don’t recommend losing both parents back-to-back. It does a number on your soul… and your wardrobe choices. But it also forced me to grow up, get clear, and build a strength I didn’t know I had.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At my core, I’m a stand-up comedian, a silly goose if you will… but my work lives across a few lanes: live comedy, podcasting, hosting, and storytelling. What I specialize in is taking uncomfortable, heavy, or taboo topics like grief, aging, relationships, mental health, loss and making them feel human, funny, and survivable. I don’t do fluff. I do honesty with jokes. Small talk gives me the ICK.
I’m probably best known for MTV’s Girl Code and hosting Tattoo Redo and Surviving Paradise on Netflix. blending humor with depth in a way that doesn’t feel preachy or precious. My podcast Dying Laughing is a good example of that because it’s funny, irreverent, and grounded in real conversations about loss, resilience, and the messiness of being alive. People don’t come to be fixed; they come to feel seen and laugh anyway. Not to mention John Stamos was my first guest! And Seth Rogen is coming on in 2026, as a few other amazing guests.
What I’m most proud of is both of my parents seeing me “make it” and my longevity. I’ve stayed in this industry for nearly two decades without burning out my voice or turning into a version of myself I don’t recognize. I’ve built a career that evolves with me, not one I’m trapped inside of. I’ve also become someone people trust with their laughter and with their loss and that’s not something you can manufacture.
What sets me apart is that I don’t separate humor from humanity. I let life inform the work, not the other way around. I’ve lived enough, lost enough, and paid attention long enough to know that comedy doesn’t have to be shallow to be fun. It can be sharp, cathartic, and connective all at once. Plus, I’ve managed to turn grief into a career without starting a cult, which I consider a win. Beyond all of this I’m also extremely proud to be an ambassador for Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen’s amazing Alzheimer’s charity Hilarity For Charity, Which raises funds for family’s struggling with the disease. I lost my father to Dementia in 2018 so being able to be an advocate for such a good cause fills me with gratitude.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
My biggest advice is to listen more than you talk and ask better questions. Podcasts, interviews, YouTube…those are mentorship goldmines if you actually pay attention. I’ve learned just as much from people I’ve never met as I have from people I’ve worked with directly. Also: don’t be annoying, but do be persistent. There’s a difference. One is desperation, the other is professionalism with stamina.
I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and work with Tony Robbins and Sage Robbins, but I also find mentorship in thinkers and teachers like Eckhart Tolle, Ram Dass, and even Abraham Hicks. On the flip side, sometimes I need someone like David Goggins to kick my ass back into discipline. How does he run and yell so effortlessly? He was built to be a mom.
I think variety is the spice of life and the key to successful mentorship. It doesn’t have to come from one perfect guru. It can come from different people, different philosophies, different moments. Sometimes it even comes from plants. That’s my tongue-in-cheek way of saying yes, I enjoy magical mushrooms…but mostly I just stay curious, open, and willing to learn from wherever the lesson shows up.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jessimae.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JessimaePeluso
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ComedianJessimaePeluso
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Jessimaepeluso
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/Jessimaepeluso
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dying-laughing-with-jessimae/id983093988
Image Credits
Images provided by Jeff Kravitz, Van Carona, Bradford Rogne.
