Laura Lexx

Laura Lexx
Born (1986-09-28) 28 September 1986 (age 38)
Taunton, Somerset, England
MediumStand-up, television, radio, podcast, YouTube
NationalityBritish
EducationUniversity of Kent
Years active2009–present
GenresStorytelling, political satire, observational comedy
SpouseTom Livingstone (m. 2015)
Notable works and rolesKlopp Actually: (Imaginary) Life with Football's Most Sensible Heartthrob
Websitehttps://www.lauralexx.co.uk/

Laura Lexx (born 28 September 1986) is an English comedian and writer originally from Somerset.

Early life and education

Laura Lexx was brought up in Taunton before studying drama at the University of Kent from 2005 to 2009, graduating with a master's degree. Lexx performed comedy during a spell working as a search engine optimiser before turning to comedy full-time in 2015.[1][2]

Career

Laura performed Tyrannosaurus Lexx at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2016 and was a finalist at the 2016 Amused Moose Comedy Awards.[3] Lexx's profile rose in 2016 when her on-stage putdowns of a sexist heckler went viral online.[4] Lexx was nominated for Best Compere at the 2016[5] and 2017 Chortle Awards.[6] Her 2018 Edinburgh show, Trying, discussed her attempts at starting a family and the effects on her mental health.[7] She hoped her honesty would help lift the stigma around these issues.[8]

Laura won Best Performer in the Comedian's Choice Awards and was in the top 10 of the Funniest Joke of the Fringe 2018. The show transferred from the Edinburgh Festival  for a successful run at London's Soho Theatre.[9] Lexx's 2019 Edinburgh show was called Knee Jerk and dealt with political topics associated with the fallout from the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.[10] Lexx won the Comedians' Choice award at the 2019 Chortle Awards.[11]

Her television appearances have included Roast Battle,[12] Hypothetical, Live at the Apollo and Mock the Week.[13] Lexx landed a book deal after a series of tweets during the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic imagining life with Liverpool F.C. manager Jürgen Klopp went viral online, amassing over 5.6 million views. The idea was expanded into the book Klopp Actually: (Imaginary) Life with Football's Most Sensible Heartthrob, released in autumn 2020. The company, Two Roads, also bought the rights to a second story, Pivot, a novel about an amateur women's netball team, which they released in 2022.[14][15] This led to guesting on The Football Ramble[16] and The Anfield Wrap podcasts.[17] Other podcast appearances have included RHLSTP with Richard Herring and Sarah Millican’s Standard Issue podcast.[18]

Lexx is very active on social media, with thousands of followers on Twitter and YouTube. During lockdown in 2020 she created frequent YouTube series, including "As We Know It Day",[19] "The Lockdown Book Club"[20] and "The Twelve Days of Kloppmas".[21]

Personal life

Lexx married fellow comedian Tom Livingstone in Somerset in 2015.[22] She has supported the Green Party.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Taunton comedian Laura Lexx is Live at the Apollo this weekend". Somerset County Gazette.
  2. ^ "Comedy: Laura Lexx". Latest Bars Ltd. 17 June 2014.
  3. ^ "AmusedMoose | Comedy Awards | Stand-up Comedy Soho Kings Cross Awards Courses". www.amusedmoose.com.
  4. ^ "Comedienne Laura Lexx takes down sexist heckler with witty comebacks". Evening Standard. 18 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Alumni Laura Lexx and Tom Parry nominated for Chortle Awards – School of Arts / News". Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  6. ^ Guide, British Comedy (20 March 2017). "Chortle Awards 2017 winners". British Comedy Guide.
  7. ^ Scott, Ellen. "Laura Lexx talks babies and breakdowns on Mentally Yours".
  8. ^ "Laura Lexx: Trying, in the most difficult year of her life | The Argus". www.theargus.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Comedian Laura Lexx Shares the Story behind her show, 'Trying'". Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Laura Lexx: Knee Jerk". 20 August 2019.
  11. ^ Bennett, Steve (22 August 2019). "Joz Norris and Laura Lexx win Comedians' Choice Awards". www.chortle.co.uk.
  12. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Roast Battle Series 4 episode guide". British Comedy Guide.
  13. ^ "BBC Two - Live at the Apollo, Series 14, Christmas Special". BBC.
  14. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Jurgen Klopp tweets land Laura Lexx a book deal : News 2020 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk.
  15. ^ "News: Comedian's Jurgen Klopp Fantasy Goes Viral". Beyond The Joke. 14 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Football Ramble Presents | Stakhanov". stak.london. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  17. ^ Wrap, The Anfield. "The Weekender: Coronavirus, Klopp & The Season So Far | The Anfield Wrap".
  18. ^ "Edinburgh 2019 - Laura Lexx and Tony Law - RHLSTP with Richard Herring". British Comedy Guide.
  19. ^ "Laura Lexx - As We Know It Day 1 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  20. ^ "The Twelve Days of Kloppmas - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  21. ^ "The Twelve Days of Kloppmas... Day One - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  22. ^ "Laura Lexx returns to Somerset for comedy laughs". South West Farmer.
  23. ^ "Laura Lexx: Knee Jerk at Edinburgh Fringe | Review". 22 August 2019.