{{short description|American comedian}} {{Infobox comedian | image = | name = Sierra Katow | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Sierra Lynn Katow<ref>{{cite news |title=National Merit $2,500 Scholarship Winners Named |url=https://rafu.com/2012/05/national-merit-2500-scholarship-winners-named/ |access-date=9 November 2021 |work=The Rafu Shimpo |date=May 10, 2012}}</ref> | birth_date = <!-- Valid citation required for date of birth for BLP. (WP:BLPPRIVACY) --> | birth_place = Pasadena, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | medium = Stand-up comedian, writer, actress, podcaster | alma_mater = Harvard University (A. B.), Computer science | years_active = 2015–present | children = | genre = | subject = | spouse = | notable_works = ''Last Comic Standing''<br>''Last Call with Carson Daly''<br>''Close Enough'' }}
'''Sierra Lynn Katow''' is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer and podcaster.
==Early life== Sierra Lynn Katow was born to Vincent and Corinne Katow at the Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California and is a fourth-generation American of Chinese and Japanese heritage.<ref name="Comedian, Actor & Writer Sierra Katow on Her Career and Bringing A Fresh POV to the Industry">{{cite web |title=Comedian, Actor & Writer Sierra Katow on Her Career and Bringing A Fresh POV to the Industry |url=https://weareentertainmentnews.com/2020/10/30/comedian-actor-writer-sierra-katow-on-her-career-and-bringing-a-fresh-pov-to-the-industry/ |website=We Are Entertainment News |date=30 October 2020 |access-date=8 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="La Cañada Valley Sun">{{cite news |last1=Longoria |first1=Ruth |title=Valley Sun All-Star Sierra Katow: All smiles |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/la-canada-valley-sun/news/tn-vsl-xpm-2009-08-13-lyo-allstarsierra0813-story.html |access-date=9 November 2021 |work=La Cañada Valley Sun |date=August 13, 2009}}</ref> She grew up in La Cañada in Los Angeles County.<ref name="Sierra L. Katow">{{cite web |last1=Hatt |first1=Laura E. |title=Sierra L. Katow |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/12/10/15mostinteresting-katow/ |website=The Harvard Crimson |access-date=8 November 2021 |date=December 10, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Close to 10k Viewers Watch GFBNEC’s Virtual Evening of Aloha">{{cite web |title=Close to 10k Viewers Watch GFBNEC's Virtual Evening of Aloha |url=https://rafu.com/2020/12/close-to-10k-viewers-watch-gfbnecs-virtual-evening-of-aloha/ |website=The Rafu Shimpo |access-date=9 November 2021 |date=December 5, 2020}}</ref> Katow attended La Cañada Elementary School,<ref name="La Cañada Valley Sun"/> La Cañada High School,<ref name="La Cañada Flintridge float soars">{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Tiffany |last2=Kisliuk |first2=Bill |title=La Cañada Flintridge float soars |url=https://www.mcall.com/tn-vsl-la-canada-flintridge-float-soars-20130102-story.html |access-date=9 November 2021 |work=The Morning Call |date=January 2, 2013}}</ref> and Harvard University, where she was part of a number of comedy groups including the Harvard College Stand-Up Comic Society and vice-president of ''The Harvard Lampoon''; and from 2013 to 2014 a cartoonist for ''The Harvard Crimson'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Contributor Sierra L. Katow |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/writer/1210146/Sierra_L._Katow/ |website=The Harvard Crimson |access-date=9 November 2021}}</ref> and graduated with a degree in Computer Science in 2016.<ref name="Sierra L. Katow"/> While attending college, Katow performed in and around Boston and around Hollywood when home on summer break, and participated in a ''Lampoon'' roast of and award ceremony for Jimmy Fallon in 2015.<ref name="Sierra Katow">{{cite web |title=Sierra Katow |url=http://www.laughfactory.com/SierraKatow |website=Laugh Factory |access-date=8 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="Sierra Katow is the funniest comic to attend Harvard since Conan">{{cite web |last1=Black |first1=Devon |title=Sierra Katow is the funniest comic to attend Harvard since Conan |url=https://thetab.com/us/harvard/2015/11/13/sierra-katow-is-the-funniest-comic-to-attend-harvard-since-conan-1122 |website=The Tab |access-date=8 November 2021 |date=November 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Paterson |first1=R. Blake |last2=Wood |first2=Daniel P. |title=Lampoon Crowns Jimmy Fallon 'Emperor of Comedy' |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/10/25/lampoon-crown-jimmy-fallon/ |access-date=9 November 2021 |work=The Harvard Crimson |date=October 25, 2015}}</ref>
==Career== Katow began performing at comedy clubs at the age of 16, and broke into the West Coast stand-up industry during high school.<ref name="Sierra L. Katow"/><ref name="Comedian, Actor & Writer Sierra Katow on Her Career and Bringing A Fresh POV to the Industry"/><ref name="Standup Comedian Sierra Katow Is The New Queen Of The Comedy Club">{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Traci |title=Standup Comedian Sierra Katow Is The New Queen Of The Comedy Club |url=https://charactermedia.com/standup-comedian-sierra-katow-is-the-new-queen-of-the-comedy-club/ |website=Character Media |access-date=8 November 2021 |date=September 20, 2019}}</ref> During college she often performed at open mics at comedy clubs in the Boston area, and through this organised further gigs with fellow comedians while backstage.<ref name="Sierra L. Katow"/>
She was the youngest comedian to feature on Season 9 of ''Last Comic Standing'' (2015), which she auditioned for during her junior year, and has also performed stand-up on television in ''Last Call with Carson Daly'', ''Just For Laughs Digital'', ''Laughs'' (on Fox) and ''Acting Out'' (MTV).
In 2020, ''Variety'' announced Katow was joining the cast of the Chris Blake quarantine comedy, ''Distancing Socially''. The film was shot in 2020, using remote technologies and the iPhone 11. The film was acquired and released by Cinedigm in October 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Malkin |first=Marc |date=2020-10-07 |title='Schitt's Creek' Actor Sarah Levy Cast in COVID-Inspired Indie 'Distancing Socially' (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/schitts-creek-sarah-levy-distancing-socially-1234796488/ |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2021, Katow voiced two characters in Disney's ''Raya and the Last Dragon'' and appeared as recurring character Evangeline in Mindy Kaling's ''The Sex Lives of College Girls'' on HBO Max. Katow will create a short adult animated series to feature on ''Cake'' on FXX in 2022.
Katow has written for ''Take My Wife''; ''Drop the Mic''; ''Earth to Ned'' and ''Close Enough'' on HBO Max; ''The Wedding Coach'' on Netflix; and ''Eureka!'' on Disney Junior. She has also been involved in several projects with Wong Fu Productions, including appearing in and writing for the series ''Dating After College''.<ref name="BIO">{{cite web |title=BIO |url=http://www.sierrakatow.com/#bio |website=Sierra Katow |access-date=8 November 2021}}</ref> She also appeared as Mulan in the Screen Junkies web production ''The Roast of Beauty and the Beast'' in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Katow |first1=Sierra |title=Me as Mulan roasting the crap outta ur fav Disney dudes for @screenjunkies . Fun Fact: I wore Matt Damon's original wardrobe #TheGreatWall |url=https://twitter.com/sierrakatow/status/885625590853664768?lang=en |website=Twitter |access-date=9 November 2021 |date=July 14, 2017}}</ref>
She co-hosted the comedy podcast ''SCUSSION with SCLARQ + SKATOW'' with fellow comedian and Harvard alumnus Sam Clark in 2016.<ref name="SCUSSION with SCLARQ + SKATOW">{{cite web |title=SCUSSION with SCLARQ + SKATOW |url=https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/scussion-with-sclarq-skatow-472253/episodes/recent |website=PODCHASER |access-date=8 November 2021}}</ref> Katow is the host of the podcast ''Stay Podsitive with Sierra Katow'', which she started in 2019.<ref name="Stay Podsitive">{{cite web |title=Stay Podsitive |url=http://www.staypodsitive.com/ |access-date=8 November 2021}}</ref> As of January 2026, no new podcast episodes have been uploaded since April 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stay Podsitive with Sierra Katow |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stay-podsitive-with-sierra-katow/id1448933369 |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-US}}</ref>
Outside of comedy, Katow does freelance work as a full-stack web developer.<ref name="BIO"/>
==Filmography== ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2021 | ''Raya and the Last Dragon'' | Merchant, Fang Officer (voice) | |- | 2021 | ''Distancing Socially'' | Mi Cha | |- | 2023 | ''Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'' | Waiter | |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | 2015 || ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' || Herself || Guest; Series 14, Episode 55: "Evan Peters/Sierra Katow/The Re-Licked Project" |- | 2015 || ''Last Comic Standing'' || Herself || Series 9, Episode 4: "The Invitationals: Last Chance to Advance" |- | 2015 || ''Laughs'' || Herself || Series 2, Episode 2: "Funny Boys and Girls" |- | 2016 || ''Acting Out'' || Herself - Comedian || Series 1, Episode 5 |- | 2016|| ''Girls Dorm'' || Sketchy|| |- | 2018 || ''Straight Up, Stand Up'' || Herself || Series 1, Episode 4: "Bar Lubitsch" |- | 2018 || ''Take My Wife'' || PA || Series 2, Episode 7; writers' assistant, 8 episodes |- | 2018 || ''Drop the Mic'' || || Writers' assistant, 10 episodes |- | 2019 || ''Epic Night'' || || Writer |- | 2020 || ''Earth to Ned'' || Comedian || Series 1, Episode 2: "Laugh Your Ned Off"; also writer for Season 1 |- | 2021-2022 || ''The Sex Lives of College Girls'' || Evangeline || Recurring; 12 episodes |}
===Web=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |- | 2017 | ''How to Define the Relationship'' | Vicky | Wong Fu Productions short |- | 2017 | ''Screen Junkies Roasts'' | Mulan | Series 1, Episode 6: "The Roast of Beauty and the Beast" |- | 2018 | ''How Asians Celebrate Halloween'' | Ocean's 8 Awkwafina | Wong Fu Productions short |- | 2019 | ''Dating After College'' | Woman #1; writer | Wong Fu Productions short |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katow, Sierra}} Category:Living people Category:American writers of Japanese descent Category:American writers of Chinese descent Category:Actresses from Pasadena, California Category:Writers from Los Angeles Category:Harvard College alumni Category:The Harvard Lampoon alumni Category:The Harvard Crimson people Category:American comedy podcasters Category:American women podcasters Category:American actresses of Japanese descent Category:American comedians of Asian descent Category:21st-century American actresses Category:21st-century American comedians Category:Comedians from Pasadena, California Category:American actresses of Chinese descent Category:American film actresses Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actresses Category:American television writers Category:American women comedians Category:Year of birth missing (living people)