Rachel Feinstein (comedian)

This article is about the American stand-up comedian. For the visual artist of the same name, see Rachel Feinstein (artist).

Rachel Feinstein (/ˈfaɪnstaɪn/) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Feinstein was a finalist on season 7 of Last Comic Standing (2010). In 2011, she released her first comedy album, Thug Tears. Her first comedy special, Only Whores Wear Purple, was released in 2016 on Comedy Central, and her second special, Big Guy, was released on Netflix in 2024.

Rachel Feinstein
Born	September 29, 1981 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, film, television
Genres	Observational comedy[1][2][3]
Spouse	Peter Brennan ​ (m. 2018)​
Children	1
Website	rachel-feinstein.com

Early life

Feinstein was born in Washington, D.C.^[4] and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland.^[5] Her father, Howard Feinstein,^[6] was a civil rights lawyer and a blues musician and her mother, Karen, was a social worker.^[7] Her father is of Russian and Polish Jewish ancestry,^[8] whereas her mother was raised a Methodist,^[9] converting to Judaism upon marrying her father.^[10] Feinstein's mother was raised in the Mojave Desert region of California, and met Feinstein's father while the two were studying at the University of California, Santa Barbara.^[9]

Feinstein has said that she was a poor student and "barely graduated" high school.^[11] She moved to New York City at age 17 with her then-boyfriend, a musician.^[12] After breaking up with her boyfriend, Feinstein "did some theater first. Then I started doing open mics. The first time I went out was at a bar that was doing a comedy night and I bombed wildly. I just kept trying to go up and do those bringer shows where you have to bring like five people just to get on stage. I didn’t know many people in New York, so I would just try to make friends with people and bother them into coming to shows."^[12]

Career

Feinstein was a finalist on season 7 of Last Comic Standing (2010).^[13] She played a comedian performing as herself in the feature film Her Composition (2015), directed by Stephan Littger.^[14] In 2011, she released Thug Tears, her first comedy album, through Comedy Central Records.^[1]

In 2013, she was featured on the video game Grand Theft Auto V, providing the voice of Michelle Makes.^[15] Feinstein released her first comedy special, Only Whores Wear Purple, in 2016.^[12]

She subsequently appeared on the HBO series Crashing (2017–2019),^[16] and in the comedy series Inside Amy Schumer (2013–2022), and Life & Beth (2022).^[17] Feinstein was also featured on an episode of The Standups (2018).^[17] She has performed sets on Conan, The Tonight Show and The Late Late Show.

Personal life

In September 2018, Feinstein married Peter Brennan, a Battalion Chief of the New York City Fire Department.^[18] Best friend and fellow comedian Amy Schumer was her maid of honor.^[19] On February 20, 2020, on the Dudley & Bob with Matt Afternoon Show (93.7 KLBJ-FM), Feinstein stated she was 7 months pregnant. She later gave birth to a daughter.^[20]

Discography

• Thug Tears (2011)^[21]

• Only Whores Wear Purple (2016)

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2008	Turbocharge: The Unauthorized Story of The Cars	Joshua; Jeep Girl
2010	Circus Maximus	Octavia		[17]
2011	Stags	Escort
2013	Peace After Marriage	Sasha
2014	Top Five	Publicist
2015	Trainwreck	Nurse Rachel
2015	3rd Street Blackout	Melanie		[17]
2015	Her Composition	Rachel		[17]
2018	I Feel Pretty	Soulcycle Woman
2021	Hysterical	Herself	Documentary film	[17]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2006	Samurai Love God	Various	3 episodes
2009–2010	The Venture Bros.	Barbara Qantas	2 episodes
2010	Last Comic Standing	Herself	Contestant	[17]
2014	Teachers Lounge	School Nurse	1 episodes
2013–2022	Inside Amy Schumer	Various	7 episodes
2014	Stuck on A		1 episode
2014	Friends of the People	Phyllis	1 episode
2015	Red Oaks	Jean Blum	1 episode
2017	Odd Mom Out	Kara	1 episode	[17]
2017–2019	Crashing	Herself	6 episodes
2018	The Standups	Herself		[17]
2018–2020	Laff Mobb's Laff Tracks			[17]
2019	Historical Roasts	Anne Frank	1 episode	[17]
2022	Life & Beth	Liz	2 episodes
2022	Would I Lie to You? USA	Herself	1 episode	[17]

Comedy specials

Year	Title	Notes	Ref.
2016	Only Whores Wear Purple	Released via Comedy Central	[22]
2024	Big Guy	Released via Netflix	[23]

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2013	Grand Theft Auto V	Michelle Makes	Voice role