LIANNA CARRERA
“I experienced life as the gay daughter of a Southern Baptist minister and my mother is deaf,” comedian Lianna Carrera says. “So there’s a lot of comedy baked into that kind of upbringing.” Carrera’s career, which she says stemmed from “[a] little bit of naiveté, a lot of ambition, and a healthy dose of childhood trauma. Just kidding!— kinda,” hasn’t always been what she hoped, but she learned to take the losses in stride. “This business is full of highs and lows,” Carrera says. “You could have a shiny new job one minute, and feel totally alone in the world the next…I spent years feeling like my peers who chose a traditional path made the right decision.” After years of side hustles, where she “sold gutter helmets at Home Depot, GAVE tours of LA on double decker buses, and worked as a sign language interpreter…,” Carrera is not only making a living at comedy but experiencing career highs. She’s performed stand-up in Ireland, South Africa, and the Dominican Republic; was named to the 2022 OUT 100; and is currently a host on LATV’s The Q Agenda, where she and her co-hosts dive into the intersection of Latinx and LGBTQ+ issues.Carrera is publishing two books this year, “on the intersections of hardships in life, and how the right comedic mindset can get you through these moments,” she says. She’s also worked with Wanda Sykes and Will Smith, has ideated for Adele, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds, and is currently comedy writing full-time for Kevin Hart’s in-house branded content agency, Pulse. If you run into Carrera on the street, however, keep her introverted nature in mind. “Please strike up a deeper conversation with me immediately,” Carrera instructs. “Small talk actually hurts.”
