Rachel Feinstein (comedian)

Rachel Feinstein 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.

Early life
Feinstein grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. Her father, Howard Feinstein, was a civil rights lawyer and a blues musician and her mother, Karen, was a social worker. Her father is of Russian and Polish Jewish ancestry, whereas her mother was raised a Methodist, converting to Judaism upon marrying her father. 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.

Feinstein has said that she was a poor student and "barely graduated" high school. She moved to New York City at age 17 with her then-boyfriend, a musician. 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."

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

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

She subsequently appeared on the HBO series Crashing (2017–2019), and in the comedy series Inside Amy Schumer (2013–2022), and Life & Beth (2022). Feinstein was also featured on an episode of The Standups (2018). 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. Best friend and fellow comedian Amy Schumer was her maid of honor. 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.

Discography

 * Thug Tears (2011)


 * Only Whores Wear Purple (2016)