Jessica Fostekew

Jessica Alice Fostekew is an English actor and stand-up comedian.

Biography

Fostekew was born in Sheffield in 1983 and grew up in Langton Matravers, Dorset. She is of one-quarter Austrian ancestry. She earned an LL.B. from the London School of Economics.
Fostekew has written for Mock The Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and The News Quiz. She has co-hosted The Guilty Feminist podcast. In 2019, her show Hench was nominated for the Main Award at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Also, in 2019, she appeared on Live [at the Apollo (TV series)|Live at the Apollo] and on the BBC Radio 4 comedy talk show The Museum of Curiosity. She has appeared on QI in 2020 and 2021.
Fostekew is a contributing columnist in The Guardian, covering topics including parenting, body image, and marriage equality.
She launched a new show, Iconic Breath, in October 2025 covering stories about love, family, and middle age with, according to the Guardian, "impressive technique and efficiency". The show tours the UK through February 2026.
Fostekew is a keen weightlifter; whilst it has been claimed that she integrates this hobby into her act, she has clarified in a recent radio interview that this is not the case.