Jump to content

Aida Rodriguez

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aida Rodriguez
Rodriguez in 2007
Birth nameAida Margarita Parada Rodriguez
Born (1977-08-29) August 29, 1977 (age 47)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materFlorida State University (withdrew)
Years active2007–present
Spouse'Omar Ellison (divorced)
Websitewww.funnyaida.com

Aida Margarita Parada Rodriguez (born August 29, 1977) is an American comedian of Puerto Rican/Dominican descent[1] who is best known for her appearance as a contestant on the eighth season of Last Comic Standing and as a commentator on The Young Turks. She is also an actress, producer, writer, and podcaster.[2][3]

Early life

[edit]

Rodriguez was born in Boston, Massachusetts and taken to the Dominican Republic shortly afterward. As a child, her mother kidnapped her from her father in the Dominican Republic, and brought her to the U.S.[4] Her grandmother and uncle would later abduct her from her mother's home in New York and bring her to Florida, in an attempt to protect her from her mother's boyfriend.[4] Her uncle was later murdered in a hate crime.[4] She attended Florida State University where she met her future husband 'Omar Ellison. She studied English and law, but left before graduating after she became pregnant.[5] She was recruited by modeling agency IMG.[citation needed] She and Ellison later divorced.[5]

Rodriguez moved to Los Angeles in the early 2000s with her two children after her divorce from Ellison.[5][6] After a bout with anorexia and a divorce, she turned to comedy for healing.[citation needed] For a time, she and her children were homeless and lived out of a car.[4][6][7]

Career

[edit]

Rodriguez attempts to transform painful episodes of her life into comedy material, while also addressing difficult issues such as misogyny and racism.[4]

She was a top ten finalist in the eighth season of NBC's Last Comic Standing (2014), but was eliminated in the seventh episode of the season after losing a head-to-head showdown against Rod Man (who ultimately won the LCS title). She finished in a tie for ninth place.[citation needed]

Rodriguez is a five-time host of the Imagen Awards, which recognizes "the positive portrayal and creative excellence of Latinos and Latino cultures on screen".[8]

Through the stand-up comedy circuit, Rodriguez met Tiffany Haddish, who has proven a long-time friend and a strong advocate for women of color comics.[3] In August 2019, Rodriguez was featured in the comedy anthology series Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready on Netflix.[6] She was one of six featured comedians, each given a half-hour comedy special.

Currently, Rodriguez appears as a co-host of The Young Turks online platform.[9]

In collaboration with HBO Max, Rodriguez released her debut hour-long comedy special on November 4, 2021. Throughout the special, she speaks on issues in today's world and relates them to her personal life.

Advocacy

[edit]

In October 2023, Rodriguez signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to Joe Biden, President of the United States, calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.[10]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2007 Black Woman's Guide to Finding a Good Man Video
2008 Fotonovela Ida Video
2009 The Rub Marilyn
The Greatest Song Salma Munoz
Just Wrong Paz Short
The Adventures of Umbweki Shelia
Caught in the Game Comedian
2010 Brainiacs in La La Land Liz
2012 Got Rights? Cuban Girl Short
2013 A Heart's Journey Isabel Morales Short
2014 Wishes Mo The Genie
2015 The C & Borracho Show Cassandra Fernandez (voice) Video short
2016 Ladies Book Club Lavanya TV movie
The Comedian Herself
Celebrity Sports Roast & Toast Herself TV movie
All Def Digital's Roast of America Herself TV movie
2017 Unfallen Secretary Teresa Peters
2018 Shaquille O'Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam - I'm Still Laughing Herself Video
2020 Break In Jimmy's Mom Short
2021 Who Gets to Sleep with Me Tonight The Cat Short

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2010-11 Latino 101 Herself Main cast: Season 2
2011-12 Illegal Beatriz Rodriguez Main cast
2012 The Wedding Zinger Herself/host TV special
Trend This! Herself Episode: "The Makeover"
Parental Discretion with Stefanie Wilder-Taylor Herself Episode: "The Business of Babies"
2013 NickMom Night Out Herself Episode: "Los Angeles Episode 2"
Stand Up and Deliver Herself 2 episodes
2014 Last Comic Standing Herself/contestant Main cast: Season 8
2014-16 Imagen Awards Herself/host TV special
2015 Gotham Comedy Live Herself/contestant Episode: "Chris Kattan"
2015-16 The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore Herself/panelist 2 episodes
2017 Comedy Knockout Herself Episode: "Just Suck It"
The Church of What's Happening Now Herself Episode: "Aida Rodriguez"
Kiki Mobile Herself Episode: "On Top of the World"
2018 Laff Mobb's Laff Tracks Herself Episode: "Strong Women"
Sh#t I Love with Jason Stuart Herself Episode: "Aida Rodriguez"
Entre Nos Part 1 Herself Episode: "Entre Nos Part 3"
Happy Half Hour Herself Episode: "Aida Rodriguez - Carmenere"
This Week at the Comedy Cellar Herself Episode: "November 11–16, 2018"
Comedians and Cocktails Herself Episode: "Grown People Talk"
2019 Mom Coms Comedian Episode: "Child Birth is a Horror Movie"
2021 Pause with Sam Jay Party Guest Episode: "Pregnant Studs"

Comedy releases

[edit]
Year Title Notes
2021 Aida Rodriguez: Fighting Words TV special

References

[edit]
  1. ^ The Black Box Office Archived 2010-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Aida Rodriguez". IMDb.
  3. ^ a b "Comedian Aida Rodriguez Explains How Her Kids Inspired Her to Keep Doing Stand-Up". People en Español. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  4. ^ a b c d e Westenfeld, Adrienne (2019-08-22). "Aida Rodriguez Was Kidnapped Twice. Now That's Part of Her Stand-Up". Esquire. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  5. ^ a b c San Juan, Rebecca; Miami (2016-03-06). "Last Comic Standing's Afro-Latina Funny Woman Aida Rodriguez". HipLatina. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  6. ^ a b c "Tiffany Haddish's New Standup Comedy Series Features A Mom You Need To Know About". Romper. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  7. ^ Bentley, Jean. "All Your New Favorite Comedians From Tiffany Haddish's". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  8. ^ "Announcing the Winners of the 33rd Annual Imagen Awards". Imagen Foundation. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  9. ^ "'She Took A Pay Cut And Said I Want Them To Have An Opportunity': Aida Rodriguez On Netflix's 'Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready'". 2019-08-14. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  10. ^ "Artists4Ceasefire". Artists4Ceasefire. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
[edit]