Elicia Sanchez(I)
- Actress
A queer, transgender, non-binary stand-up comedian, actor and writer, El Sanchez was born in Olympia, WA and raised all around Western Washington, mostly settling in the Seattle area. Known for their stand-up comedy, they haven been performing since 2010. They have been referred to as "a grumpy nugget of delight," by writer Lindy West (Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman) and "a brilliant new voice everyone should know," by comedian Hari Kondabolu (The Problem with Apu). Grammy Award winning singer and song-writer Kimya Dawson (The Moldy Peaches, Juno) has cited Sanchez as her 'favorite underground Northwest comedian' while W. Kamau Bell, Emmy Award winning comedian and host of CNN's United Shades of America, once said, "El Sanchez is the truth." El has performed at comedy and music festivals, conventions, non-profit events, political fundraisers, camps, colleges, pride celebrations and more. They have appeared on LiveWire! and Latino USA on NPR, Sex Nerd Sandra on the Nerdist Network, and have been interviewed by Teen Vogue. El has opened for some of the best comics in the business including Jen Kirkman, Nicole Byer, W. Kamau Bell, Wyatt Cenac, Michael Che, Moshe Kasher and are a regular opening act and occasional touring partner of comedian Hari Kondabolu. As an actor they have appeared in local independent short films, "Steel of Fire Warriors: 2010 AD," "Poster Boy" and documentary short "Oh, I Get It," detailing their experiences working as a queer stand-up comedian. It's important to note that all of these films were shot before El came out as transgender and non-binary and therefore are credited as "she" and "herself" and their birth name.