Debra DiGiovanni

Debra DiGiovanni (born March 21, 1972) is a Canadian stand-up comedian originally from Tillsonburg, Ontario.

She is a frequent guest on the CBC Radio program The Debaters, for which she earned a Canadian Comedy Award nomination for writing. Her previous work includes being a regular contributor to Much’s Video on Trial series and its spinoff Stars on Trial, as well as a permanent panellist on The Comedy Network’s Canadian revival of Match Game, among other things.

Debra DiGiovanni was born in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, on March 21, 1972. She is of Italian descent, was raised in a big Italian family, and has a fraternal twin sister. She grew up in Tillsonburg, Ontario.

DiGiovanni began her studies in university pursuing fashion design, though she admits it was not a fit for her.

DiGiovanni's comedy career began at the age of 27 with the help of Humber College's inaugural year of their Comedy Writing and Performance course in 1999. Three months into enrolling in the program, she was on stage for the first time. She credits Carol Burnett and Laverne & Shirley (starring Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams) as some of her inspirations. "I watched these women be funny and secretly wanted to do that myself."

In 2002, she won the Canadian Comedy Award for the Best Stand-up Newcomer in Stand Up. In 2003, NOW Magazine named her headline show as the 3rd Best of the Year. In 2005, she made her first appearance at the Just for Laughs Festival where she was invited on a cross-Canada tour opening for Russell Peters. In 2007, 2009, and 2011, she won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Female Stand Up.

She was previously a contributor on the popular Much show Video on Trial and its spinoff Stars on Trial.

In 2007, she appeared in the fifth season of Last Comic Standing. By winning an audition in Montreal, she was selected to participate in a semifinal qualifying round in Hollywood, making it to the top 10 finalist. She participated in the show until she was eliminated and placed 8th.