Leslie Liao

Leslie Liao is an American stand-up comedian. She formerly worked for Netflix in their human resources department while learning to perform stand-up.

Early life and education Liao was born on March 11, 1987 to Chinese immigrant parents and raised in Orange County, California. She describes originally wanting to be a ballerina from a young age, before being drawn to the entertainment industry. She recounts envisioning herself more as an agent or in some other support role.

Liao graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Career After completing college, one of Liao's first jobs was as an assistant producer at Universal Studios in comedy production. Liao became motivated to try her own hand at stand-up comedy after seeing performances she didn't like: "It all clicked that night, where I realized how much I understood it and loved it, and was so protective over it. I remember almost standing up and being like, 'Give me the mic.'" While beginning to perform stand-up at local comedy clubs, Liao took a position at Netflix in their human resources department. Liao describes working a 9 to 5 shift, performing at a late night show, and then needing to be ready for an early meeting the next day. Liao resigned from Netflix in January 2024. She said her bosses were "so cool and supportive" and encouraged her to pursue her comedy career: "My bosses at Netflix saw me on Netflix. They saw me on Jimmy Fallon. They were like, 'Go be a star.' They didn't fire me, but they were like, 'It's your time.'" Her act has also been called relatable and "hilarious in her execution and perspective."

Awards and honors Liao was selected as one of the New Faces of Comedy at Montreal's Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in 2023.