Ryan's father, Finbar,[5] is a draughtsman and owner of an engineering company who originally emigrated from Ireland to Canada.[6] Her mother, Julie McCarthy, owns an IT consulting company.[7][8] Ryan and her two younger sisters were born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario.[9]
Ryan's parents separated when she was a teenager.[10] When she was 18, she decided to leave home and chose to study city planning at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) in Toronto.[11][12] While attending university, she worked at restaurant chain Hooters, and she then began training other waitresses.[13] In her spare time she performed at open mic nights for her own entertainment, and by graduation she had developed a basic comedy routine.[8] She was one of the many dancers in MuchMusic's Electric Circus program.[14]
Career
After graduation, Ryan continued working for Hooters as a corporate trainer, travelling around Canada to train other waitresses, and helping to open the then-only UK branch in Nottingham. Her partner at the time wanted to explore London, so she agreed to do so for an initial month from summer 2007, moving there permanently from January 2008.[8][4]
Ryan first appeared on television as herself in episodes of the Canadian music video review show Video on Trial between season one in 2005 and her last appearance in 2008 in season three. After relocating to the United Kingdom, she first appeared on Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats in 2012. She had previously appeared in the cast of Channel 4's Campus.
Ryan went on a comedy tour in 2016, called Kathbum, a name her toddler sister used to call her.[21] In February 2017, Netflix released Katherine Ryan: In Trouble, featuring her stand-up comedy live performance at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, during that tour.[22][23]
As an actress, Ryan has appeared on numerous television series in the UK, including the sitcoms Campus,[25][26]Episodes[27] and Badults.[28] Ryan starred in the Netflix comedy The Duchess, based on a single mother's life in London; she is credited as its writer, executive producer, and creator.[29]
Other work
On 6 June 2014, YouTube comedy duo Jack and Dean released a music video for their song "Consent" featuring Ryan in an acting role.[30]
In 2015 and 2016 Ryan wrote a weekly column in the British entertainment magazine NME.[31] In 2016 she featured in Disney XD and Teletoon's animated television series Counterfeit Cat, where she voiced Ranceford, the stuck-up, white, odd-eyed cat and leader of the Sunshine Circle for Cats.
In November 2022 Ryan was the subject of an interview in the BBC series Louis Theroux Interviews... with Louis Theroux, [34] during which she told Theroux about the "open secret" of an alleged sexual abuser who was a prominent TV personality.[35][36]
For her comedy work, Ryan won the 2008 Funny Women Award and was described as "the funniest new female stand up in Britain" by a national newspaper.[37]
In February 2023, Ryan won the Outstanding Female Comedy Entertainment Performance award at the 2023 National Comedy Awards for Backstage with Katherine Ryan.
Racism Scandals
In 2013 Ryan was the subject of controversy over her participation on Mock The Week in a segment "Unlikely Lines From a Cosmetics Commercial", where one of her jokes was "We don’t test any of our products on animals. We use Filipino children." Filipino groups held silent protests at the BBC office to demand an apology from her.[38][39]
In another interview, she was accused of racism by some viewers on social media when she attempted to encourage a female Sri Lankan designer by saying "You need to really back yourself. Do you know how confident a straight white man would be right now? Think about Boris Johnson, how pleased he’d be right now." The BBC responded that such a comment was in line with reasonable expectations of Ryan's humour.[40]
Personal life
Katherine had a relationship with American comedian Alex Edelman.[41]
Ryan gave birth to her first child, a daughter, at age 25.[42]
In 2019, Ryan entered into a civil partnership with Bobby Kootstra. The ceremony took place in Denmark in the presence of her elder daughter. The two had dated in Canada as teenagers and were reunited when Ryan returned to her hometown while filming an episode of the TV show Who Do You Think You Are?[43][44] Her second child, a son, was born in June 2021.[45] Her third child, a daughter, was born in December 2022.[46][47]
^Demchuk, Colin (producer, director); Ryan, Katherine (writer, performer) (14 February 2017). Katherine Ryan: In Trouble (Television production). Netflix. Statement occurs at time 57:25.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Guide, British Comedy (18 April 2016). "Funny Women Awards". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
^Demchuk, Colin (producer, director); Ryan, Katherine (writer, performer) (14 February 2017). Katherine Ryan: In Trouble (Television production). Netflix. Statement occurs at time 57:05.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)