Katherine Ryan

Growing up, I loved comedy even before I knew that you could be a stand-up comedian.

I really loved making my mom laugh, and I knew that she thought that I was funny. It was really valuable, in my home growing up, to be able to have a chat and participate in a conversation and be funny. Whatever I could do to make my mom laugh could either get me out of trouble or just get me more attention or get me respect in the house.

Growing up in Canada, I dated a few ice hockey players.

Christmas coming means one thing for comedians: office party gigs!

When you stand out in a small town or at work,or in your peer group, whatever it is, it feels really awful. Certainly, when you're growing up, you want to be normal. You just want to fit in. Then you realize that maybe fitting in is, in some respects, quite ordinary. I think it's good to put a positive spin on being slightly unique.

I think commitment is inextricably linked with success, and rightly or wrongly, people with a fierce commitment to their goals - the Kanyes of this world - are really entertaining.

It's not my place to tell anyone what kind of feminist she should be.

Regressing back to an infant state is nothing to be proud of. Rich Americans don't drive themselves, don't cook, don't do their own nails/hair/make-up, don't shop, and I suppose all they've got in common with rich British people is that they don't raise their own kids, either.

If I ever move back to Canada, it'll be because I'm terminally ill.

Jeremy Corbyn confuses the public because he looks like a librarian and enjoys baking bread.

My dad's Irish, so I was visiting Ireland a lot as a kid, so it's not totally foreign to me.

I was born with the confidence of an 89-year-old man. So it's strange when people ask, 'What's it like being a female comedian?' It never occurred to me that I'd be limited as a woman - that I couldn't be a scientist, a doctor, or anything I wanted.