Cristela Alonzo

Cristela Alonzo was born on January 6, 1979, in Hidalgo, Texas, the youngest of four children of Mexican immigrants. Her early years were marked by extreme poverty: the family lived in an abandoned diner for eight years, often going hungry while her mother worked double shifts at a Mexican restaurant. Despite these hardships, Alonzo’s mother used humor as a coping mechanism, teaching Cristela the power of comedy to survive adversity. Growing up in a strict Catholic household, Alonzo spent much of her childhood with her older brothers, immersing herself in comic books, Star Trek, Dungeons & Dragons, and metal music. She excelled in high‑school theater competitions and graduated from Pharr‑San Juan‑Alamo High School before briefly attending Webster University in St. Louis to study theater, a dream cut short by financial constraints. After her mother’s death in 2002, Alonzo returned to Texas, caring for her sister’s children and working as an office manager at the Addison Improv, where she began performing stand‑up as a way to process grief. By 2006 she had moved to Los Angeles, landing a writing gig on a Comedy Central show and touring with Carlos Mencia before striking out on her own, building a reputation on the college comedy circuit.**

**In 2010 Alonzo became a semi‑finalist on Last Comic Standing, which catapulted her into national visibility. She later appeared on Conan, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution. In 2013 she co‑created the semi‑autobiographical ABC sitcom Cristela, becoming the first Mexican‑American woman to create, produce, write, and star in her own primetime comedy. After the show’s cancellation, she voiced Cruz Ramirez in Cars 3 (2017), released Netflix specials Lower Classy (2017) and Middle Classy (2022), published the memoir Music to My Years (2019), and hosted the Chicano Squad podcast (2020‑2021). Known for her raucous laugh and observational humor, Alonzo continues to advocate for Latino representation, immigration reform, and healthcare access, using comedy as a platform for social change.