Nikki Payne
Encyclopedia
Nikki Payne is a Canadian
comedian and actress, from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia
, Canada. Born with a cleft palate, she is well known for incorporating her lisp
into her comedy act. She has won three Canadian Comedy Awards
for Best Stand-up Newcomer and Best Female Stand-up (2003, 2005 & 2008). She is the first stand-up in either the male or female category to win the best stand-up award twice. She is also the first stand-up of either gender to win both a best newcomer and best stand-up award. She cites Emo Philips
as one of her biggest inspirations.
She is a graduate of the comedy program at Humber College
at the top of her class and a graduate of The Second City Conservatory Program, where she received a participant ribbon.
Payne has appeared in Last Comic Standing
, Video on Trial
, Buzz
, Am I Right??, and the NFB
documentary The Next Big Thing. She has also appeared in the Canadian sketch comedy show Comedy Inc.. She is a member of The Boom comedy troupe.
Payne also claims to have grown up in the trailer park where early seasons of the hit Canadian television show Trailer Park Boys
was filmed.
Payne recently donated a kidney to her father, and is currently working on a comedy routine tentatively titled "My Big Fat Donated Kidney".
In 2009 she was a performer on the Showtime special Kiki Melendez Presents Hot Tamales Live. She also starred in the Canadian television pilot Wolf Canyon
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
comedian and actress, from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia
Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia
Lower Sackville is a suburban community located in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is part of the urban area of Halifax ....
, Canada. Born with a cleft palate, she is well known for incorporating her lisp
Lisp
A lisp is a speech impediment, historically also known as sigmatism. Stereotypically, people with a lisp are unable to pronounce sibilants , and replace them with interdentals , though there are actually several kinds of lisp...
into her comedy act. She has won three Canadian Comedy Awards
Canadian Comedy Awards
The Canadian Comedy Awards, founded by , are an annual awards ceremony celebrating notable English speaking Canadian comedians for achievements in Live, Radio, Film, Television and Internet media over the previous year...
for Best Stand-up Newcomer and Best Female Stand-up (2003, 2005 & 2008). She is the first stand-up in either the male or female category to win the best stand-up award twice. She is also the first stand-up of either gender to win both a best newcomer and best stand-up award. She cites Emo Philips
Emo Philips
Emo Philips is an American entertainer and comedian born in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. Much of his standup comedy stems from the use of paraprosdokians and garden path sentences spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice and a confused, childlike delivery of his material to produce the...
as one of her biggest inspirations.
She is a graduate of the comedy program at Humber College
Humber College
Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning is a polytechnic college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Humber offers more than 150 programs including: bachelor’s degree, diploma, certificate, post-graduate certificate and apprenticeship programs, across 40 fields of study. Humber serves...
at the top of her class and a graduate of The Second City Conservatory Program, where she received a participant ribbon.
Payne has appeared in Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing
Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent show that has aired from 2003 through 2010.The goal of the program is to select a comedian from a group, who will receive a development contract with the NBC network, and a television special first to air on the cable-TV network Comedy...
, Video on Trial
Video On Trial
Video on Trial is a Canadian comedy television program that airs on Canadian television network MuchMusic. The show consists of a panel of musicians, comedians, and entertainment columnists critiquing five different music videos in a courtroom-esque manner. The panel acts as the jurors, poking fun...
, Buzz
Buzz (TV series)
The Buzz was a Canadian comedy television series that aired on The Comedy Network. The show was hosted by Morgan "Mista Mo" Smith and Daryn Jones. The show originally aired in the mid-90's as a community channel show on Rogers Television before finally getting a network deal in 2000...
, Am I Right??, and the NFB
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
documentary The Next Big Thing. She has also appeared in the Canadian sketch comedy show Comedy Inc.. She is a member of The Boom comedy troupe.
Payne also claims to have grown up in the trailer park where early seasons of the hit Canadian television show Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
was filmed.
Payne recently donated a kidney to her father, and is currently working on a comedy routine tentatively titled "My Big Fat Donated Kidney".
In 2009 she was a performer on the Showtime special Kiki Melendez Presents Hot Tamales Live. She also starred in the Canadian television pilot Wolf Canyon
Wolf Canyon
Wolf Canyon is a television pilot which was commissioned in 2009 for the Canadian national channel APTN. The pilot was aired several times over the 2009-2010 Holiday season and is titled "Hairy Lawman"....
.