Welcome back to The Deep Dive. We take the research,
you get the insight. Today, we're diving deep
into someone truly multifaceted. The comedian,
the writer, the actress, Fortune Feinster. Yeah,
and our goal here isn't just, you know, running
down a list of credits, although, wow, there
are a lot. We really want to unpack the journey
because there's this paradox at the heart of
it. Right. How does someone go from like a really
structured, almost traditional Southern upbringing,
debutante balls, academics, then veer into entertainment
journalism and then become this major comedy
voice, even in animation? Exactly. It's definitely
not the usual path. So the question is, how did
that happen? How did that transformation from,
say, a North Carolina debutante to someone starring
alongside Mindy Kaling and voicing Pixar characters
actually unfold? Because the range is just huge.
You look at the resume and it's the Mindy Project,
a main role, then Counselor Jerry. D in Pixar's
Soul, which is pretty abstract, and now she's
lined up for Zootopia 2. That's Disney blockbuster
territory. And that kind of range, that versatility,
it doesn't just appear out of thin air. What
the sources really suggest is that the foundation
for being able to switch between these different
worlds was actually laid way back in places that
seem, well, totally opposite to a comedy club.
Okay, so we need to start at the beginning then.
Lay that foundation. Definitely. Let's go back
to her roots. She was born Emily Fortune Feinster,
July 1st, 1980, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
So as we're recording this in late 2025, she's
45. And that name, Fortune, it sounds like the
perfect stage name, but it's real, right? Totally
real. It's a family name, her maternal great
-grandmother's maiden name, which is pretty cool,
actually. She's the youngest of three kids, two
older brothers, Price and Jay. So you get that
picture, Southern family, memorable name. Okay.
And she grew up mostly in Belmont, North Carolina,
went to Belmont Central Elementary, Belmont Junior
High. This is where that contrast you mentioned
starts setting in, yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Because
look at high school. South Point High, graduated
in 98. And she was seriously into sports, like
really into them. Played basketball, softball,
and tennis. Wow, a three -sport athlete. That
takes serious dedication. Time management, competitiveness.
Right. She was clearly focused, driven. Not just
playing for fun. But then the juxtaposition is
just amazing. That same year, 1998, the year
she graduates as this jock. She's presented at
the Gastonia debutante ball. Can you even picture
it? One minute she's sweating it out on the court,
maybe playing softball. The next she's in the
white dress, the gloves, doing the whole formal
Southern debutante thing. It's wild. It really
speaks to an ability to navigate completely different
worlds, different roles, different expectations.
It's code switching. basically, and mastering
these very specific social structures, even if
maybe later she'd, you know, poke fun at them
in her comedy. It shows this adaptability, this
social intelligence. That's maybe the key right
there. The ability to fit into the jock world,
the academic world, and the super traditional
debutante scene. Those are skills, right? Schools
you'd need to transition from a small town to,
say, Hollywood. Absolutely. And that focus, that
discipline, it wasn't just for sports or social
events. She carried it straight into college.
She went to Peace College, which it's worth noting
wasn't all women's university back when she attended.
And she didn't just scrape by. She excelled,
majored in communications, kept playing sports,
soccer, and tennis in college. And wait, there's
more. She was elected student body president.
Student body president, on top of the sports
and the major. And graduated summa cum laude.
Okay, hold on. Summa cum laude, student body
president, college athlete. Yeah. This is not
the profile you imagine for someone who ends
up doing stand -up about, I don't know. Hooters.
Right. It shows this incredibly high level of
achievement, structure, leadership. She was operating
in a very organized, high pressure environment.
And that academic success led to a really key
moment. She was picked to be the student speaker
at her graduation in 2002. And the main speaker
that day was actress Emily Proctor, you know,
from CSI Miami, also North Carolina native from
Raleigh. Ah, the connection. So they meet there.
They get acquainted. Yeah. And this connection
becomes like her initial roadmap after college.
Because think about it. She graduates with top
honors, leadership experience. What's next? Does
she hit the open mic nights? Doesn't sound like
it. Not yet. Nope. First, a bit of a breather.
She lives in Spain for a year, maybe finding
herself exploring. Then, 2003, she does the L
.A. move. Her plan wasn't just wing it and hope.
It was practical. Use that connection. Exactly.
The initial goal was to become Emily Proctor's
personal assistant. Secure a job, get mentored,
while trying to figure out the comedy thing on
the side. See, very structured thinking again.
Yeah. The student body president making a plan.
But then there's this detour, a big one. Huge.
She connects with Proctor's neighbor, who happens
to be a journalist for the Los Angeles Daily
News. And this leads to a job, not as PA, but
as a journalist. And not just for a little while.
She does this for seven years. Seven years. That's
a proper career. Entertainment, journalism, writing,
interviewing, deadlines, the whole newsroom environment.
Think about what that does for you. Okay, yeah.
Let's unpack that. Seven years of journalism.
How does that feed into comedy? Well, what does
journalism demand? Getting to the point fast.
Finding the essential angle. Writing concisely.
Hitting deadlines. Observing people, situations
critically. Right. Boiling things down, finding
the hook, the lead, cutting out the fluff. That
sounds a lot like writing a good joke, doesn't
it? Exactly. It trains you to structure your
thoughts, your observations, to find that core
truth and deliver it effectively. It gives your
writing and maybe even your standup a kind of
structural backbone that pure improv might not
always have. So while she's doing this demanding
day job, she's also starting to build her performance
skills. In 2005, she starts taking improv and
sketch classes at the Groundlings, which is legendary.
Oh, yeah. Huge names came out of there. It's
super competitive, right? Not just a casual class.
Definitely not. It's a whole program, takes years.
You have to progress through levels. She studied
there for four years, four years of intense work.
Learning the craft. Well, holding down the journalism
job. That's commitment. Total commitment. And
after those four years, she gets selected for
the Groundlings Sunday Company. Ah, the Sunday
Company. That's the big leagues within Groundlings,
right? The feeder system for SNL, for movies,
for TV writing. Precisely. Getting into the Sunday
Company is basically the industry saying, OK,
you've got the chops. You're ready. It validates
all that hard work. And this intense period,
learning improv, breaking into the Sunday company,
it's also happening alongside something major
personally. Yeah. Around the same time, 2005,
when she's about 25, she comes out as lesbian.
So you've got these two huge developments happening
simultaneously, finding her authentic personal
voice and finding her professional comedic voice.
It makes sense that they'd be intertwined, developing
that confidence on stage, being more herself.
It probably fueled the comedy, especially since
so much of her material draws on her life, that
contrast between her Southern background and
her identity. Absolutely. The contradictions
became the goldmine for her material. The debutante
who's also gay, the Southerner in L .A. It all
starts coming together. And even though she's
building this career in L .A., she stays connected
to her roots. Very much so. The sources confirm
she keeps homes in both L .A. and back in Belmont,
North Carolina. That's not just symbolic. It
feels like a deliberate choice to stay grounded,
to keep accessing that part of her life and culture.
That's pretty rare in Hollywood, I think, holding
on to both worlds. Okay, so the foundation is
laid. The discipline, the journalism training,
the groundlings chops, finding her voice. Now,
how does this translate into getting notice?
Well, the first flicker on the national radar
is NBC's last comic standing in 2010. She's on
for four episodes. It's a start. Gets her name
out there a bit. But competition shows are tough.
Lots of people appear, but few make the leap
to something sustainable. True. But for her,
the real launchpad comes next, the Chelsea Lately
era. Ah, yes. Huge show at the time. Massive.
From 2011 to 2014, she's a regular Roundtable
co -host. Our sources say 158 episodes. 158 episodes.
That's not just a guest spot. That's practically
part of the furniture. What does that kind of
regular exposure do? It's like comedy boot camp
on national TV. You're riffing on pop culture,
live, nightly. You have to be sharp, funny. quick
and develop a persona that connects. It forces
you to hone your timing, your angles. It made
her a familiar face, comfortable in front of
millions. And you start seeing that pay off in
scripted roles pretty quickly after that, right?
Yeah. 2014, she pops up in Two Broke Girls as
Sherlock Mary, which sounds fun, and in Workaholics
as a character named Joe. Small parts, but crucial
steps. Proving she can act, deliver lines in
a scene. Not just comment on the news. Showing
she's more than just a panelist. And then comes
the big one. The Mindy Project. This is where
everything converges, the groundlings training,
the Chelsea Lately confidence. In 2015, she joins
the main cast. As Colette Kimble -Kinney. And
she stays right through the end. Yep, seasons
four through six until 2017. That's 39 episodes
of the main character. That's a career anchor.
Absolutely. And Colette was such a great character
for her, the slightly awkward but lovable gay
Southern nurse. It really let her use that blend
of sweetness and sharp wit. And being a main
player in a Mindy Kaling show, those scripts
are fast, smart. Joke dense. Holding her own
in that ensemble cemented her as a legitimate
actor, not just a comedian doing a cameo. It
gave her stability, visibility. And she uses
that momentum. She doesn't just stick to one
thing. She's doing other TV, too. Oh, yeah. She
balances it expertly. She plays Dougie on Life
in Pieces for seven episodes between 2016 and
2019. That's a network family sitcom. And then
in 2018, she's Ruby and Champions, another NBC
show, for 10 episodes. While still keeping the
stand -up going strong. Crucially, yes. She never
abandoned her roots. She gets her own episode
of the Netflix series The Stand -Ups in 2017.
Think of that as the appetizer. For the main
course. Which was her big Netflix special, Sweet
and Salty, released in 2020. That was huge for
her. It really showcased her storytelling, drawing
heavily on that Southern upbringing, the coming
out story, all those contrasts we talked about.
Sweet and Salty, the title itself kind of sums
up that persona, doesn't it? Perfectly. And that
special really broadened her appeal. You see
it in the roles she gets afterwards in the 2020s.
She plays Pam Fox on Kenan for 14 episodes, 2021,
2022. Network sitcom again. But then a complete
genre jump. F you bar. Right. The Netflix action
comedy series with Arnold Schwarzenegger. She
plays Ruth or Rue across 16 episodes in 2023.
Looks like extending into 2025. Going from Keenan
to a big budget action show with Arnold. That's
range. Studios have to trust you can handle both
the comedy and, well, the action environment.
It shows incredible versatility. And marketability.
She could fade into a family sitcom and a spy
thriller spoof. Plus, she makes these interesting
targeted appearances, too. Like the L Word reboot.
Yeah, the L Word. Generation Q played Heather
for three episodes, 2019, 2020. And then, totally
different vibe, she turns up as a judge on Is
It Cake in 2022, leveraging that mainstream appeal.
She's just everywhere. Which leads us nicely
into another huge part of her career, maybe one
that uses her voice in a totally different way.
The film work, and especially the animation.
Right. Before the animation really took off,
she had some live -action film roles. Office
Christmas Party in 2016, The Happy Time Murders
in 2018. Fun parts, but the animation work is
where you see this next level of reach becoming
part of these massive global franchises. And
the benchmark has to be Pixar. Soul. 2020. Voice
and Counselor Jerry D. Getting cast in a Pixar
film is like the gold seal of approval for voice
acting, isn't it? Especially a role like Counselor
Jerry Dee representing this abstract concept.
It means your voice has warmth, authority, recognition,
but also flexibility. Yeah, Counselor Jerry Dee
needed that perfect blend of calming and slightly
bureaucratic. It's amazing how much character
she conveyed just with her voice, playing basically
a line drawing. It's a different skill set entirely.
Totally different. Requires pure vocal performance
imagination. And once you're in that Disney Pixar
world... Other doors open. Like more big animated
movies. Exactly. We've got upcoming projects
showing her strength in family entertainment.
She's voicing Kitty Fridge in Gabby's Dollhouse,
the movie. That's out in 2025. And then there's
a role, we don't know which character yet, in
Paw Patrol, the dino movie for 2026. Okay, Gabby's
Dollhouse, Paw Patrol. She's definitely cornering
the market on beloved kids franchises. But the
really huge one? Is Zootopia 2. Confirmed. She's
voicing a character named Nibbles Maplestick.
That film is in production, slated for 2025.
Wow. Being part of the Zootopia sequel, that's
massive. That guarantees visibility for years
across generations. The same person telling jokes
on Netflix specials is now a key voice in one
of Disney's biggest modern hits. It speaks volumes
about the trust studios have in her, her broad
appeal. And don't forget the live action comedy
she sprinkled in during the 2020s, too. Often
stealing scenes. Oh, yeah. Like the fairy gay
mother in Friendsgiving. Hilarious. And Pinky
and Barb and Star. Good. Vista Del Mar in 2021.
Barb and Star. She was perfect in that. That
kind of quirky, specific comedy. Absolutely nailed
it. Playing that slightly awkward friend. Brilliant
physical comedy and deadpan delivery. Then there
was Jean the Paramedic in Yes Day, also 2021.
And Coach Kim in Family Switch, just last year,
2023. It's just relentless. And on top of the
movies, she's doing a ton of recurring voice
work on animated TV shows too, both kid stuff
and adult animation. The workload is incredible
when you list it out. For younger audiences,
she was Ava on Summer Camp Island for 25 episodes,
right up to 2023. And Laura Mercer on Craig of
the Creek for seven episodes. over several years.
Warm, character -driven stuff. But then you flip
the switch. And she's doing adult animation.
Brenda in Bless the Hearts for 26 episodes. And
more recently, Olive in the Velma series for
15 episodes. Okay, Summer Camp Island to Velma.
That's a serious tonal shift. Gentle fantasy
versus edgy adult meta humor. It requires totally
different vocal performance, different timing,
shows the depth of that groundlings training,
maybe that ability to embody completely different
characters through voice alone. Versatility isn't
just genre, it's performance style. Speaking
of voice, we have to talk about the purely audio
side of her career, too. Podcasting, radio. She's
built a whole other platform there. It actually
started with radio, interestingly. Back in July
2019, she launched What a Joke with Papa and
Fortune with Tom Papa. Oh, I remember that on
SiriusXM. Yeah, and it was a big deal because
it was the first live show on the Netflix is
a Joke channel. It's a major partnership, positioning
her right at the center of the established comedy
scene via Netflix and SiriusXM. And then she
branches into podcasting more directly. She does.
She has her own podcast, Sincerely Fortune, which
is much more personal, conversational, lets her
connect directly with fans. And she's part of
that other podcast too, Handsome. Yes. Co -hosting
Handsome with Teague Notaro and Mary Martin.
I mean, talk about a comedy power trio. Being
in that company just shows her standing among
her peers. Definitely. And looking at her guest
appearances. She's everywhere. People clearly
want to talk to her. The list is insane. It cuts
across all sorts of genres. The Joe Rogan Experience,
episode 1440, reaching that huge audience. Anna
Faris is unqualified. Political comedy like Love
It or Leave It. Multiple times on BirdCast. Comedy,
bang, bang. She's clearly a great guest. Reliable,
funny, engaging. And brings depth, too. Look
at some of the episode titles where she's guested.
On the Sporkful the Food podcast, the title was,
You Can't Hate Yourself Constantly, says comic
Fortune Feimster. That tells you she's bringing
more than just jokes. And the Glennon Doyle one.
Oh, yeah, on We Can Do Hard Things, the title
was just perfect. Fortune Feimster. A queer debutante
walks into a Hooters. That's basically her entire
story in one title, isn't it? It is. It captures
the collision of worlds, the identity, the humor.
Her life is her material, and podcasting is the
perfect medium for her to share that authentic
story. Okay, before we wrap this all up, we should
touch on the personal side during this period
of massive career growth. Her relationship was
often part of her public story, part of her comedy.
Right. She started dating Jacqueline Smith, who's
a teacher, back in 2016. This is right when Mindy
Project is really taking off for her. They got
engaged in 2018, married in 2020. Yep, married
October 23, 2020, in a small ceremony. So that
relationship really spanned her biggest breakout
years, becoming a major TV and voice actor. But
there's been a recent update on that front, hasn't
there? Sadly, yes. Our sources confirmed they
released a joint statement just recently, June
2nd, 2025, announcing they've made the difficult
decision to divorce. Ah, that's tough. It's a
reminder, isn't it, that even with huge career
success, life happens. And that relationship
was a big part of her narrative for fans for
nearly a decade. It really was. So it marks an
end of one chapter, personally, just as these
huge new professional chapters like Zootopia
2 are opening up. Okay, so let's try and pull
this all together. We've gone from Belmont. And
now voicing characters for Pixar, Disney, Netflix,
hosting podcasts, starring in action comedies.
It's a lot. I think it's clear her success isn't
just about being funny. It's built on this really
unusual foundation of, like... Extreme discipline.
The sports, the academics, summa cum laude, president
that's serious rigor. Fused with the structure
of journalism, the writing skills, the observation.
And then pouring all that into the creative chaos
and performance demands of the groundlings. The
result is someone who's just incredibly versatile.
She can handle tightly written network sitcoms,
big budget action, nuanced voice work, and personal
stand -up storytelling. She's like a quadruple
threat. Writer, actor, stand -up voice artist.
And studios trust her across all these different
arenas, family, adult, streaming, network. That
speaks to professionalism, reliability. Traits
may be honed way back in college. the newsroom.
I think so. Which brings us to a final thought
for you, the listener, to kind of chew on. We've
seen this blend of comedic edge and mainstream
appeal, this underlying discipline. So think
about managing a career like hers today. It's
multi -platform, right? Podcasts, tours, film
shoots, TV series. It's complex. Now, consider
her background. Not just the comedy training,
but being student body president, graduating
summa cum laude. Does that early experience in
leadership in navigating structured institutions
actually inform how she makes creative and business
decisions today. Does that summa cum laude graduate
and student leader manage her production company
or negotiate deals differently than someone who
only came up through comedy clubs? It's an interesting
idea, isn't it? How that early structure might
enable her sustained success and adaptability
in the very unstructured world of entertainment.
Yeah, maybe the most rigid parts of her past
are exactly what gave her the foundation for
the incredible creative freedom she has now.
Something to ponder next time you hear her voice
pop up, whether it's Counselor Jerry D or Nibble's
Maple Stick. Absolutely. That's all we have time
for on The Steep Dive. Thanks for joining us.