Felipe Esparza (born June 11, 1976) is a stand up comedian and actor. He has done television specials with HBO and Netflix as well his live shows at comedy clubs across the United States. His comedy talks about his experiences as a Mexican American immigrant who grew up in poverty in East Los Angeles. Felipe is also recongnized for his catch phrase, “What’s up, fool?."

Felipe Esparza was born in Sinaloa, Mexico on June 11, 1976 the oldest of seven children. His family illegally immigrated to the United States while he was a child. The family lived in public housing in Boyle Heights a neighborhood in East Los Angeles, CA which was plagued by gang violence. Before becoming a comedian Felipe worked as a security guard and a drug dealer. He also a teenage father who struggled with drug addiction and decided to pursue comedy while in drug rehab.

Felipe had decided to pursue comedy after a drug counselor had asked him what he wanted out of life and for him to write down 5 goals for himself.

Felipe wrote among those 5 goals "to be happy", and "be a stand-up comedian" - because of how he connected to an old Bill Cosby album when he was younger.

When Felipe Esparza first started his comedy career in 1994 after being in rehab.

For the first five years, he mainly did comedy that had nothing do with himself since he wanted to be awesome and popular.

He only become discussing his personal experiences as a Mexican American who grew up in poverty after 10 years in comedy which is now a cornerstone of his comedy.

Felipe Esparza first mainstream success as a comic came after he won NBC's Last Comic Standing award in 2010.

After achieving success in the comedic sphere, Felipe produced his first hour-long stand-up comedy special, They're Not Gonna Laugh at You on Showtime in 2012. The show is now on Netflix.

On September 30, 2017, Esparza's comedy special Translate This premiered on HBO. Shot in the summer of 2016, Esparza stated that this was a very special stand-up special for him because it was much more personal. He and his wife, Lesa, were the executive producers for the show, as well.

Felipe has also made several TV appearances such as recurring roles on "The Eric Andre Show" (2012) and NBC's "Superstore", (2016, 2017), truTV Presents: World's Dumbest... (2014) and "Russell Simmons Presents Stand-Up at the El Rey." Felipe was a spokesman for a national Honda campaign and a national Target Mobile campaign. [13]

During his early years as a comedian, Felipe was part of the successful stand-up comedy TV show, "Que Locos" on Galavisión (the only English-speaking show on Spanish television). That show and the resulting tour helped launch the careers of several other Latino comedians such as George Lopez, Gabriel Iglesias and Willie Barcena.

In 2014, Felipe started hosting a weekly podcast on the All Things Comedy called "What's Up Fool?" It focuses on interesting interviews with everyone from celebrities to homeless people.

Felipe has interviewed, renowned author and humanitarian Father Greg Boyle from Homeboy Industries, actor Damian Chapa (Miklo from Blood In, Blood Out), the lead detective on the Night Stalker serial killer case, actor Emilio Rivera (from Sons of Anarchy), and the "Incredible Hulk" who takes photos with tourists on Hollywood Boulevard.

He is currently developing a sitcom with fellow comedian Dustin Ybarra and writers Bobby Bowman and Peter Murrietta - Felipe and Dustin will play brothers in a single-camera comedy to be produced by 3Arts Entertainment. He also continues to do live stand-up shows in comedy clubs and theaters around the country.

He eventually got married in 2014.

Felipe Esparza's wife - Lesa O'Daniel Esparza - is the CFO of his company Felipe's World.

She previously worked at Laugh Factory.

He has a son from his previous relationship.

Esparza has been a vegan since 2011.