Perhaps you know Russell Peters, who is without doubt one of the funniest comedians of the present day. The talented and versatile Russell has managed to gain a large fan base of fans and followers of social media. Just as Trevor Noah is probably the powerhouse of South African comedy, this comedian could very well be the king of Canadian comedy. However, it is important to note that his jokes and comedy have universal appeal – which is why he has managed to become very successful.
Russell Peters is not only a comedian but also an actor and author. He is known for bringing his Canadian heritage to his comedy. Peters began performing in 1989, and since then his awards and successes have grown exponentially. In 2013 he received a Netflix Stand up Special. Other comedians with a Netflix Stand Up Special include Dave Chappelle, Jack Whitehall, Craig Ferguson, DeRay Davis, Patton Oswalt, Marc Maron, Tracy Morgan, Hasan Minhaj, Trevor Noah, Katherine Ryan, and Ali Wong.
He is known for using observational comedy to highlight ethnic, cultural, racial, and class stereotypes; his style of comedy is well received by audiences around the world. Russell Peters won a Gemini Prize in 2008.
Russell Peters Bio – Parents & Age
Russell Dominic Peters was born on 29 September 1970 in Toronto as the son of Maureen and Eric Peters. At the age of four, his family moved from Toronto to Brampton. He has an older brother, Clayton, who is also his manager.
Russell, who is of Anglo-Indian descent, was brought up a Catholic. His father was born in Mumbai and worked as a federal meat inspector in Toronto.
He attended Chinguacousy Secondary School from grades 9-10 and then North Peel Secondary School for grades 11-12. Unfortunately, he was harassed quite often at school because of his ethnic background; this led to him learning boxing to protect himself.
In the 90s he also fell in love with the hip-hop scene and became a DJ in Toronto.
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Career
Russell Peters’ career as a comedian began in 1989 and in the early days of his career he met one of his greatest idols – George Carlin, a comedian and social critic – who told Russell to go on stage “whenever and wherever possible”, which the Canadian calls one of the greatest career advice he has ever received. In 2007 Russell Peters hosted one of George Carlin’s last shows before his death.
In 2004, his appearance on the Canadian television show Comedy Now! was uploaded to YouTube and the video went viral, which essentially became the turning point in his career and made him a star.
In 2010, he performed in Sydney, Australia in front of 13,880 people – the largest attendance at any stand-up comedy show ever in Australia. He has also set similar records in several countries he has visited, including Singapore, where he set the record for the most spectators in a single stand-up comedy show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Admittedly, he is one of the first South Asians to achieve international success, particularly in comedy, and as a result, he was awarded the Trailblazer Award by the Association of South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment (SAMMA) in 2013.
In 2010 he published his autobiography Call Me Russell.
Russell Peters’ Girlfriend, Wife, and Divorce
For a while, Russell Peters was in a relationship with Sunny Leone (birth name: Karenjit Kaur Vohra), a former porn star who became a Bollywood actress. At the peak of her career, she was one of the most famous porn stars in the world.
After his relationship with Sunny ended, he started dating Monica Diaz. The two announced their engagement on Twitter after Russell proposed marriage to her at the Los Angeles International Airport.
They were married in Las Vegas on August 20, 2010. It was a small wedding with about 20 guests and even an Elvis impersonator. Shortly after the wedding, the couple announced that Diaz was pregnant. In December 2010 Diaz gave birth to their daughter – Crystianna Marie Peters – two months earlier than expected.
In 2012, Monica Diaz and Russell Peters were divorced. Later he began a relationship with Ruzanna Khetchian; the two announced their engagement in 2016.
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His Net Worth
Russell Peters currently has a net worth of $40 million, which makes him one of the highest-paid comedians in the world.
Between June 2009 and June 2012, Russell earned an estimated $15 million according to Forbes. The year before, he had earned $5 million. But for 2013, Russell made $21 million. This is just selected data from Forbes’ annual estimate of the star’s income, which shows how in-demand he is and how successful he has become over the years.