Ria Lina
British comedian (born 1980)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ria Lina (born 1980)[a] is a British comedian. She has appeared on Yesterday, Today & The Day Before,[1] Mock the Week,[2] Steph's Packed Lunch,[3] The Now Show, The News Quiz,[4] and Have I Got News for You. In 2003, she won an Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy award for Best Comedian.[5]
Ria Lina | |
|---|---|
Ria Lina in "Ria Lina: Rebellion" at Edinburgh Fringe 2025 | |
| Born | 1980 (age 45–46)[a] High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Notable work | |
| Children | 3 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Medium | Stand-up, television, radio |
| Genres | Observational comedy, black comedy, satire, wit |
| Subjects | Politics, autism, cultures, race relations, science, family, current events |
| Website | rialina.com |
Early life
Lina's mother is from the Philippines and her father from Germany.[6] She attended an American school in the Netherlands from the age of 14.[6]
Career
Lina earned a BSc in pathology from the University of St Andrews, an MSc in forensic science from London South Bank University and a PhD in virology (Herpesviridae[7]) from University College London.[8]
Stand-up
In 2003, Lina was a runner-up at the first Funny Women Awards.[9]
Lina has taken six[10] shows to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. School of Riason (2014)[11] was nominated for the Amused Moose Laughter Awards, and contained one of Dave's Top 10 Jokes of the Fringe, and was later broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016[12]. Lina's Dear Daughter (2016)[13] won the Best Comedy award at the Greater Manchester Fringe. Her other shows include Taboo Raider (2017),[14] Thpethial (2013)[15] and It's Not Easy Being Yellow (2012).[16]
Television, radio and podcasts
Appearances include Yesterday Today and the Day Before,[1] Mock the Week,[17] Steph's Packed Lunch,[18] The Dog Ate My Homework,[19] Sky News, Talk Radio, Talk Radio Europe,[20] The Now Show,[21] The News Quiz,[22] Richard Osman's House of Games,[23] Times Radio, Breaking the News,[24] and QI[25]
Further TV work includes Jongleurs Live,[26] The World Stands Up, Sweet 'n' Sour Comedy,[27] Meet The Blogs, Malai Monologues,[28] the film short Christie,[29] and the documentary, A Bit of Oriental.[30]
Lina voiced the character Perun in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.[31] She also narrated and voiced the character Zoe in the full-cast audiobook of cli-fi (climate fiction) adventure MOOJAG and the Auticode Secret[32] by N.E. McMorran / Spondylux Press, London 2020.
Lina appeared in and won Episode 4 of the 21st series of Celebrity Mastermind, broadcast in January 2023.[33] She was one of Alexander Armstrong's co-hosts on Pointless in 2023.[34]
Since 2022, Lina has appeared as a guest co-host of The Bugle podcast.[35]
Personal life
Awards
- Winner of the Best Comedy Award Greater Manchester Fringe 2016 for her show Dear Daughter[42]
- Finalist Amused Moose Comedy Award 2014[43]
- Winner of the Best Comedy/Comedian Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy Award 2003[5]
- Winner of the King of Kings Comedy Store Award 2003[44]
- BBC New Comedy Awards 2003 semi-finalist[45]
- Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award 2002 finalist[46]
- Wilkinson Sword Cutting Edge of Comedy 2002 finalist[47]
Notes
- Lina's official website states her date of birth, with the year being 1987.[48] That date is utilised by the Funny Women website, in an article on Lina.[49] A different year of birth is indicated in one other source: The Gazette & Essex County Standard reported Lina as being aged 30 in a 2010 article, without specifying her date of birth.[6]