Patti Harrison

Patti Harrison (born October 31, 1990) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her roles in comedy series such as Shrill (2019–2021) and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019–present), as well as the comedy film Together Together (2021), with the latter earning her a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.

Harrison was born in Orient, Ohio, on October 31, 1990, the youngest of seven children of a Vietnamese mother and a White American father. Her father, a native of Detroit, was in the U.S. Army and met her mother during the Vietnam War when she was working as a janitor in his barracks. He died of a heart attack when Harrison was six years old. Her first involvement in comedy came from her participation in an improv team during her time at Ohio University, from which she did not graduate.

Harrison moved to New York City to pursue a comedy career in 2015, but later moved to Los Angeles. She has said that her stand-up comedy style has changed drastically since her early days of performing, having initially felt anxious about making jokes about sex and her sexuality due to internalized transphobia stemming from being a trans woman. In an interview with Vogue, she described her comedic persona: "I'm a nasty, stupid person—that's my voice. I'm an evil, shitty person on stage, in a very conscious way—the evil is punching up."