Host of ‘Easily Offended'

Gina Brillon | Biography 2021

• By Chetana
• Update : August 08, 2021

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Gina Brillon is a stand-up comedian popular for her shows, 'Pacifically Speaking,' 'Easily Offended,' and 'The Floor is Lava.'

Who is Gina Brillon?

Gina Brillon's career rose to prominence after becoming the first and only Latina performer to win NBC's 'StandUp for Diversity Showcase' in 2012.

Then, she started appearing on shows like Gotham Comedy Live, The View, and Chelsea Lately, in 2013. She was also one of the faces for the Montreal' Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival's New Faces Class of 2013'.

In 2014, Brillon's first special show, Pacifically Speaking, was released on NuvoTV. The same year she appeared on the show Step Up Revolution and starred in the documentary movie The Fluffy Movie. In addition, she made a guest appearance on popular shows such as Late Night with Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Brillon's second special show, Easily Offended, was released in 2019, and her third show, The Floor is Lava was in 2020.

She had also launched her podcast 'Mess In Progress: A Homegirls Guide To Self-Help.' She was also part of the TED Talk Series, 'TEDWomen 2019: Bold + Brilliant'. Gina also performed on America's Got Talent Season 16, aired in July 2021.

Early Life

Gina Brillon was born on 7 April 1980 in Bronx, New York, to Puerto Rican parents, and she has a twin sister.

Brillon wanted to do stand-up comedy after watching the Golden Globe Award-winning actress Brett Butler perform and do comedy in front of a live audience. She was just 14 years old at that time but got mesmerized by Butler's ability to make people laugh and wanted to do that for the rest of her life.

Brillon's first on-stage performance came when she was 17 years old when her mother enrolled both the sisters in a comedy contest. It was then she decided to pursue stand-up comedy as her profession. 

Early Career

It was hard for Gina to get recognized in the stand-up community as a Puerto Rican performer in the initial days. Gina had to handle all of it, from being invited to show diversity to the program to not being taken seriously.

"I was quite often the only woman on the show or the only Latin female on the show. I knew a lot of the times I was asked to be there because they needed to make a quota…Even though that was an upsetting truth, I used it as an advantage. I saw this obstacle as an opportunity," she once recollected. 

Taking that behavior as a 'blessing and a curse,' Brillon started to give her best, and soon her show tickets ran out within hours. She performed with full house audiences in frequented country clubs like Caroline's, The Comedy Store, and The Laugh Factory at Los Angeles and New York City outposts. Brillon became the highest-selling headliner amongst her Improv Comedy Club artists.

In 2012, she won NBC's competitive show, 'StandUp for Diversity Showcase.' She was the first and only Latina performer to be awarded that title. The next year, she was chosen for the 'New Faces Class of 2013' of Montreal's 'Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival.'   

In 2013, Brillon also appeared on the TV series documentary Gotham Comedy Live, followed by the TV series The View and Chelsea Lately 'Round Table' episode.

'Pacifically Speaking'

Subsequently, Brillon's popularity gained momentum, and the renowned Mexican Comedian Gabriel Iglesias offered her a production deal.

In 2014, her first show, Pacifically Speaking, aired on NuvoTV. The one-hour special was produced by Iglesias and his production team Levity Entertainment Group. Iglesias also included her in his show, Step Up Revolution, and his documentary The Fluffy Movie released in the same year.

Brillon also starred on CBS's Kevin Can Wait and ABC's The Conner and made a guest appearance in popular shows such as Late Night with Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

'Easily Offended'

In 2019, Brillon launched a half-hour stand-up special, Easily Offended. Premiered in August of 2019, the show was made available on channels like HBO Latino and HBO's other digital platforms.

The TV special lasted for one season with nine episodes and became one of the highest-watched shows on the channel. In the show, Brillon shared jokes on topics such as relationships, people with Southern accents, people who talk too much, cruise ship buffets, etc. 

'The Floor is Lava'

Gina Brillon's third stand-up show, The Floor is Lava, was premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 5 June 2020.

On this show, she made humor about varied life topics like her evolvement from being single in her 30s to marrying her mid-western husband, followed up by the culture she was taught in her childhood and the ups and downs of a relationship.

One of her jokes that brought a great laugh among the audience was when she said, "Doesn't that feel good when you're in a relationship and someone comes to you for advice? It's like, I can't handle my problems. But yours? Give me 2 seconds. I got this."

Later, during the show's promotion, Brillon admitted that her dialogues and pieces were meant to connect her with the audience irrespective of their background. For her, the reason why she included her personal experiences of make-ups and breakups was to make people relate to her on a personal level.

Comedy Dynamics produced the show, and Brillon was one of the executive producers of the show.

The Guardian reviewed it as one of the dynamically relatable shows by audiences of different nations, and Brillon being the best person to deliver the connection.

Other Projects

In 2019, Brillon launched a podcast with her longtime friend, writer, and producer Katherine G. Mendoza, titled 'Mess In Progress: A Homegirls Guide To Self-Help.' The podcast became a hub for her fans to know Brillon's ultimate guide to self-help touched with comedy.

Further, Brillon was also part of the TED Talk Series, 'TEDWomen 2019: Bold + Brilliant'. Her episode titled, 'When people are "suspiciously kind," ' was released on 4 December 2019. 

Brillon was selected as one of the performers on the second episode of America's Got Talent Season 16, which aired from 1 to 3 July 2021. 

Personal Life

Brillon is married to musical artist Jeremy Oren, and they have a son. Oren is classically trained in singing and piano and had mastered playing seven musical instruments.