Aparna Nancherla is a Los Angeles-based comedian who has worn a panoply of hats.

Her debut hour standup special, Hopeful Potato, was released on the streaming platform Dropout in December 2025 to a warm reception from more than just her mother. Her first essay collection, Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Imposter Syndrome (Viking) was named one of New Yorker's "Best Books of 2023."

You may have heard Aparna as the voice of Nisha in Pixar's recent release Hoppers or as the voice of Judy on Amazon's new animated series Kevin. Other voice work includes Susmita on Bob's Burgers, Moon on The Great North, as well as Hollyhock on Bojack Horseman.

Aparna also played Grace the belabored HR rep on the critically-acclaimed Comedy Central show, Corporate. Other acting credits include A Simple Favor, Another Simple Favor, What We Do in the Shadows, Master of None, and The Drop on Hulu. She’s written for Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell and Late Night with Seth Meyers, as well as Mythic Quest on Apple+.

She also has a half-hour special on the second season of The Standups on Netflix, and has made multiple late night appearances including Late Night with Stephen Colbert, Conan, and After Midnight.

Aparna was once named one of “The 50 Funniest People Right Now” by Rolling Stone. In 2019, she was in a Super Bowl commercial with Michael Bublé for sparkling water neé seltzer.

In 2016, she released her debut album, Just Putting It Out There, on Tig Notaro’s label, Bentzen Ball Records, and recorded a half hour special for Comedy Central. She was also chosen as one of Variety’s “Top 10 Comics to Watch” that same year.

These days, Aparna can be found strumming a harp or perusing an estate sale in search of the perfect caftan. Neither one of those things is true.