Emily Fortune Feimster, known simply as Fortune Feimster, is an American comedian, actress, and writer.
She first gained fame in the 2010 season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, though she didn’t get into the top 10.
That season ended up being won by Mexican-born American stand-up comedian Felipe Esparza.
Feimster is also known for starring as Colette on The Mindy Project, which lasted from 2015 to 2017.
However, in recent years she is probably best known for hosting What a Joke with Papa and Fortune with fellow comedian Tom Papa.
What a Joke with Papa and Fortune, which began in July 2019, sees the two comedians interviewing comedians and celebrities.
It is on the Sirius XM channel Netflix is a Joke, and is the radio platform’s first live programming.
Since 2019, the comedian has also guest starred the L Word: Generation Q.
Quick Facts About Fortune Feimster
| 42 |
| $1.5 Million |
| Actor, Comedian |
| American |
| July 1, 1980 |
| Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Jacquelyn Smith |
| Peace College |
| The Mindy Project |
| 2010 – Present |
Learn About Fortune Feimster’s Net Worth In 2022
Comedian Fortune Feminster has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million as of 2022.
The 42-year-old comedian has made quite a name for herself in the many roles she’s found herself in throughout her career.
Though she is not a particularly famous figure, the comedian has made enough connections and has had her talents recognized enough times that she has built a solid career out of it.
She has a plethora of credits in both film and television, with both the former and the latter being riddled with comedic roles of varying degrees of importance to the plot.
Alongside her various acting and comedic roles, Feimster is a podcaster and has appeared in various podcasts throughout her career, and not only makes a great host but a great guest as well.
How Did Fortune Feimster Start Her Career?
As stated earlier, Fortune Feimster started her career in earnest in Last Comic Standing.
Last Comic Standing was an American reality television show that modeled itself as a competition show.
It aired on NBC from 2003 to 2010, went on hiatus, and came back for two additional seasons in 2014 and 2015.
The show’s premise was that a group of hopefuls in the field of comedy would battle it out with each other in front of judges and the audience to see who can come out on top.
The first seven seasons of the show had the winner receive a cash prize and a television special.
The last two seasons though, saw the winner win a cash prize, a talent deal with NBC, and a half-hour scripted project.
Feimster participated in the seventh season of Last Comic Standing which premiered on June 7, 2010.
Famed actor and comedian Craig Robinson, known for his work in The Office and Brooklyn 99 alongside many movies, hosted this season.
The judges for his season were Greg Giraldo, Andy Kindler, and the amazing Natasha Leggero.
Many comedians who went on to have big and exciting careers appeared this season like Kirk Fox, Nikki Glasser, and Tiffany Haddish to name a few.
However, the winner was Felipe Esparza, a relative unknown.
Feimster too didn’t make as much of a splash during this season, and other than being her debut into the entertainment world, the experience is seen as a footnote in her larger career.
Last Comic Standing too got canceled after this season, and though it came back in 2014 and 2015, has since faded into obscurity.
Read More About Comedians Here: Adam Waheed’s Girlfriend, Is He In A Relationship With Hannah Stocking?
How Did Fortune Feimster Become Famous?
Before delving deeper into Fortune Feimster’s film and television career, it is important to talk about the role that got her widely known.
That role is as Collette Kimball-Kinney in The Mindy Project, which was an American romantic comedy series.
The series, which lasted from September 25, 2012, to November 14, 2017, was created by famed comedian and actress Mindy Kaling, who also starred in it.
The show initially began airing on Fox but ended its run on Hulu.
It follows the character of Mindy Lahiri, an obstetrician/gynecologist, played by Kaling, trying to balance her personal and professional life.
Feimster plays Nurse Colette Kimball-Kinney in the show and is one of the main characters for the last three seasons of the show.
A Look At Fortune Feimster’s Television Career
Though The Mindy Project catapulted her into larger fame, Fortune Feimster had a career in television before.
The Mindy Project simply made her more popular. After her stint in the seventh season of Last Comic Standing, Feimster found herself playing herself in After Lately, a mockumentary show.
This mockumentary show lasted from 2011 to 2013, following which, she graduated from After Lately to being a Round Table Co-host in the actual Chelsea Lately show from 2013 to 2014.
She then spent much of 2014 appearing in small and/or recurring roles in various other comedy shows like 2 Broke Girls, Workaholics, and Mulaney.
She continued this trend into 2015 by appearing in shows like Glee, Hot Girls Walk By and Married, but then The Mindy Project happened.
Though she spent much of her energies on The Mindy Project from much of 2015 to 2017, she did appear in other properties.
She appeared in Drunk History as herself in 2015 and played a recurring character named Dougie in the sitcom Life in Pieces, which lasted for four seasons from 2015 to 2019.
Many of her roles from 2015 to 2019 saw her appearing as herself in various comedy and reality shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Stand Ups, and The Fix, to name a few.
She also appeared in comedian Chelsea Handler’s new show Chelsea a couple of times playing various characters like Ann Coulter and Sarah Huckabee Sanders and poking fun at them.
Feimster also expanded her oeuvre by dipping her toes into voice acting in 2018, with Craig of the Creek and Summer Camp Island, which both came out that year.
After the end of The Mindy Project and Life in Pieces, Feimster has increased her voice-acting roles, with the most popular one being Louisa Deck in 2021’s Q-Force.
She has also increased her guest roles in reality television shows, and has even become a judge herself in 2022’s Is It Cake?
Lastly, she has landed a supporting role as Ruth/Roo in the upcoming Arnold Schwarzenegger-led spy action series coming to Netflix, FUBAR.
Feimster has come a long way from Last Comic Standing, and she doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
A Look At Fortune Feimster’s Film Career
Though she has seen more success in television, Fortune Feimster has had a successful film career too.
After proving her chops on After Lately, she found herself in a small role in 2013’s The Secret Lives of Dorks.
Though it wasn’t a memorable role, it was a start. As stated above, 2014 saw her mostly tackling television roles, but 2015 proved different.
2015 was truly a banner year for Feimster as she not only started starring in The Mindy Project but also got her first named role in a movie in Life in Color as Zoe.
The next year, she saw more success in the now cult classic Office Christmas Party.
Feimster would continue her trend of dipping into television for a year in 2017 and returning to movies in 2018, but this time, something was different.
2018 was a busy year for Feimster as she appeared in three movies: Social Animals, Father of the Year, and The Happytime Murders.
Again, Feimster dedicated herself to television in 2019, but 2020 showed that 2018 wasn’t a fluke as this year, the comedian appeared in three movies again: Friendsgiving, Chick Fight, and Soul.
The last of those movies was a voice role, something she had been warming up to in television too.
One would think that due to the pandemic Feimster would have a quiet 2021, but she returned with another three-movie streak that year too.
2021 would be the first subsequent year she released movies, breaking her one-year movies and one-year television shows trend.
She appeared in Deported, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, and Yes Day.
2022 has proven to be quieter, with only one movie featuring her released so far.
A Look At Fortune Feimster’s Podcast Career
No look at Fortune Feimster’s career could be complete without looking at her podcasting.
Feimster has been extensively podcasting since January 29, 2019, when she released the first episode of her podcast, Sincerely Fortune.
The podcast features Feimster, and often guests, talking about whatever topics grab Feimster’s interest every week.
The first episode featured the comedian talking about New Year’s Resolutions, starting this trend.
Since then, she has released about 161 episodes as of the writing of this article, has found sponsors for her podcast, and become very successful based on the strength of her podcast alone.
As stated above, she also hosts What a Joke with Papa and Fortune with Tom Papa, but more importantly, the comedian has appeared on a plethora of podcasts since 2019.
The first of these was in the 112th episode of Query, and since then she has guested on multiple podcasts every year.
The most prominent of these podcasts is the actress Anna Faris’s Anna Farris is Unqualified, The Joe Rogan Experience, and famed actor Justin Long’s Life Is Short.
Feimster’s natural funniness, joie de vivre, and cutting wit have made her not only an amazing podcast host but also a sought-after guest by many podcasts.
The comedian has appeared in over 16 different podcasts, either by herself or with other guests, and although she hasn’t guested in a podcast since January 26, 2022, her podcast is going strong still.
Read More About Comedians Here: Who Is Tommy Davidson’s Wife, Amanda Moore? Here’s A Look At Their Relationship
Where Is Fortune Feimster From?
Comedian Fortune Feimster was born on July 1, 1980, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
She was born to Mike and Giner Feimster and was the youngest of three children.
She has three older brothers, Prince and Jay Feimster, and was named after her maternal great-grandmother’s name.
Though born in Charlotte, she grew up in Belmont, also in North Carolina, and attended Belmont Central Elementary School and Belmont Junior High.
She graduated from South Point High School in 1998 and had her debut as a debutant the same year at the Gastonia Debutante Ball.
However, Feimster was far different than most other girls, and was also very athletic and played basketball, tennis, and softball at South Point High School.
After graduating from college, she started studying at Peace College, which was women-only back then and even got elected student body president.
At Peace College, she majored in communications and continued playing tennis, but also played soccer.
She graduated with honors in 2002 and was the student speaker at their commencement.
A fun piece of trivia is that Feimster became friends with Emily Procter during this time, as she was the graduation speaker.
A Look At Fortune Feimster’s Early Career
After graduation, Fortune Feimster moved to Spain, and lived them for a year, but moved back to Los Angeles in 2003.
One of the reasons why she moved back was to become a personal assistant to Procter and to pursue comedy.
While working as Procter’s personal assistant, Feimster connected with her neighbor who was a Los Angeles Daily News journalist, and began a seven-year career as an entertainment journalist.
She also joined The Groundlings Theatre in 2005 where she studied improv and sketch comedy, and after four years, she joined the Groundlings Sunday Company.
During this time, Feimster also came out. The 25-year-old chose to do so even though her career was only beginning, which is a brave move.
She started dating her now-wife, Jacquelyn Smith in 2016. Smith is a kindergarten teacher, and the two became engaged in early 2018.
The two own homes in both Belmont, North Carolina, and Los Angeles.
They married on Friday, October 23, 2020, in a small ceremony.
Jacquelyn Smith, or Jax which she goes by, is a frequent guest on Feimster’s podcast, Sincerely Fortune.
Read More About Comedians Here: Who Is Mo Amer’s Wife? Learn About His Dating History
Some FAQs
Is Fortune Feimster Married?
Yes, she is married to her wife, Jacquelyn Smith
How Much Is Fortune Feimster’s Net Worth?
She has a net worth of $1.5 million as of 2022
Does Fortune Feimster Have Any Siblings?
Yes, she has two brothers, Price and Jay