Biography
It was Christmas morning when Lianna Carrera came into the world to a Southern Baptist minister father and a Deaf mother; her world already teeming with contrast and comedy. The doctors had confidently told her parents they were having a boy. Instead, they got a full-fledged tomboy. So, technically, they were half right.
At the age of four, Carrera made her showbiz debut as part of a traveling Deaf Choir, performing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in American Sign Language on a local Christian television program. The song aired after the credits, of course, since it was secular. That early brush with performance would be the first of many in a life defined by standing at-and bridging-the intersection of multiple worlds: Deaf and hearing, Christian and secular, queer and heteronormative. She came out as a lesbian in her mid-teens and has since used her layered identity as a lens through which to connect through laughter. For her, comedy is more than performance-it's bridge-building, with humor and heart.
Carrera took the stage for her first stand-up set as a college junior at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, VA, performing at a Sophomore class fundraiser. Her second time on stage ever, she performed a full hour of comedy to a packed 1,000-seat house at Smith Theater-the same stage Bea Arthur once graced. She credits her small college and its tight-knit community for nurturing her confidence and giving her the early validation to pursue comedy full-time.
After graduation, she joined the "American Sign Language Comedy Tour," performing for all-Deaf audiences with a Sign Language Interpreter. Though fluent in ASL, Carrera recognizes the nuance of comedy in sign language and only uses ASL selectively in her sets-often when impersonating her Deaf mother. She went on to headline nationally at indie comedy clubs and colleges, as well as internationally on stages in South Africa, Ireland, and the Dominican Republic.
In 2011, she moved to Los Angeles, where she sharpened her skills as a writer. She eventually Co-Executive Produced her original pilot Boyish with Wanda Sykes and Amber Ruffin, which landed her representation at CAA. Her first book, "A Comedian's Guide to Wedding Speeches," debuted at #1 on Amazon Kindle's Best Short Comedy Books, alongside titles by Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling.
Carrera is also a television host on The Q Agenda, a talk show centering LGBTQ+ and Latinx issues-often described as The Talk meets The View. Now in its tenth season, the show reaches 44 million households across 22 states via LatinNation TV and has earned multiple accolades, including a 36th Annual GLAAD Award, a scroll from the City of West Hollywood presented by Mayor Sepi Shyne, and official recognition from the Tourist Office of Spain.
In 2022, she began writing and comedy producing for Kevin Hart's Hartbeat, developing branded entertainment, digital, commercial, and television content for a mix of comedy veterans and rising stars. Her work includes creative contributions for NBC, PEACOCK, LOL! Network, ESPN+, Kevin Hart, Tisha Campbell, Kenan Thompson, Catherine O'Hara, Ron Funches, and more. She also developed and executed scripted and unscripted content for emerging comedians like Jasmine Ellis, Irene Tu, and Daphnique Springs, and hosted Hartbeat's stand-up showcase "Two Joke Minimum," featuring comics like Zainab Johnson, Preacher Lawson, and JB Ball.
Most recently, Carrera signed with Levity Entertainment's Jennie Church Cooper and is focused on developing scripted television, film, and books that reflect the humor and heart at the intersection of her lived experiences. Whatever she is writing, she brings a comedic lens to the beautifully messy business of being human.
She lives in Los Angeles with her wife Kim, two stepkids, Jordan and Dylan, and their three spirited miniature dachshunds: Graham, Penelope, and Lucca.
