Russell Peters is a Canadian stand-up comedian and actor.
In 2013, he was number three on Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid comedians and became the first comedian to get a Netflix stand-up special.
Canadian stand-up comedian of Indian descent is not that popular compared to how much he earns. In that light, comedian Chris Rock once joked that he is the most famous person nobody ever heard of and a friend of his. Likewise, Lisa Lampanelli said she doesn’t know why he is not known yet he owns 10 Bentley’s.
Russell Peters distributed his personal history in an autobiography, ‘Call Me Russell,’ in 2010.
Here is his story.
Career Beginnings
Russell Peters started his career as a DJ, and then he began performing as a comic artist. Once he said that a lot of influence on his career had made George Carlin, a comedian. His advice was to always get on the stage whenever and wherever possible. Later, in 2007, Peters was the host of George Carlin’s show.
Rise to prominence
The turning point in his career was in 2004 when he performed on the TV show “Comedy Now.” His performance was uploaded onto YouTube, and it went viral. This gave him the opportunity to perform all across America and Canada.
In 2007 Russell started making big money. He became the first comedian in Canadian history to sell out the Toronto Air Canada Centre. In just two days, he sold 30,000 tickets.
He followed up that record two years later in London where he broke the UK comedy sales record selling 16,000 tickets, filling up the O2 Arena.
In 2010 he set another record in Australia when he sold over 13 thousand tickets to his show in Sydney. In Singapore, he set another record filling up the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2012.
Peters has also released many comic DVDs like “Outsourced,” “Red White and Brown,” “The Green Tour: Live from the O2 Arena and Notorious.”
Russell Peters is also an actor, and his 2014’s film was the “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever” where he plays, Santa Claus. He also played the role of a Miami Cop in “The Chef” which is also a 2014 movie.
Awards
In 2007, Peters won ‘Dave BroadfootAward’ and in 2008 the ‘Live Stand-Up – Large Venue’ at the ‘Canadian Comedy Awards.’ He won an ‘NAACP Image Award in 2011.
He was given the ‘Trailblazer Award ‘in 2013 by the Associations of South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment’ for his commitments in the field of amusement and parody.
In 2016 he won the Peabody Award for producingHip-Hop Evolution and the following year the award for Best Arts Programming for the same project.
Russell Peters Net Worth 2024
In 2013, he made 21 million dollars from his Almost Famous world tour, in Australia. He made $2 million in just two days, and in Singapore, he made $1 million from two shows.
With such shows, he can bag $21 million in salary annually.
Forbes even ranked Peters as the 3rd highly compensated comedian. As of 2024, a Russell Peters Net Worth stand is an estimated 55 million dollars.
Wife
The wealthy comedian is engaged to his girlfriend, Ruzanna Khetchian. She is the former Miss Honduras. They started their relationship back in September 2016. However, there is no information about the wedding yet.
The couple announced the good news to the world on 5th December 2018 that his fiancéeis pregnant with a baby boy. She gave birth to a baby in April 2019.
This is Russell’s second child since he got a daughter from a previous marriage with Monica Diaz.
Ex-wife
Peters has been married before his relationship with a Honduras beauty.
After dating period, Russel got married to Monica Diaz on August 2010. He previously proposed Monica at an airport. They had a small wedding with only close friends and family.
These two have a daughter named Crystianna Marie Peters, who was born in December 2010.
Their relationship couldn’t last more than two years, and they got divorced in 2012 with no hard feelings.
Before his first marriage, Russell dated Bollywood performer Sunny Leone in 2008.
Short Biography
Russell Peters was born on 29th September 1970 in Toronto, Ontario. His father is Indian since he comes from Bombay. Young Russell went to two different schools: Chinguacousy Secondary School and North Peel Secondary School.
