Jaye McBride: Bio, Comedy Style, and Where to Watch

Who is Jaye McBride?

Jaye McBride is originally from Albany, New York, and earned double bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and psychology from the University at Albany, SUNY in 2009. After graduating, she worked in retail in the Albany area while performing at local comedy venues before relocating to Los Angeles and New York City. She transitioned in 2007 and is now based in Brooklyn.

She is the first openly transgender comedian to perform at Madison Square Garden — opening for Louis C.K. at MSG in 2021. She is a Comedy Cellar regular, one of the first trans comedians to work on a national level, and was a “New Faces” selection at Just for Laughs 2021. She appeared on Comedy Central’s This Week at the Comedy Cellar. She toured with Amy Schumer and can be seen in Schumer’s 2022 Netflix special Parental Advisory. She has appeared at the Boston Comedy Festival, the Limestone Comedy Festival, the Maine Comedy Festival, the She Devil Comedy Festival, and the New York Comedy Festival (2025). She has opened for Gilbert Gottfried, Jim Norton, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Margaret Cho. She has a comedy album, Daddy’s Girl. She has also written, produced, and acted in short films, and wrote “The Comedy Blog” for the Times Union. She speaks at high schools, colleges, and organizations across the country about being transgender.

Jaye McBride’s Comedy Style

McBride is a one-liner comedian — precise, quick, built on the kind of twist that she credits to Henny Youngman as an early influence. Her material about being transgender is personal without being didactic: she specifically wants audiences to come away thinking that trans people are people, not that they’ve attended a forced diversity seminar. The math degree comes up in the act. The MSG milestone speaks for itself.

Where to Find Jaye McBride

Find her comedy special and tour dates at jayemcbride.com.

Jaye McBride has performed at the Comedy Cellar in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Check the current lineup and upcoming shows at comedycellar.com.

Catch Comedy Cellar shows live from New York on Mint Comedy at watch.mintcomedy.com.