about

ana’s story

Born in Olongapo, Philippines and a first gen immigrant, Ana grew up balancing tradition, ambition, and a very specific brand of Catholic guilt.

She began her career in theatre, performing nationally and internationally, including an international Broadway tour as the villainous lead opposite David Arquette in a contemporary production of Sherlock Holmes. She also worked with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Labyrinth Theater Company at The Public Theater in New York.

She has since worked across stage and screen, with television credits including The Affair, Dexter, and can be seen most recently on Season 4 the hit Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer.

As a stand-up comic, Ana is a Main Stage regular at The Comedy Store, Ice House Pasadena, and Gotham Comedy Club. Her self produced three-comic special, Asian American – Eyz’d: An Immigrant Comedy Special, was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as a “a triumphant and raw conversation about surviving in America”.

Ana serves as showrunner, creator, executive producer, director and featured comic of Jokes with JoySauce, a groundbreaking stand-up series dedicated exclusively to Asian American comedians. Streaming on JoySauce TV’s FAST channel and Amazon Live TV, the show was created to expand visibility for AAPI performers in mainstream comedy and has become a platform for bold, culturally specific voices. Rather than waiting for representation, Ana built the stage herself.

As a writer, her semi-autobiographical pilot The Asian That Didn’t has been recognized by Sundance Episodic Lab, Showtime’s Tony Cox Award, and The Orchard Project.