Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970) is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and producer.He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and won a Gemini Award in 2008. 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. He also won the Peabody Award and the International Emmy Award for Best Arts Programming for producing Hip-Hop Evolution (2016). He lives in Los Angeles.
Early life
Peters was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 29, 1970, to immigrants from India, both of Anglo-Indian descent, Eric and Maureen Peters, who had moved to Canada in 1965 from Jalandhar, Punjab, India and Kolkata, West Bengal, India respectively.His extended family lives in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Peters was raised Catholic.
When Peters was four, he and his family moved to Brampton, Ontario, Canada. He attended Chinguacousy Secondary School for grades 9–10, and North Peel Secondary School in Bramalea, Ontario, Canada for grades 11–12.In school, he was regularly bullied because of his ethnicity. He eventually learned boxing, which helped him resist the bullying.Peters also became a fan of hip hop in his youth. By the 1990s, he was a well-connected DJ in the Toronto scene.
Peters's older brother, Clayton, serves as his manager.
