Steph Tolev is one of the most talented comedians the entertainment industry has ever seen, and likely will ever see.
To me, at least.
Stephanie Tolev is a Canadian stand-up comedian. She was born in 1985 to Bulgarian-immigrant parents. She spent most of her early life in Toronto, specifically the East York district, highland dancing her way through childhood to young adulthood.
Confused? Don’t worry, she talks about the killer calves highland dancing gave her on her podcast!
She attended Humber College, where she met Allison Hogg, who would prove to be an integral part of her life and journey as a comedian.
Tolev has founded and performed with Allison Hogg in their comedy duo “Ladystache”, which seems to me to be a play on Tolev’s hairiness which she thanks her Bulgarian heritage for.
“Ladystache” won Most Innovative Comedy Troupe and was nominated for Best Sketch Troupe. While she was performing with Hogg, she performed solo quite often, winning many awards along the way.
Steph Tolev who was awarded Best Female Stand Up in 2014 and was a finalist in Sirius XM Canada’s Next Top Comic, has been nominated for the Juno Award, and has been honored with various other features and positions.
In an interview with VailDaily in 2022, Tolev described her comedy as “brash, vulgar, self-deprecating, physical, silly and painfully real.” I’d say she is certainly “painfully real.”
Her podcast, creatively titled “Steph Infection,” launched in 2023. I’ve had the opportunity to become intimately familiar with this podcast over the past two weeks, and I am genuinely changed as a person.
I was an inconsistent listener of “Steph Infection” before my trip home this past weekend. When I drove home, I became that unfortunate kind of bored where I didn’t want to listen to music or listen to a show or movie (to be clear, I don’t watch the show). So, I opened my podcast app and turned on some true crime. It was pitch black out, so I started getting scared and the rest is history.
Her podcast is double-over-laugh level hilarious. Her guests are equally funny, but Tolev is a star that shines hot and bright.
She is a star, and so is her podcast. To not listen to “Steph Infection” is to do yourself a great disservice.
Not a fan of her dirty jokes? Doesn’t matter. We can all learn something from Steph Tolev’s honesty and openness. She is 110% herself and is sure of the fact that she isn’t perfect…and that’s okay. She is, dare I say, brave.
It is so rare to see a celebrity/entertainer/influencer be raw and authentic on so many public platforms, and Tolev does so near perfectly.
I’ve been infected, and you should be, too!