Kulap Vilaysack

Early life

Vilaysack was born in Washington, D.C. after her Laotian parents arrived from a refugee camp in Thailand. Her family soon moved to the Twin Cities, settling in the suburb of Eagan, Minnesota. She has two younger sisters, Anita and Alyssa.

After graduating from high school, Vilaysack moved to Los Angeles where she attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and received an associate's degree. She later took classes and performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. She was also the co-founder of the Los Angeles/Silverlake-based alternative comedy variety show, "Garage Comedy".

Career

Vilaysack's acting work includes a recurring role as "Nurse Kulap" on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital. Other television guest appearances include Bob's Burgers, The Office, The Sarah Silverman Program, The Hotwives of Orlando, Parks and Recreation, Happy Endings, Reno 911! and Whitney. In 2007, she briefly worked as an associate producer on America's Got Talent.

With comedian Howard Kremer, she co-hosts the podcast Who Charted? on the Earwolf network.

Vilaysack is the creator and showrunner of the reality show spoof Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, her first time working in this capacity. The show premiered in early 2016 as part of the launch of NBC's streaming platform Seeso. Other executive producers on the project include Scott Aukerman, Robert Ben Garant, and Thomas Lennon.

Personal life

Vilaysack is married to comedian Scott Aukerman.

Vilaysack is currently directing a documentary about her family tree entitled Origin Story with post production continuing in 2016. The film incorporates the character Katharsis of The Movement, a superhero based on Vilaysack created by author Gail Simone.

Other

Vilaysack and comedian June Diane Raphael are the founders and directors of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCB)-associated "UCB Corps" community, a volunteer charity organization. Vilaysack and Raphael organize charity events and projects to help improve the community, with the help of volunteers and other UCB performers "who want to make our world a better place".

In 2015 Vilaysack was named as one of Playboy's "32 Hottest Comediennes."