Nationality British Name Ria Lina Spouse Steve Jones | Genres stand up comedy Years active 2001-Present Role Actress | |
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Subject(s) Taboos, Autism, racial identity, education, musical comedy Medium Stand-up comedy, Television Similar Fern Brady, Maff Brown, Andrew Maxwell |
Ria lina
Ria Lina (born 11 June) is a British comedian, actress, and writer, and a winner of the EMMA award in 2003. She is known for her television appearances in The World Stands Up, Mega Mela Malai Comedy and Sweet n Sour on BBC3. Prior to her career as a comic, Lina acquired a BSc in Experimental Pathology, an MSc in Forensic Science, and a PhD in viral bioinformatics and worked as an IT Forensic Investigator for the Serious Fraud Office.
Contents
- Ria lina
- Ria lina the distraction club 06 12 2011
- Early life and education
- Stand up
- Television
- Awards
- Filmography
- References
![Ria Lina on her funny look stretching her legs on a stair while holding a ukulele](https://alchetron.com/cdn/ria-lina-fe62e6f5-7f39-4eeb-8495-97db606c17a-resize-750.jpeg)
Ria lina the distraction club 06 12 2011
Early life and education
![Ria Lina while holding a microphone wearing a red sleeveless shirt](https://alchetron.com/cdn/ria-lina-c21ebd82-4f6e-4278-8b5f-5da2d2bb5bd-resize-750.jpeg)
Lina was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire on 11 June. At the age of one she moved with her parents to California, before returning to the Buckinghamshire village of Chalfont St. Giles at the age of 9. The family then moved to the Netherlands when she was 14, where she studied at The American School of the Hague, graduating at 16.
![Ria Lina smiles while wearing a red shirt and a black decorative mini-hat clip](https://alchetron.com/cdn/ria-lina-2bc0613a-7451-413b-a1c3-22e734ce8c1-resize-750.jpeg)
At 17, she attended the University of St. Andrews, gaining a Bachelor of Science in Experimental Pathology in June 2000, before attending University College London as a postgraduate, obtaining a PhD in Viral Bioinformatics in 2004. After a short break during which she had her first child, she returned to academia and read a MSc in Forensic Science and Technology at the London South Bank University before working as an IT Forensic Investigator for the Serious Fraud Office.
![Ria Lina looking shocked while wearing a white sleeveless shirt](https://alchetron.com/cdn/ria-lina-ad046e6c-a86b-4840-8012-c6fb332bad1-resize-750.jpeg)
During her time as a student she continued to work in amateur dramatics and became a member of the National Youth Theatre in 1999.
Stand-up
![Ria Lina smiles while wearing a gray furry jacket](https://alchetron.com/cdn/ria-lina-c8d60661-3948-40ee-b807-41e1e076aa7-resize-750.jpg)
Lina's first performance as a stand-up comedian was while still at St. Andrews University in 1998. She did not perform regularly until she moved to London in 2000 to do her PhD. By the time she had finished her PhD she was an award winning stand-up comedian working regularly on the UK comedy circuit. Lina has taken four critically acclaimed shows to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 'School of Riason' (2014) was nominated for the Amused Moose Laughter Awards, and contained one of Dave's Top 10 Jokes of the Fringe. It was scheduled to be a Radio 4 special to be aired in 2016. Her previous shows 'Thpethial' (2013) and 'It's Not Easy Being Yellow' (2012), have also been performed at the Brighton Fringe, the Leicester Comedy Festival, and in Asia as part of the Magner's International Comedy Festivals.
![Ria Lina | Taboo raider holding two microphones wearing all black](https://alchetron.com/cdn/ria-lina-4d3c488f-491f-4411-945e-55253e33779-resize-750.jpeg)
She is also seen regularly on the UK comedy circuit, with her trademark mix of dry wit and bawdy ukulele songs. As a writer she has contributed to two Ladyboys of Bangkok tours. Her most recent project, 'Taboo Raider', debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2015.
Television
![Ria Lina smiles while putting her fist on her chin](https://alchetron.com/cdn/ria-lina-82d7db37-890a-490f-a3b2-55e35810ba9-resize-750.png)
Lina has worked in television both as a writer and actor. For the ITV sketch show Meet the Blogs she was both writer and actor. She has written and presented a documentary for Channel 4 revealing the truth behind the myths that surround Oriental women in Britain.
Further TV work includes Jongleurs Live, The World Stands Up, Sweet n' Sour Comedy, Malai Monologues and film short Christie.