Quick answer: Brittany Ross is a Los Angeles stand-up comedian, actress and the host of the Full Out podcast. Born in Alaska and raised across Scotland, South America and Texas, she cheered her way to a college scholarship in Hawaii, moved to LA, and spent more than a decade playing teenagers and mean cheerleaders on shows like The Middle. Now 40, married and a mom of two, she turns all of it into stand-up. Her clips have racked up millions of views, and in 2026 she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage.
At a glance
- Name: Brittany Ross
- Born: Alaska; turned 40 in June 2026
- Grew up: Scotland, Colombia, Venezuela, Houston and Chicago
- College: Hawaii Pacific University, on a cheer scholarship
- Known for: Stand-up about motherhood, marriage and her chaotic family; Courtney on The Middle
- Podcast: Full Out, launched October 2025
- Latest special: Breast Milk & Tears (YouTube, February 2026)
- Instagram: @iambrittanyross, about 128,000 followers
We first put Brittany Ross on our list of 10 up-and-coming comedians to watch this month. A paragraph wasn’t enough. Her life story, told mostly in her own words on stage and on her podcast, is one of the better origin stories in LA comedy right now.
Who is Brittany Ross?
If you watched ABC’s The Middle, you may already know her face. Ross played Courtney, the cheerleader who looked down on Sue Heck, across 12 episodes. She also turned up on 2 Broke Girls, Desperate Housewives, The Rookie, Disney Channel’s The Suite Life on Deck and, in 2025, Apple TV+’s Mythic Quest.
These days she is a stand-up first. Her official bio describes an act built on the collision between her eccentric, working-class Southern family and her Swiss husband’s more polished one, with motherhood, a much-married dad and a nomadic childhood layered on top. Her Instagram bio sums up the approach in two words: oversharing professionally.
Where did Brittany Ross grow up?
Everywhere. Ross was born in Alaska, and her father, a petroleum engineer, moved the family wherever the oil work was. Her early childhood took her to Scotland, then to Colombia and Venezuela, where she picked up Spanish with a Scottish lilt, according to a 2013 profile in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Houston and Chicago came next.
She has said on her podcast that she went to school in Bogotá, and that bombs once blew out the windows of her ballet studio there. Her website calls it a whirlwind of cultures, and says the chaos taught her to find comfort in the middle of it. That turned out to be useful training for a comedian.
In 2026 she went back. For her 40th birthday, Ross returned to Colombia for the first time since she lived there as a kid in 1992 and 1993, this time with her husband. Her Instagram post from the trip mentions seeing her childhood through adult eyes, eating ants and searching the whole country for a protein bar.
How did gymnastics and cheer shape her?
Before comedy there was the mat. Ross has said on Full Out that she started gymnastics at 8 and trained up to six days a week at Moceanu Gymnastics in Texas, the gym run by Olympian Dominique Moceanu’s family. Eventually she switched to competitive cheer, partly because she wanted friends.
Cheer took her far. She earned a scholarship to Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, where she majored in journalism and cheered for one of the most decorated college programs in the country. She describes herself as a three-time national champion college cheerleader. Her sister, Chelsea, cheered on the same high school and college teams.
Then it came apart. On the first episode of her podcast, Ross explains that around age 21 she developed a mental block on back tumbling, the kind of skill that had been automatic for years. She lost her spot and her scholarship. She has also been open on the show about the weight requirements and the pressure around food that came with the sport.
How did Brittany Ross become an actress?
A bartender pointed the way. As Ross tells it, a bartender at a Honolulu TGI Fridays pointed her to an acting class held in the back room of a hair salon, taught by a former Baywatch acting coach. She finished school early and moved to Los Angeles, swearing she would never cheer again.
Hollywood had other plans. Within about a year she booked her first TV role, on The Suite Life on Deck, while working as a nanny, a waitress and, by her own account, a princess at rich kids’ birthday parties. Then the cheerleader parts started coming. Pair of Kings gave her a five-episode run as Candis, a role she called her “Legally Blonde” part. The Middle made her Courtney.
She kept playing teenagers on Disney well into her late 20s and 30s, which became a bit in her act. She also had something rare in that world: genuine enthusiasm for the grind. “I love auditioning. I might be one of the few actors who says that,” she told the Star-Advertiser in 2013.
When did she start doing stand-up?
Stand-up grew alongside the acting. A 2019 club bio already billed her as a working comic who had played the Flappers Comedy Club “Best of Fest,” and she has since become a regular in LA rooms, including the Hollywood Improv, where she has performed on the Ego Death show. Her official bio lists the Netflix Is A Joke Fest, the Big Pine comedy festival and Don’t Tell Comedy among her credits.
What changed everything was becoming a mom. Her material got more personal, and the internet noticed. Her most-viewed Instagram reel, posted in August 2024 while she was visibly pregnant, has passed 13.7 million plays. It starts with an old scar from a college moped accident stretching across her pregnant belly and ends as a pointed joke about who should be making decisions about women’s healthcare. A bit about growing up in a religious family has passed 600,000 plays since she posted it in early October 2026.
What is Breast Milk & Tears about?
Breast Milk & Tears is Ross’s 16-minute mini-special, produced by Honest Fox Comedy and released on her YouTube channel on Feb. 3, 2026. She filmed it shortly after the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, with a baby at home, and it covers exactly that: the fires, touring with an infant, her dad’s three marriages and divorces, playing teenagers at 30, and her husband’s habits.
The standout idea is about her daughter, then 5, whom Ross describes as an inner critic she accidentally gave birth to. If you want one clip to understand her voice, start there.
Who is Brittany Ross married to?
Ross is married to a Swiss-born man whose first language is French. He has come up on her podcast as a therapist, and the couple’s differences are a steady source of material. He is Jewish; she grew up Christian in Texas. On a July 2026 episode titled “Confessions of a Shiksa,” she talked about raising their two kids somewhere in the middle.
He is also a good sport. On his birthday this year, she joked on Instagram that he somehow always ends up celebrating at her shows.
What is the Full Out podcast?
Full Out launched on Oct. 5, 2025, and passed 90 episodes in under a year, with new ones on Wednesdays and Sundays. The name is cheer slang for going all out in a routine, and the premise follows from it: guests talk about the passions they threw themselves into before entertainment.
The guest list leans on people she has worked with and admired, including The Middle co-star Eden Sher, Glee co-creator Ian Brennan, Chrissie Fit, Joey Bragg, Christine Lakin, Tom Lenk and comics Blair Socci, Irene Tu and Shane Torres. Her mom, Tricia, and her sister, Chelsea, have both been on, and so has her husband. Solo “Flying Solo” episodes are where she tells her own stories. You can find it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Did Brittany Ross play the Grand Ole Opry?
Yes. Earlier this year Ross made her Opry debut in Nashville, and she devoted an April 26 episode of her podcast to it. Her photos from the night show her on the Grand Ole Opry stage under its famous sign. For a comic who grew up partly in Texas and jokes constantly about her Southern family, it is hard to think of a more fitting room.
Brittany Ross’s story, year by year
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Born in Alaska |
| 1992–93 | Lives in Colombia as a kid; her childhood also includes Scotland, Venezuela, Houston and Chicago |
| Mid-2000s | Cheers on scholarship at Hawaii Pacific University |
| 2009 | First TV role, on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life on Deck |
| 2011 | Joins ABC’s The Middle as Courtney; five episodes of Pair of Kings |
| 2014 | Appears on 2 Broke Girls |
| 2024 | Pregnancy-era stand-up reel passes 13 million plays |
| 2025 | Guest role on Mythic Quest; launches the Full Out podcast in October |
| 2026 | Releases Breast Milk & Tears (February); Grand Ole Opry debut; turns 40 with a trip back to Colombia |
| 2027 | Headlines Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas clubs in January and February |
Where can you see Brittany Ross live?
Her next announced run starts in Texas in January 2027:
- Jan. 7–9, 2027: Cap City Comedy Club, Austin, TX
- Jan. 28, 2027: Rose City Comedy, Tyler, TX
- Jan. 29–30, 2027: The Riot, Houston, TX
- Feb. 24, 2027: Loony Bin, Tulsa, OK
- Feb. 25, 2027: Loony Bin, Wichita, KS
Check brittanyrosscomedy.com for tickets and new dates, and follow @iambrittanyross on Instagram, where she posts new clips and LA show announcements.
Key takeaways
- Brittany Ross is an Alaska-born, globally raised comedian who has lived and worked in Los Angeles for more than 15 years.
- A college cheer career that ended with a mental block led her to acting, then to a decade of TV roles, including Courtney on The Middle.
- Stand-up about motherhood, marriage and her family has made her one of the most-watched rising comics on Instagram.
- She hosts the Full Out podcast, released the mini-special Breast Milk & Tears in 2026 and debuted on the Grand Ole Opry stage the same year.
Want more? Read our feature on Mojo Brooks, and see who else made our list of up-and-coming comedians to watch.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Brittany Ross?
Brittany Ross is a Los Angeles stand-up comedian, actress and podcast host. She played Courtney, the mean cheerleader, on ABC’s The Middle, hosts the Full Out podcast and headlines comedy clubs across the country. Her stand-up clips have drawn millions of views on Instagram.
Where is Brittany Ross from?
She was born in Alaska. Her father’s work as a petroleum engineer moved the family to Scotland, Colombia, Venezuela, Houston and Chicago, and she later went to college in Hawaii. She has lived and worked in Los Angeles since the late 2000s.
Is Brittany Ross married?
Yes. Ross is married to a Swiss-born husband whose first language is French. She talks about their interfaith, cross-cultural marriage on stage and on her podcast.
Does Brittany Ross have kids?
Yes. She has a daughter, who finished kindergarten in June 2026, and a young son born in late 2024. Motherhood is a big part of her act, including her mini-special Breast Milk & Tears.
Who did Brittany Ross play on The Middle?
She played Courtney, the condescending cheerleader, in 12 episodes of ABC’s The Middle.
Was Brittany Ross really a cheerleader?
Yes. She cheered on scholarship at Hawaii Pacific University after years of competitive gymnastics and cheer in Texas. Her cheer past is where her podcast name, Full Out, comes from.
What is the Full Out podcast?
Full Out is Brittany Ross’s podcast, launched in October 2025. Guests talk about the passions they went all-in on before entertainment. “Full out” is cheer slang for giving a routine everything you have.
Where can I see Brittany Ross live?
Her next announced dates are in January and February 2027: Cap City Comedy Club in Austin (Jan. 7–9), Rose City Comedy in Tyler, Texas (Jan. 28), The Riot in Houston (Jan. 29–30) and the Loony Bin in Tulsa (Feb. 24) and Wichita (Feb. 25). Tickets are on brittanyrosscomedy.com.
Sources
- Brittany Ross official website
- Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Feb. 10, 2013
- The Movie Database (TMDB): Brittany Ross credits
- Full Out, Episode 1: “Flying Solo”
- Breast Milk & Tears (YouTube, 2026)
- Full Out podcast episode feed
- @iambrittanyross on Instagram
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