Mae Martin

Mae Pearl Martin (born 2 May 1987) is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, and recording artist. They co-created, co-wrote, and starred in the Channel 4/Netflix comedy series Feel Good. They received a nomination for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for their work on the series.

Early life

Martin was born in Toronto, the child of Canadian writer and teacher Wendy Martin and English actor and musician-turned-food-writer James Chatto. They were baptized in a village on the Greek island of Corfu, where their family lived for several years. James and Wendy were ex-hippies and comedy fans. The family home was filled with recordings of British and American comedy classics.

Martin has described childhood obsessions with Bette Midler, The Kids in the Hall, Pee-wee Herman and The Rocky Horror Show (their grandfather, Tom Chatto, starred as narrator in the Rocky Horror stage version). Martin now points to these obsessions as early signs of an addictive personality. At 11 years old, they were taken to a comedy club and became interested in stand-up. Martin and two friends became known as "the Groupies" for going to see the Second City play Family Circus Maximus 160 times in a year.

Martin began booking gigs as part of the comedy troupe The Young and the Useless at age 13. At age 14, they started drinking and using illicit drugs. At age 15, they dropped out of the all-girls school they attended in Toronto to pursue comedy full-time while working at the Second City comedy club. At 16, Martin's parents kicked them out of their house, and Martin stayed with comedian friends throughout their 20s and 30s. Abusive relationships were normalised in the scene: Martin has said, "if you put a teenage girl in any industry like that, there's going to be people taking advantage". They eventually went to drug rehabilitation.

Career

Martin's career started in Canada at age 13, as part of the three-person comedy troupe The Young and the Useless. They worked at The Second City comedy club, both in the box office and as a stand-up comedian.

At the age of 16, Martin was the youngest-ever nominee for the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award. Their work in Canada includes writing for the sketch comedy series Baroness von Sketch Show, for which they are a two-time Canadian Screen Award winner for Best Writing in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Series.

In 2011, Martin moved to London to enter the British comedy scene. Their 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival show, titled Mae Martin: Us, led to the BBC Radio 4 series Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Sexuality. They have appeared on the British television and radio programme The Now Show, and have co-hosted GrownUpLand.

In 2017, Martin debuted Dope, a show about addiction, in Edinburgh, which was shortlisted for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. The title refers to both recreational drugs and dopamine, the brain chemical associated with compulsive behaviour, and drew on the work of Gabor Maté, among others. Dope was modified into a half-hour Netflix comedy special, released in January 2019 as part of the Comedians of the World collection.

In 2019, they released the YA book Can Everyone Please Calm Down? A Guide to 21st Century Sexuality.

Martin co-created, wrote, and starred in the 2020 Channel 4 comedy series Feel Good alongside longtime collaborator Joe Hampson. The second season was released in 2021. The show tackles relationships, queerness, addiction, and privilege. Lucy Mangan of The Guardian called the series "immaculately written" and "properly funny".

In 2022, Martin appeared in LOL: Last One Laughing Canada. Later that year, they appeared in the HBO Max series The Flight Attendant in a recurring role as Grace St. James.

In 2023, they won series 15 of the Channel 4 comedy game show Taskmaster. In August 2023, they debuted alongside comedians Fortune Feimster and Tig Notaro on the Handsome Podcast. Also in 2023, Martin starred in the comedy documentary television series I Have Nothing, for which they won Best Guest Performance in a Comedy Series at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards.

They released the Netflix comedy special SAP in 2023. It received a Juno Award nomination for Comedy Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024.

In 2024, they hosted an episode of CBC's The Nature of Things (in association with Kensington Communications and Gay Agenda) called "Fluid: Life Beyond the Binary". In the one-hour documentary, Martin explores the science behind sexual and gender fluidity, speaking with gender non-conforming youth and experts.

Production began in 2024 on their television series Wayward for Netflix. The series aired in September 2025. Martin created the series, writing and producing it. They star as Alex, a small-town cop who helps two teens investigate the secrets of their town and the boarding school they are forced to attend.

Their debut studio album, I'm a TV, was released on 27 February 2025 through Universal Music Canada, with its sound described as indie rock. The songs were all self-written, with production by Jason Couse and Wes Marskell of the Darcys. Martin performed lead vocals on the album, as well as playing piano, guitar, harmonica, and bass. They later said that many of their musical influences are Canadian indie bands that are included in the soundtrack for Wayward.

In January 2026, it was announced that they would host the 2026 Juno Awards ceremony in Hamilton, Ontario, with Martin saying of their opportunity to host: "Hopefully my immense gratitude and love will come through without also bringing us down by reminding everyone of the hellscape that the world is right now". Most recently, they had signed a deal with Netflix.

Personal life

Martin has one older brother. Their grandfather was actor Tom Chatto. Their paternal uncle is artist and actor Daniel Chatto, who is married to Lady Sarah Chatto, a cousin of King Charles III.

In 2021, Martin called themself "a queer person", came out as non-binary, began using they/them pronouns, and had top surgery. They have dated both men and women, saying that they are bisexual after previously resisting labelling their sexuality.

In December 2023, they were in a relationship with reality television personality Parvati Shallow, best known for competing on multiple seasons of Survivor. Shallow told People magazine in January 2025 that their relationship was in "an in-flux situation."

In a 2024 interview with Adam Grant, Martin discussed their ADHD diagnosis and their experience with the disorder.

Filmography

Film

Television

Comedy specials

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

Note

External links

• at IMDb
• at TV Guide
• at Rotten Tomatoes