Who Is Soundos El Ahmadi? New Details On The Comic From 'Comedians Of The World' On Netflix
She's Dutch.
instagram Comedians of the World on Netflix has already gotten great reviews since premiering in January. The series features 47 comedians from 13 regions, including Australia, India, the Middle East, and France, and airs in 8 different languages. The spotlighted comics all have a variety of topics they focus on — from racism to sexism to motherhood — and their stand-up offers viewers the chance to step out of their bubble and embrace what life is like in other areas of the globe.
Despite the many somewhat unknown comedians, there’s one comic you should absolutely be on the look-out for: Soundos El Ahmadi. Though she performs in Dutch, she also speaks English. Most of her subject matter deals with women and how they are seen in comedy; that people don’t think women can be funny. But she has proven over the years just how untrue that is.
If you don’t believe us, check out her Netflix special. And in the meantime, who is Soundos El Ahmadi? Here are five things to know about the comedian, her career, and her personal life.
1. She’s from the Netherlands.
Though El Ahmadi was born in Amsterdam, she is of Moroccan ancestry.
2. She got her start in comedy at a young age.
When she was just 15, she started performing at the youth theater group Artichoke/Nultwintig. And although she went to the university of Amsterdam to major in Theater Studies, she eventually realized her true calling was comedy.
3. Her comedy career is quite impressive.
After deciding to pursue comedy, she immediately caught the eye of talent agents and landed a role in the movie Shouf Shouf Habibi. She had no experience at the time but later found herself in additional roles, including Ruben and the Idiots, Zapp Live, Who is the Mole, Boss Raymann, Looking For Zorro Backstage, De Club van Lelijke Kinderen, Doublegame, and Expeditie Robinson.
She’s been part of Comedytrain since 2007, a company that “offers comic talents a stage to develop themselves.” But she has also performed at the Amsterdam Kleinkunst Festival and toured multiple shows. She toured from 2010 to 2012 with her first solo stand-up show, Soundos! Through the Land, and toured her second show, There is no Plan B, in 2013. In 2017, she performed her third show, Born with Experience.
4. She has a lot to say about the role of women in comedy.
When asked in an interview how she stands out in a male-dominated comedy world, she was quick to remind everyone that she has risen above. As she recalls:
“It is as if a woman who can play football is suddenly going to stand in the men’s team; it is almost impossible... I had to fool a lot. When I started at Comedy Café, the boys thought: nice, Soundos; then we can decorate her. Well, no way! Never! Men want to give you a place when you come into their territory. They do not claim it, but they find it hard to regard you as equal.
Instead of being funny, they preferred that I became their groupie. Later, at Comedytrain, I was allowed to brainstorm with the men for a TV program, but my sketches did not always appeal to them. Until it was decided to hand in the ideas anonymously. Suddenly, some of my sketches were so amazing, so original.”
5. She’s married.
El Ahmadi is married to her husband, Daniel. They have a daughter, Aliya, who was born in 2014. But she didn’t always want this kind of life:
“Actually, I never wanted to get married. For a long time I thought: I can do without a man. My father left the family at the age of six; we had hardly any contact. That’s why I was always afraid to become such a girl with daddy issues, someone who misses a male role model and therefore demands attention from everyone who has a d***. I saw marrying as a solace for a deputy father.
But with Daniel, my husband, I immediately felt pure love. I also saw that he could be a good father. He asked me, though, but before that I had already said to him, ‘You should not think that I will sit next to you on the couch for years without a ring around my finger.’”
Samantha Maffucci is an associate editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.