Aida Margarita Parada Rodriguez is an American comedian of Puerto Rican/Dominican descent who is best known for her appearance as a contestant on the eighth season of Last Comic Standing and as a commentator on The Young Turks. She is also an actress, producer, writer, and podcaster.
Early life
Aida was born in Boston, Massachusetts and taken to the Dominican Republic shortly afterward. As a child, her mother kidnapped her from her father in the Dominican Republic, and brought her to the U.S. Her grandmother and uncle would later abduct her from her mother's home in New York and bring her to Florida, in an attempt to protect her from her mother's boyfriend. Her uncle was later murdered in a hate crime. She attended Florida State University where she met her future husband Omar Ellison. She studied English and law, but left before graduating after she became pregnant. She was recruited by modeling agencyIMG. She and Ellison later divorced. Rodriguez moved to Los Angeles in the early 2000s with her two children after her divorce from Ellison. After a bout with anorexia and a divorce, she turned to comedy for healing. For a time, she and her children were homeless and lived out of a car.
Career
Rodriguez attempts to transform painful episodes of her life into comedy material, while also addressing difficult issues such as misogyny and racism. Aida was a top ten finalist in the eighth season of NBC's Last Comic Standing, but was eliminated in the seventh episode of the season after losing a head-to-head showdown against Rod Man. She finished in a tie for ninth place. Rodriguez is a five-time host of the Imagen Awards, which recognizes "the positive portrayal and creative excellence of Latinos and Latino cultures on screen". Through the stand-up comedy circuit, Rodriguez met Tiffany Haddish, who has proven a long-time friend and a strong advocate for women of colorcomics. In August 2019, she was featured in the comedyanthology seriesTiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready on Netflix, hosted by Tiffany Haddish. She was one of six featured comedians, each given a half-hour comedy special. Currently, Aida appears as a co-host of The Young Turksonline platform.
