Johanna Stein

I was born in Winnipeg, Canada, to a pair of American hippie intellectuals who have smoked 73 varieties of marijuana combined. As a result I am a dual citizen who is pathologically easygoing.

I was educated at St. John’s High School (go Tigers!), the University of Winnipeg (go Bruins!), and the American Film Institute (go Film Nerds!) before working my way up the Hollywood pommel horse. I became an assistant and was really, really good at it (I could type 100 wpm, cut a melon to your exact specs and not tell your wife about the panties in your left desk drawer). I worked as a script reader for Dreamworks. I was a director’s assistant and had the best time of my life working on the worst movie in the universe. (Curious? Look up Silence of the Hams. It’s in the “Seriously?!” section on Amazon.) I’ve acted in some movies too: William Shatner pulled a gun on me; and David Lynch told me that my character was so creepy, because “well heck, she’s probably hiding something!”).

I co-wrote and starred in “Without Pants” at the HBO Comedy Arts Festival alongside the delightful Joy Gohring; we created and produced a sketch comedy show for Carsey-Werner and The Oxygen Network, called Ripe Tomatoes. I’m quite proud of that show, and I’ve heard that the 157 midwestern housewives who saw it when the network launched really loved it.

I lived through the experience of going viral when my video MomHead landed me on The Today Show, The Doctors, on the front page of CNN and on news outlets all over the world. Consequently, in other countries I am known as “Cabeza de Mamá”, “La tête de la mère”, and “母亲的头”.

My first stab at directing was “Sorority Sluts 3: Spring Break! (The Outtakes)”, a PG rated comedy about XXX-rated film which delighted and offended viewers in film festivals around the world. My second stab, We’re With the Band ended up being turned into a pilot for Comedy Central… with a guest appearance by Ron Jeremy (a coincidence) (mostly).

I’m a member of the DGA, the WGA (and its shy Canadian cousin, the WGC), TAG, SAG, and AFTRA.

My work as writer, producer, director and actor has been seen in such places as Comedy Central, The Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, The NYTimes, Parents Magazine, The Huffington Post, PBS, The Oxygen Network, Showcase, The Movie Network, UPN, VH-1, Noggin, CTV, The Family Channel and The CBC.

I am particularly proud of having found, bagged, and married David Gassman, the 2nd greatest human on the planet (the greatest is the guy who invented The Ped-Egg. Him I admire from afar). I am also unnaturally proud my daughter, who, despite my guilt over having had many sips of beer while pregnant, has not turned out to be an ugly moron.