Chris Ryan’s hard truths and relatable cynicism, paired with a raw, genuine vulnerability, have become her signature take on the hilarious absurdities of life. Touring the biggest comedy and arts festivals in Australia, Chris has had a meteoric rise in the past five years, cementing her as a household name in Australian comedy.   

Awarded Best Newcomer at the Sydney Comedy Festival (2019) with her debut show, Bogus, she went on to create a new show, Big Hair, Big Dreams, that earned her a nomination as Best Newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (2021). Her laconic take on everything from romance to passive-aggressive co-workers also earned her spots on countless premium Comedy Galas across Australia, with many televised. The success continued following Chris’ debut tour, she toured Can’t Complain in 2022, sold out to multiple crowds with Busy in 2023, and completed a national tour of her fourth stand-up show Good-O to rave reviews.   

Chris Ryan has gone on to film and release three comedy specials, growing an impressive social media audience along the way. Her debut special, Big Hair, Big Dreams, was filmed in 2021 in Canberra with thanks to a Homefront Grant, supported by the ACT Government. Chris went on to release her second special, Busy, in 2023 on YouTube, which has been selected by media company 800 Pound Gorilla for international release online and via Spotify in August 2025. Her 2024 special, Good-O, along with her other two filmed specials, is now streaming free on her YouTube Channel. 

Chris has performed comedy for the Australian troops in the Middle East and has toured across Australia’s major cities and regional areas with the Sydney Comedy Festival Showcase, Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow, Grapes of Mirth, and most recently was handpicked as the national support act for UK-based comedian, Jen Brister (2025) and for Judith Lucy and Kaz Cook’s national tour, Kaz & Jude’s Menopausal Night Out (2023-2024).  

Chris has hosted and performed at major corporate events, including hosting and performing the feature comedy spot at the 2024 Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery Midwinter Ball at Parliament House. She has MC’d the She Leads event for the YWCA Canberra three times and been invited back for a fourth in 2026. Chris has performed at in-house events for Mecca Cosmetica (2023-24), the NSW Property Council (2024), and Qantas (2024), and co-hosted the RSL & Services Clubs and Leagues Clubs Australia National Conference (2021). Chris is no stranger to working with and performing for some of the biggest brands in Australia. 

Chris is growing an impressive CV in the TV commercial space as well. She appeared on The Project (CH10), on an episode of SBS Letters & Numbers (2023), and secured a guest role in the ABC TV show Austin (2024). Additionally, she was approached by ActewAGL to star in the company’s website video about EvenPay billing in 2024. IN 2024, she was selected to act in a TVC for Pilot medication, which was screened on national commercial stations and Foxtel. 

After co-hosting a breakfast show on Canberra’s 2XXFM for two years, Chris is a regular guest on ABC Radio Canberra and appears on ABC Radio’s Thank God It’s Friday. She is also a regular guest on ABC Radio National’s Life Matters program for their Ask Aunty segment and ABC Radio Melbourne: Drive show for its Contemporary Conundrum segment. Chris  has also featured on some of Australia’s top podcasts including WILOSOPHY, Confessions (Sammy Peterson), Picture Discuss (Merrick Watts), The Ned and Josh Podcast, Better then Yesterday (Osher Gunsburg) and The Saturday Paper Quiz. 

In 2020, Chris taught herself to use semi-automated animation software and produced a six-part online series called Chats with Mum, an unscripted, sometimes outrageous series of chats with her Mum, Wendy Ryan. Chris produced and released a second season in 2021; both can be viewed on Chris’ YouTube channel.  

Most recently, Chris has started filming weekly Instagram reels of her visits to op shops across Australia. She searches for items that her followers have requested and reports back on her finds, often with photos of the item with the eventual new owner. She also takes comedian friends on an op shop  trip and shares their own op shopping experiences and tips. The series has expanded Chris’ social media reach and is proving to be a natural and funny way to regularly keep in touch with her audience.  

 Chris’s stand-up is based on her life and the people in it, making it real and relatable, delivered in her signature understated, laconic style. If you’re looking for a song and dance, you’re not getting it, but you will get laughs — plenty of them.