Kels Cooper is a stand-up comedian, designer, writer, producer, and Cherokee Nation citizen with Choctaw lineage from Owasso, Oklahoma. Kels studied sociology and theatre at Fort Lewis College before receiving a Masters of Indigenous People’s Law from the University of Oklahoma in 2022. That same summer after a small production assistant gig and stand-up class they jumped headfirst into comedy and production life without ever looking back.
After getting their start as an assistant in the art departments of FX’s “Reservation Dogs” and Fox’s “Farmer Wants a Wife”, Kels has gone on to be Art Director for two short films and is currently a scholarship recipient and student in the inaugural cohort at the Cherokee Film Institute. Kels’s pride and joy is their two black cats and being the producer of “Aunties Acting Up”, an Indigenous femme comedy showcase which just celebrated its third year of breaking records and making history.
As a Two-Spirit Indigenous CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) their calling is to make people laugh or feel seen through unique stories and be the best producer they can be to help others do the same.