Bronx-born Bethany Van Delft moved to Boston with her Marxist Dutch dad, black Puerto Rican mother and siblings, where she learned being called “zebra” did NOT mean she was weird but cool. At “19” she went to Paris to model, got kicked out, and ended up in Milan where she spent Sundays sitting on the ground in front of Duomo, eating gelato and speaking Spanglish with an Italian accent.
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Bethany Van Delft’s “hip & grounded, laid back delivery” has earned her the honor of performing at the prestigious Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, SF Sketchfest, All Jane Festival, Boston Calling, and made her a go to opener for some of her faves such as Phoebe Robinson, Michelle Buteau, Michael Che, Rob Delaney and Alonzo Bodden. She produces award winning comedy and storytelling shows in her home base of Boston; her series "38/7%" at the Women in Comedy Festival earned sponsorship from HBO; her monthly show “Artisanal Comedy” was named “one of the top indie nights to check out”; the hilariously cringeworthy live storytelling show/podcast she co-produced with Nick Chambers “Starstruck: Close Encounters of the Awkward Kind” was awarded Boston’s Best Comedy Show. In 2019 she was named Boston Magazine “Best Comic”, and her debut comedy album “Im Not a Llama” dropped Dec 2019 to good reviews and an impressive number of minutes at #2 on the iTunes charts.
She is a regular host for The Moth StorySlams & GrandSlams, her own Moth mainstage story, "Light & Hope", sharing her post partem experience after her oldest child garnered 15 million views. She is thrilled to have the story included in The MOTH's 2nd book "All These Wonders" and possibly just as thrilled to have had it re-posted by SULU! (aka George Takei) #ogtrekkie
Bethany is a fierce advocate for her daughter who was born with down syndrome. She's completed leadership and advocacy trainings through Mass Families Organizing for Change; Interaction Institute for Social Change; Federation for Children with Special Needs Parent Consultant Institute, which also honored her with the 2017 Patricia Blake Parent Advocacy Award, given to an individual who exemplifies the belief in the potential of all children with disabilities to achieve. She delivers keynotes emphasizing the importance of storytelling in family engagement and advocacy at conferences across the country. She really enjoys emceeing for Best Buddies International gala and other prestigious fundraising events, where she merrily coerces the rich to give their money to much deserving socially conscious organizations and non-profits.
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Her latest projects include hosting iHeart Radio's kids news podcast, The Ten News, and co-hosting the digital series by NOVA/PBS "PARENTALOGIC" along side Dr. Alok Patel.
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She manages to do these things while somehow keeping her kids and husband alive, and not very unhappy. She also bakes pretty good.
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