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Alec Mapa

Alec Mapa is an American actor, comedian and writer whose career moves easily between stage work, television comedy, film and stand-up. Born in San Francisco on July 10, 1965, he began performing at George Washington High School, taking lead roles in Cabaret and Harvey and playing Randolph McAfee in Bye Bye Birdie. He was also a champion orator in Humorous and Dramatic Interpretation, an early indication of the timing and command that would define his work. Mapa’s professional break came as a Broadway understudy; he subsequently took over the role and performed it on a national tour. He returned to Broadway in A Little Hotel on the Side and Timon of Athens, while his Off-Broadway work included Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters, which earned him a 2001 Lucille Lortel Award nomination. He also appeared throughout Chay Yew’s Whitelands trilogy: Porcelain, A Language of Their Own and Wonderland. Television gave Mapa room to turn that theatrical confidence into sharply drawn supporting characters. After guest appearances on series including Seinfeld, Friends, Roseanne and NYPD Blue, he played Adam Benet on Half & Half and appeared as Vern, Gabrielle’s personal shopper, on Desperate Housewives. His recurring Ugly Betty role as gossip-show host Suzuki St. Pierre came with an extra comic wrinkle: the flamboyant television personality was secretly straight, married journalist Byron Wu. His film credits include Bright Lights, Big City, Playing by Heart, Connie and Carla, Marley & Me, Tru Loved and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. He has also worked in animation, voicing Uncle Bakla on Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World. Mapa’s comedy has often drawn directly from his life. He wrote and performed the one-man play I Remember Mapa about growing up gay in San Francisco, appeared on Logo’s Wisecrack and became a familiar presence across RuPaul’s Drag Race and its spin-offs. Whether acting, hosting or performing as himself, he brings a knowing sense of humor and the practiced ease of someone equally at home with a scripted punchline or a live audience.