In 1997, during her junior year of high school, Fortune Feimster ’02 visited Peace College (now William Peace University) for the first time. She had friends who had started their college journeys at Peace and was immediately struck by the historic campus’s nurturing atmosphere. After graduating high school the following year, she enrolled at Peace — a choice that would help her build the skills that led to a career in comedy and worldwide acclaim in entertainment.
Feimster was born and raised in Belmont, North Carolina, a charming small town outside of Charlotte. “It’s one of those towns where everybody knows everyone and looks out for each other, so I really enjoyed growing up there,” Feimster said. “It’s a place that keeps getting better with time, and I enjoy visiting even now.”
That tight-knit community mirrored the atmosphere she found at Peace. Feimster noted the friendliness and care she felt as soon as she stepped on campus. “It was a very social and friendly place; everywhere you walked, you’d run into someone you knew,” she said.
Feimster majored in communication and was highly involved on campus as an athlete on the women’s tennis and soccer teams, a member of the judiciary board, and student government president during her senior year. “I stayed very busy,” she remarked. In 2002, she graduated summa cum laude from Peace, eager to find her place in the world.
“After college, I moved to Spain for a year to see the world and figure out what I wanted to do,” she said. “After that, I moved to Los Angeles to work for an actress. I thought it would be a good way to try out the place. I started taking improv classes at The Groundlings to make friends, and I loved it. That’s where my passion for comedy began, and it kept growing from there.”
A Vibrant Career in Comedy
Feimster’s career took shape in Los Angeles after seven years in entertainment journalism, while she built her improv and comedy skills at The Groundlings. Her breakout moment came on NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2010, where she finished as a semifinalist. In 2011, she was hired full-time as a writer on the late-night talk show Chelsea Lately and later became a regular roundtable guest.
“[That was] my first big ‘I made it’ moment; it was my first big entertainment job, and it really changed everything for me,” Feimster said.
Late-night television and reality competition shows were only the beginning for Feimster. She built a robust career in stand-up comedy, performing solo comedy tours across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. Her collaborations with A-list talent, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Kenan Thompson, and Mindy Kaling, expanded her reach into film and television. Her success earned her three Netflix comedy specials: Sweet and Salty, Good Fortune, and Crushing It, with the former two earning Critics’ Choice Awards nominations. This year, her voice-acting career reached new heights with her portrayal of Nibbles Maplestick in Disney’s Zootopia 2, the studio’s highest-grossing animated film of all time.
“Every year more and more dreams have come true,” Feimster said.
Returning Home & Reconnecting to Campus
On October 3, 2026, Feimster will return to the Triangle with her latest stand-up comedy tour, Takin’ Care of Biscuits, at the Durham Performing Arts Center for two performances. She has made it a priority to include North Carolina stops in her recent tour lineups.
“I love performing in North Carolina because I get to see a lot of familiar faces,” she said. “Friends and professors from Peace always come out to support me, so it’s great to catch up with them. And I love being in front of a hometown crowd. They’ve seen my growth over the years and the hard work it’s taken to get where I am, so it feels like there’s a mutual appreciation.”
With Peace community members in attendance, Feimster says that support is irreplaceable.
“I always love seeing people I know at shows, but especially people from Peace,” she said. “I had a really amazing college experience and made wonderful friends, so it definitely feels like a homecoming. And the fact that they’re still supporting me this many years after I graduated means the world.”
Even with her breakout success in the entertainment industry, Feimster credits the skills she learned at Peace for helping her discover her path.
“I have a fond place in my heart for Peace,” she said. “It’s where I really grew as a person and learned a lot about myself. It’s where I started to find my voice. I had so many amazing professors who encouraged me and made a strong impression on me. It’s where I started to open up my horizons. And I think it’s where a lot of my motivation and drive started to take shape, so I will always be grateful for my time there.”
Photo by Kim Newmoney
