Claire Ayoub (she/her) is a comedy writer, director, and producer dedicated to creating empowering and educational work through her production company Try Anyway Productions.

She is the writer and director of the award-winning feature film EMPIRE WAIST, a heartfelt comedy about teens learning to love their bodies through fashion design starring Mia Kaplan, Jemima Yevu, Rainn Wilson, Missi Pyle, and Jolene Purdy.

The film won Best Social Impact Film and Best Empowerment Film (2024 Sedona International Film Festival); Best FutureWave Feature (Youth Jury Vote - 2024 Seattle International Film Festival); Best Feature (2024 Coney Island Film Festival); and was nominated for a 2024 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids & Family Programming or Film – Live Action. 
 
Claire is also the co-creator of the Empire Waist Confidence Curriculum, a free and vetted resource of videos and activities made for tweens, teens, and adults to talk about their own body image and self-confidence journeys inspired by the film.

Beyond film, Claire also happens to be the child of a small-town gynecologist and nurse midwife which is 98% of what drove her into comedy. She is the creator of the award-winning solo show The GynoKid, a laugh-out-loud love letter to her parents. Her first time back on-stage in nearly a decade, The GynoKid won Best Solo Comedy Show, Top Grossing Show, and Estrogenius Award at the 2023 Frigid Fringe Festival and continued as a monthly show at the Kraine Theater with post-show talkbacks with reproductive health experts.  

After beginning her career in the NYC comedy scene at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and as an essayist for Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, Claire went on to create two original web series—A Series of Comebacks and Your Hair Looks Great Today—and now loves to teach creative writing and mentor filmmakers as they bring their own creative dreams to life.

To learn more about Claire's work, subscribe for updates on Substack or follow her on Instagram.