Jane Seymour is a British actress. After making her screen debut as an uncredited extra in the 1969 musical comedy Oh! What a Lovely War, Seymour moved to leading roles in film and television, including a leading role in the television series The Onedin Line (1972–1973) and the role of psychic Bond girl Solitaire in the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973).
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English actress, comedian, singer, and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with her best friend and comedy partner, Dawn French. With French, she co-wrote and starred in their eponymous sketch show, French and Saunders, for which they jointly received a BAFTA Fellowship in 2009. Saunders later received acclaim in the 1990s for writing and playing her character Edina Monsoon in her sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.
Julie Ann Brown is an American actress, comedian, screen/television writer, singer-songwriter, and television director. Brown is known for her work in the 1980s, where she often played a quintessential valley girl character. Much of her comedy has revolved around the mocking of famous people.
This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics with a combination of news parody, sketch comedy, and satirical editorials. Originally featuring Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer, Greg Thomey, and Mary Walsh, the series featured satirical sketches of the weekly news and Canadian political events. The show's format is a mock news program, intercut with comic sketches, parody commercials, and humorous interviews of public figures.
Phyllis Ada Diller was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and exaggerated, cackling laugh.
Catherine Frederica "Cathy" Jones is a Canadian actress, comedian and writer. She is known for her work for 28 years on the Canadian television series This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Jones left the show in 2021.
Wanda Yvette Sykes is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on The Chris Rock Show, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America. She is also known for her recurring roles on CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–10), and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2001–2011). She received Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series nominations for her roles in ABC's Black-ish (2015–2022), and Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2020). She currently stars in the Netflix original series The Upshaws (2021–), the HBO Max comedy series The Other Two (2019–2023), and The Good Fight (2021).
Olivia Jane d'Abo is a British actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Karen Arnold, Kevin Arnold's rebellious teenaged hippie sister in the ABC comedy-drama series The Wonder Years (1988–1993), as female serial killer Nicole Wallace in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as Marie Blake on The Single Guy (1995–1997), and Jane Porter in The Legend of Tarzan (2001–2003). Her film appearances include roles in Conan the Destroyer (1984) and Bank Robber (1993).
Norman Lovett is a British stand-up comedian and actor best known for his portrayal of Holly, the ship's computer in Red Dwarf.
Kathleen Wilhoite is an American actress and musician. She made her feature film debut in Private School (1983) before having a leading role in Murphy's Law (1986), followed by supporting parts in Witchboard, Crossing Delancey (1988), Road House (1989), and Lorenzo's Oil (1992). She also had notable guest-starring roles on several series during this time, including Twin Peaks (1990).
Susan Essman is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer and television producer, best known for her role as Susie Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bobbi Wexler on Broad City, and the voice of Mittens in Bolt.
Maria Bamford is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depression, anxiety, suicide, and mental illness.
Judy Lynn Tenuta was an American comedian, actress, and comedy musician. She was known for her whimsical and brash persona of "The Love Goddess", mixing insult comedy, observational humor, self-promotion, and bawdy onstage antics. Throughout her career, Tenuta built a niche but devoted following, particularly among members of the LGBTQ community. Tenuta wrote two comedy books, and received two nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
Betty Walker was a Jewish-American actress and comedian who performed primarily during the 1950s and 1960s.
Anjelah Nicole Johnson-Reyes is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and former NFL cheerleader. Johnson was a cast member on the series MADtv during its 13th season. Her characters included a Vietnamese nail salon employee named Mỹ Linh/Tammy and a rude fast food employee turned music star named Bon Qui Qui.
Janeane Garofalo is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on Air America Radio's The Majority Report.
Beth Lapides is an American writer, comedian, producer and host, best known for creating Un-Cabaret.
Jennifer Ann Kirkman is an American stand-up comedian and screenwriter, podcaster, and actress. She is known for her regular appearances as a round-table panelist on Chelsea Lately for 70 episodes from 2008 to 2014.
Women in comedy refers to women who participate in comedic works as well as their experience within the social environment. While primarily dominated by men throughout history, women have been represented in the field of comedy since the mid-1700s. Comedy, or creative works with the intention of humor, is thought to have originated in ancient Greek theatre in 425 BCE. Some of the first figures to enter the field, however, were faced with resistance and discrimination. A sense of humor in women was previously thought to have meant the ability to laugh at a man's joke, rather than to tell the joke herself. When women did finally enter comedy, it was seen as niche, thus making bookings hard to come by.
Susan Kathryn Youssef is an Australian writer and actor who works in television, on radio and stage. She is best known for her appearances in the television series The Project, Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia, and Rosehaven, and has performed stand-up comedy at various Australian and international festivals.
