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Curated playlist

American women comedians

  • Amy PoehlerAmy Poehler plays a fictional city official who invented a holiday for the 13th of February, and real people now celebrate it. The holiday is Galentine's Day. It began as a single storyline in the second season of Parks and Recreation, and…
  • Queen LatifahQueen Latifah picked her name from a book of Arabic names at age eight. She added the title "Queen" herself.
  • Lucille BallLucille Ball's real-life pregnancy became an I Love Lucy episode, and CBS banned the word "pregnant."
  • Maya RudolphMaya Rudolph is an American actress and comedian, and one of the first places her name appears is in a song sung by her mother. Near the end of "Lovin' You", Minnie Riperton repeats the word "Maya". You can hear it in her performance of…
  • Bette MidlerBette Midler was born on the 1st of December 1945, and her trophy shelf is very nearly complete. She has won three Emmys, three Grammys, two Tonys and four Golden Globes. Only the Oscar has eluded her, despite two nominations. Across about…
  • Goldie HawnGoldie Hawn was born on the 21st of November 1945, and her first major film role won her an Academy Award. That is a startling debut for a performer who, only a short time earlier, had been known for giggling her way through a television…
  • Aubrey PlazaAubrey Plaza once ran onto the stage of the MTV Movie Awards and grabbed Will Ferrell's award for Comedic Genius. The year was 2013. She held a drink in one hand. The title of her new film, The To Do List, was written across her chest. The…
  • Rashida JonesRashida Jones was still a teenager in 1994 when she answered one of the best-known rappers in America in print. Tupac Shakur had made scathing remarks in The Source about her parents' interracial marriage. Her open letter in reply drew…
  • Julia Louis-DreyfusElaine Benes on Seinfeld was not part of the original show. NBC executives found the pilot too male-centric.
  • Catherine O'HaraCatherine O'Hara, the Canadian and American actress and comedian, became the first woman to win an individual Actor Awards trophy after her death. The prize honored her work on the Apple TV+ series The Studio, and the show's co-creator,…
  • Diane KeatonDiane Keaton was born Diane Hall, but she gave up that surname before her career took off, because another actress was already registered under it. She chose her mother's maiden name instead. The new name would be credited in films across…
  • Jennette McCurdyJennette McCurdy gave her memoir a title that stops people mid-sentence: I'm Glad My Mom Died. The cover is just as startling. It shows her looking upward while holding a pink urn, with confetti spilling out of the lid. It looks like a…

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