Kathy Griffin
Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. She has also appeared in supporting roles in films.
Not to be confused with Katie Griffin.Kathy Griffin
Kathleen Mary Griffin
November 4, 1960
Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
- Stand-up
- television
1980–present
- Popular culture
- current events
- Catholicism
- LGBTQ community
- Irish-American culture
Griffin was born in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. In 1978, she moved to Los Angeles, where she studied drama at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and became a member of the improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings. In the 1990s, Griffin began performing as a stand-up comedian and appeared as a guest star on television shows, including a supporting role on the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan (1996–2000).
The Bravo reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (2005–2010) became a ratings hit for the network and earned her two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Reality Program. Griffin has released six comedy albums, all of which received Grammy Award nominations. Her first album For Your Consideration (2008) made her the first female comedian to debut at the top of the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart. In 2009, she released her autobiography Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin. After being nominated for six years in a row for the Grammy for Best Comedy Album, she won the award in 2014.
Griffin has recorded numerous standup comedy specials for HBO and Bravo. For the latter network, she has recorded sixteen television specials, breaking the Guinness World record for the number of aired television specials on any network.[1][2] In 2011, she also became the first comedian to have four specials televised in a year.[3] Griffin is an LGBTQ activist who supports same-sex marriage and the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell". She has participated in two United Service Organizations (USO) tours. Griffin is known for her conversational style and statements about celebrities, religion and sexuality, including holding a mask stylized as Donald Trump's severed head in 2017, which provoked a United States Secret Service investigation and later became the basis of her concert film A Hell of a Story (2019).
Early life[edit]
Kathleen Mary Griffin was born on November 4, 1960 in the Chicago suburb Oak Park, Illinois,[4] to Mary Margaret "Maggie" Griffin (née Corbally, 1920 – 2020) and John Patrick Griffin (1916 – 2007), both of whom were first-generation Irish-Americans.[5] Kathy has four older siblings; Kenny (died in the 2000s), Joyce (died 2017), Gary (died 2014), and John. Kathy described herself during her early years as being "a kid who needed to talk, all the time".[5] Her brother Gary and her sister Joyce both died from cancer.[6]
Kathy Griffin would often visit her neighbors to tell them stories about her family; she has referred to those visits as her first live shows where she learned "the power of juicy material"[5] After most of her siblings had moved, Griffin developed a binge eating disorder.[7] In her 2009 autobiography Official Book Club Selection, Griffin said she "still suffers [from food issues]" but has learned to "deal with them".[7]
Griffin's eldest brother Kenny was a drug addict and homeless at various times; she said she was "afraid of him until the moment he died" because of his violent, abusive nature. When Kathy was seven, Kenny—who was twenty years older—would climb into her bed and whisper into her ears; Kathy did not tell her parents until she was in her twenties, at that point Kenny admitted his pedophilia to them.[8]
At elementary school, Griffin began to develop a dislike for organized religion because of the punishments she and other "vulnerable" students received from the nuns.[7] At her high school, she sought refuge in musical theater, playing roles such as Rosemary in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof.[9] During her senior year, she wanted to become a professional actor. Her first appearance on television was as an extra on a Chicago White Sox commercial, and she was signed with several Chicago talent agencies. At 18, Griffin persuaded her parents to move to Los Angeles to help her become famous.[9]
At 19, Griffin attended a performance by the improvisational group The Groundlings. She said, "I thought this is where I want to be. This is the greatest thing in the world."[10]
Controversies[edit]
Various talk shows bans[edit]
Griffin said she was banned from appearing on several television shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The View.[37] She was re-banned from The View after making a joke about Barbara Walters. She appeared as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on September 11, 2007.[38] Griffin made a joke during a 2005 E! televised event saying that eleven-year-old actor Dakota Fanning had entered drug rehabilitation.[39]
