Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures.
This article is about the American comedian/actress. For the French stage actress, see Sarah Bernhardt. For the episode of an adventure series, see Sarah Bernhardt (Lucky Luke).
Sandra Bernhard
June 6, 1955[1]
- Actress
- comedian
- singer
- author
1977–present
Sara Switzer (2000–present)
1
She is perhaps best known for portraying Nancy Bartlett Thomas on the ABC sitcom Roseanne from the fourth season (1991) to the end of the show in 1997. She played Nurse Judy Kubrak in the FX drama series Pose. She is number 96 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.
Early life[edit]
Bernhard was born June 6, 1955,[1] in Flint, Michigan, the daughter of Jeanette (née LaZebnik) and proctologist Jerome Bernhard.[2] Her parents raised her as a Conservative Jew.[3]
In 1973 she traveled to Israel and stayed for 7 months at Kibbutz Kfar Menahem with her friend Daniel Chick. She later returned to Israel during the Yom Kippur War.[4]
She has three older brothers: Dan, David and Mark.[2] Her family moved to Arizona when she was 10.[5] She attended Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, graduating in 1973.[6]
Public controversies[edit]
In 1995, while serving as a guest panelist on the Comedy Central talk show Politically Incorrect, Bernhard became engaged in an argument with fellow panelist, conservative political commentator John Lofton. Bernhard then stood up and spat at Lofton and exclaimed, "If I had you, you’d be an abortion."[38]
In August 2006, Bernhard served as the spokesperson in a commercial for Make-up Art Cosmetics (MAC). In the commercial, promoting PlushGlass lipgloss, she referred to someone who might not approve of her outspokenness as a "little freaked out, intimidated, frightened, right-wing Republican thin-lipped bitch." MAC edited the line from the commercial to avoid unintentionally offending some of its customers.[39]
In September 2008, she warned vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin that she would be gang-raped by her "big black brothers" if she visited Manhattan. Palin had a campaign stop planned in New York City at the time.[40][41][42]
In November 2020, during an interview with Mariah Carey, Naomi Campbell called out Bernhard for her comments about Carey and Black men in her 1998 comedy show I'm Still Here… Damn It! In the show, Bernhard disparaged Carey's Black ancestry, saying "She's trying to backtrack on our asses by acting real nigger-ish there at the Royalton Hotel suite with Puff Daddy and all the greasy, chain-wearing Black men."[43]
Personal life[edit]
Bernhard identifies as bisexual and is a strong supporter of LGBT rights.[44][45] On July 4, 1998, she gave birth to a daughter,[46] whom she raised with Sara Switzer, her partner of over 20 years.[47][48][49] Bernhard was also in a relationship with Venezuelan actress Patricia Velasquez.[50]
