Lisa Lampanelli - Profile

By Patrick Bromley, About.com Guide

Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

See More About

Born:

July 19, 1961

Quick Lisa Lampanelli Facts:

Lisa Lampanelli was born in Trumbull, Connecticut.
After a career in journalism, she began doing stand-up comedy in the early 1990s.
She taped her first comedy special, Take it Like a Man, in 2005.

Her first stand-up album, Dirty Girl, was released in 2006 and became a Comedy Central special in 2007. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2007.

Lampanelli's first HBO Comedy Hour, Long Live the Queen, debuted in January of 2009.

Lisa Lampanelli Overview:

Self-proclaimed "Queen of Mean" Lisa Lampanelli is a popular insult comic and frequent participant in celebrity roasts. Known for crafting cutting, often vulgar one-liners, Lampanelli is an old-school comic (influenced by comedians like Don Rickles and Richard Pryor) with a more contemporary command of filthy language and blue material. Her act often deals with issues of race and sex in a frank and outrageous way. Though she's an expert at cutting others down, she's always quick to get in a self-deprecating joke, too.

In the Beginning:

Lisa Lampanelli was born in Trumbull, Connecticut, in 1961. After high school, she attended Syracuse University and graduated with a degree in journalism. From there, she pursued a graduate degree in journalism from Harvard, where she graduated from in 1986. She spent the next several years as a reporter for SPY, Rolling Stone and Hit Parader, doing research and interviewing heavy metal bands. It wasn't until the 1990s that Lampanelli would find stand-up.

Lisa Lampanelli: Queen of the Roast:

Lampanelli began hitting comedy clubs in New York in the early 1990s, but spent the decade paying her dues and performing on the club circuit. Her big break didn't come until 2002, when she was the only female comic invited to participate in the New York Friar's Club Roast of Chevy Chase, which aired on Comedy Central. She quickly became one of the premiere roast comics, and a female comedy star was born.

As a staple of the annual Comedy Central roasts, Lampanelli has also gotten on stage to takes shots at Denis Leary, William Shatner, Jeff Foxworthy and Pamela Anderson. And, as a frequent guest on The Howard Stern Show, she's also roasted fellow comedians Andy Dick and Artie Lange.

Lisa Lampanelli Comedy Specials:

In 2005, Lampanelli taped her first one-hour comedy special for Comedy Central, called Take It Like a Man. The special was subsequently released as an album and a DVD.

In 2006, Lampanelli's second special, Dirty Girl, debuted on Comedy Central and was released as an album. The album was nominated for a Best Comedy Album Grammy Award in 2007, but Lampanelli did not win.

Lampanelli's third comedy hour, Long Live the Queen, premiered on HBO in January of 2009.

Additional Lisa Lampanelli Facts:

Lampanelli has had small roles in the films Delta Farce (alongside comedian Bill Engvall), Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector and Witless Protection (alongside comedian/friend Larry the Cable Guy).