Kathy Griffin Biography
Summary
"Kathy Griffin" (born November 4 1960) is an Emmy Award-winning American stand-up comedienne, producer, and actress. She has also been a voice actress and a red carpet commentator. Griffin is a self-proclaimed 'D-list celebrity.' She is arguably best known for her role on NBC's "Suddenly Susan". She is also known for her reality show, "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List", and for guest co-hosting on "The View".
Biography
Early life
Griffin was born Kathleen Mary Griffin in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, and raised there and in nearby Forest Park. She is a 1978 graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School.
Career
Stand-up comedy
Griffin began performing in the early 1980s with the Los Angeles improv comedy troupe, The Groundlings. In an E! True Hollywood Story segment, she stated that she often went to see shows at the Groundlings before she joined. She said one time she was there she went backstage and talked with a Groundling member (Phil Hartman) and asked him what The Groundlings were all about. This led to her taking classes there and eventually being asked into the Main Company. She went on to perform stand-up comedy and teamed with fellow Groundlings alum Janeane Garofalo on the comedy act 'Hot Cup of Talk,' later the title of Griffin's 1998 solo HBO special. She did some acting, breaking into film with the supporting role of Connie in the horror movie "The Unborn" (1991), starring Brooke Adams.
Griffin gradually amassed such TV and film credits as a role in comedian Julie Brown's "Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful" (1992), a Showtime parody of the backstage film "Truth or Dare" (1991); two appearances as the character Susan Klein on NBC's "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", her TV sitcom debut; fellow comic Bob Goldthwait's movie "Shakes the Clown" (1992); and an episode of ABC's divorce-attorney series "Civil Wars", Griffin's dramatic-series debut.
After starring in an "HBO Half Hour Comedy Special", Griffin's first consistent public exposure came in 1996, when she was cast as the acerbic colleague of Brooke Shields' title character on the NBC sitcom "Suddenly Susan". In 1998, Griffin starred in her first one-hour special, HBO's "Kathy Griffin: A Hot Cup of Talk". She honed a comedy and television career that poked fun at her relatively modest place in the Hollywood hierarchy in a self-deprecating manner. She frequently appears in such self-consciously tacky projects as the reality show competition "Celebrity Mole Hawaii" — in which she won the 2003 edition after undergoing such experiences as walking over hot lava with her bare feet. She identifies her victory as the moment she became a 'D-list' celebrity.
Griffin also has a secondary career in voiceover work, and has been featured on a variety of projects such as the "Dilbert" animated series and one of the Spider-Man animated series.
Griffin's TV production company is called Inappropriate Laughter, a reference to her sometimes shocking form of humor.
The View
Griffin was considered to join the panel of "The View" in fall 2007 as a replacement for departing panelist Rosie O'Donnell. Despite running jokes in her act about Executive Producer Barbara Walters not liking her, Griffin co-hosted the show many times after O'Donnell left in May 2007. Whoopi Goldberg was ultimately selected as a permanent replacement. On September 10, 2007 Sherri Shepherd took over the remaining co-host spot, vacant since Star Jones' departure. Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that a source tells him that "The View" is having second thoughts about hiring Sherri Shepherd over Griffin, although both "The View" and Walters' spokespersons deny this. Walters has stated that she was worried about hiring another loose cannon after the troubles with Rosie O'Donnell.
Solo reality show
2005 saw the debut of Griffin's solo reality show "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List", on the cable network Bravo. The show was originally developed as a scripted sitcom for NBC after her popular appearances on "Seinfeld", where she played a version of herself, landed her a development deal with the network. Although that sitcom never materialized, NBC chose to develop a similar version as a reality show on its sister channel, Bravo. The show also featured then-husband Matt Moline, her parents, her dogs, and her personal assistant Jessica. The first season of the program was nominated for a 2006 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program, non-competition.
The second season, which premiered on June 6, 2006, brought Griffin the 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program, non-competition, on September 8, 2007. She received it during the Creative Arts Emmy, which was hosted by Carlos Mencia and aired on E! on September 15. Griffin stirred up controversy with her acceptance speech, saying that 'a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. He didn't help me a bit.' She went on to hold up her Emmy and say, 'Suck it, Jesus, this award is my god now!' Griffin meant this remark not as a slight on Jesus but rather as a satire of celebrities who thank Jesus profusely for their awards.
Her remarks were quickly condemned by The Catholic League which urged the TV academy to 'denounce Griffin's obscene and blasphemous comment.' The Academy said that her 'offensive remarks will not be part of the E! telecast on Saturday night'. Griffin later responded, 'Am I the only Catholic left with a sense of humor?'
The editing was condemned in two consecutive episodes (1) (2) of Freethought Radio, the latter containing the deleted material. Annie Laurie Gaylor in particular objected to the comment being described as 'hate speech'.
The third season premiered on June 5, 2007, to an all-time ratings high for the Bravo Network, with over 1 million viewers, a 77 percent increase in viewers aged 18 to 49, and a 57 percent increase in overall viewers. The new season introduced Tom, who was hired as a dog walker but was promoted to Griffin's housemate and tour manager, and Tiffany, Jessica's assistant; it also covered an emotional period of her life during the death of her father.
As of yet, there is no word regarding the possibility of a fourth season.
Style of humor
At a time when some stand-up comedy was turning from punch-line orientation to humorous social commentary and satire, Griffin established her career with candid observations about her dating life. Later she began to focus on mocking celebrities, and her act currently consists of recounting embellished stories involving celebrities. Her favorite celebrity topics are plastic surgery, Scientology, drunkenness, substance abuse, snooty attitudes, eating disorders, and stars whose sexual orientation is disputed. Among Griffin's staples are Clay Aiken, Barbara Walters, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Star Jones, Oprah Winfrey, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan.
While Griffin paints herself as a Hollywood outsider, she has a group of close celebrity friends that she only speaks positively about in her acts, such as Rosie O'Donnell, Joan Rivers, Brooke Shields, Whoopi Goldberg and Lance Bass. Griffin's longtime friendship with Bass was the catalyst for a feud between her and gossip blogger Perez Hilton, in which Griffin expressed anger over Hilton's 'outing' of Bass on his website, calling Hilton's attacks on Bass 'mean' and 'unfunny'. Hilton responded by saying that Griffin's anger was hypocritical, considering all of the gay jokes she makes about Clay Aiken in her stand-up routines. In 2007, Griffin commented on her aversion to making fun of celebrity friends by saying, 'There's nothing I won't do, but on the other hand I'm full of shit because that changes. For example, you know Lance Bass from 'N Sync and how he's gay now? All those years that I knew he was gay, he and I were friends, I would never say, 'Hey, by the way, did you know that Lance Bass is gay?" Griffin and Hilton ended their feud after the death of Griffin's father, and Hilton appeared on an episode of her show in 2007.
Griffin is sometimes the butt of her own humor, particularly with regard to her D-List status. Her style has led to a number of controversies. Griffin has claimed to be banned from appearing on "The Tonight Show", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "Live with Regis and Kelly", "Late Show with David Letterman", and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show". She says "Ellen"s producers told her they can't have her on 'trashing celebrities.' However, Griffin appeared as a guest on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" on September 11, 2007. One of the most notable controversies occurred when she made a joke during a 2005 E! televised event that the child actress Dakota Fanning had entered rehab. This incident got Griffin fired from hosting duties on E!'s red-carpet award show coverage. Nevertheless, E! purchased rights to air "My Life on the D-List" for its British channel, a fact she noted in an episode of season 3.
Personal life
Griffin describes herself as a 'militant atheist'. While in high school, she fell away from the Roman Catholic Church and wanted to become a Unitarian. Said Griffin: 'I'm not really sure what that is, but it sounds better.'
She is an outspoken opponent of LASIK eye surgery, having endured a series of operations for her own eyesight, which has left her partially blind in one eye with a visible eyeball deformity. She is open about her multiple plastic surgeries, and claims that fat 'grew back' after her liposuction procedure.
Griffin's father, John Patrick Griffin, died of heart failure on February 17 2007, during the third season shooting of her reality show. The episode related to his passing aired on June 19.
Griffin placed seventeenth on Oxygen's 2007 list of 'The 50 Funniest Women Alive.'
Marriage and relationships
Griffin married Washington, D.C. native Matt Moline in February 2001. They divorced in May 2006.
Griffin has dated Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The two being together was confirmed at the 2007 Emmy Awards when they were interviewed together on the red carpet. On September 18, 2007, "US Weekly" reported that Griffin and Wozniak were engaged, however, neither Griffin nor Wozniak have confirmed the rumor and Kathy's comments during her stand-up routine suggest that they are more friends who have gone to public events together rather than lovers.
Filmography
Other appearances
Griffin has made frequent appearances on reality programs and game shows.
Griffin is a favorite of the late night radio call-in show "Loveline", once hosted by Adam Carolla.
She has played on "Celebrity Poker Showdown" for the Face to Face: National Domestic Violence Project charity.
She appeared on a Comedy Edition episode of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", and won $32,000 for charity.
Griffin was also on a Celebrity Edition of "Weakest Link", but lost to Aisha Tyler in the final round.
She appeared as a panelist on the June 22, 2006 episode of CBS' 'Gameshow Marathon,' which recreated the "Match Game."
Griffin appeared in the music video for Eminem's 2000 single, "The Real Slim Shady", as an attending nurse in a psychiatric ward. Griffin said during a July 21, 2005, interview on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" that Eminem selected her for the video because fellow rapper Snoop Dogg told him she was 'really funny.' The single was noted for its caustic criticism of certain celebrities and the entertainment industry.
Griffin, Jim Gaffigan, Debra Wilson, and Michael Ian Black have starred together in several commercials for Sierra Mist soda.
Jerry Seinfeld was so amused by Griffin's caustic comments about him in her standup act that he cast her in the "Seinfeld" episode 'The Cartoon', as standup comic Sally Weaver, who makes fun of him. She had previously appeared in 'The Doll', in the seventh season.
She won the first edition of "Celebrity Mole".
Griffin was also briefly referenced in an episode of the FOX animated series "Family Guy", where she is portrayed as the fast-talking and rambling cousin of protagonist Peter Griffin.
Griffin was interviewed in her limousine by Fausto Fernós of the "Feast of Fools" in December 2005.
External links
(Kathy Griffin official website)
(Bravo official site: "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List')
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Kathy Griffin.
