Kathy Griffin
Kathleen "Kathy" Griffin (born
November 4,
1961) is an
Emmy-nominated
American stand-up comedian whose career took off in the early 1990s. She is also an
actress, a
voice actor, a
red carpet commentator, and a self-proclaimed "
D-list" celebrity.
Early life
Griffin was born in the
Chicago suburb of
Oak Park, Illinois, and raised there and in nearby
Forest Park, Illinois.
["Fast Chat: Q & A with Kathy Griffin", New York Newsday, June 18, 2006] Her father John worked in an electronics store and her mother Maggie assisted in a
hospital's administrative office. Kathy is the youngest sibling of three boys and two girls. Her parents retired to California after Griffin graduated from
Oak Park and River Forest High School in
1979.
Career
Griffin began performing in the early 1980s with the
Los Angeles improv comedy troupe, The
Groundlings. 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
horror movie The Unborn (1991), starring
Brooke Adams. Griffin gradually amassed such early
TV and
film credits as a role in comedian
Julie Brown's
Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful (1992), an
HBO parody of the backstage film
Madonna: 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 reached a measure of fame in 1996 playing 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 went on to a comedy and television career poking dissatisfied fun at her relatively modest place in the
Hollywood hierarchy, frequently appearing 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 in her bare feet. Griffin has also done voiceover work on a wide variety of projects, including
Dilbert and
Spider-Man animated series.
In 2005, Griffin starred in her solo reality show
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, on the cable network
Bravo. The show also featured her now ex-husband Matt Moline and her personal assistant Jessica Zajicek. The second-season premiered on June 6, 2006. The first season of the program was nominated for a 2006 Primetime
Emmy award for Outstanding Reality Program.
Style of humor
At a time when
stand-up comedy was turning, to an extent, from punch-line orientation to humorous
social commentary and
satire, Griffin established her career with observations about celebrity culture and fame. Her stage act invariably consists of recounting events involving celebrities. Her favorite celebrity topics are plastic surgery, drunkenness, substance abuse, snooty attitudes, eating disorders, and stars whose sexual orientation is disputed. Among Griffin's staples are
Clay Aiken,
Whitney Houston,
Celine Dion,
Gwyneth Paltrow,
Star Jones, and
Anna Nicole Smith. Most of all, she is the butt of her own humor, particularly with regard to her plastic surgery and ostensible D-List status.
Griffin frequently mentions her admiration for
gay men, and in her live performances acknowledges her large gay following.
Personal life
Griffin met
Washington, D.C. native Matt Moline (born
December 18 1970) on a
blind date in July 1999. They were engaged in
Punta Mita,
Mexico on
September 23,
2000. They married in Los Angeles atop the Hollywood 360 Degrees Restaurant in February 2001.
Brooke Shields served as Griffin's
maid of honor. On
September 27,
2005, Griffin filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. She and Moline reconciled in December 2005 (announced on
February 10,
2006). Their divorce was finalized on
May 15,
2006. Griffin later claimed that Moline had stolen $72,000 from her during the course of their marriage.
[Griffin split for stealing. The Daily Dish.] Moline did not comment, citing personal privacy concerns.
*She has a cameo in
Pulp Fiction, in which she played an on-the-scene witness when Butch intentionally used the car he was driving to hit Marsellus Wallace.
Quentin Tarantino, the film's director, dated Griffin in the early 1990s.
[The New York Times (Oct. 25 2004): "Bringing the A-List to Its Knees: On the Fringes of Celebrity, a Comedian Finds Success and a Following", by Bernard Weinraub; reprinted at Kathy Griffin official site.]*One of her most notable controversies occurred when she made a joke during a
2005 E! televised event that 11-year-old actress
Dakota Fanning entered rehab.
[Griffin describes the incident in her show Kathy Griffin: Strong Black Woman (2006).]*She enjoys making it known during her shows that she opposes the
Iraq War,
President George W. Bush, and the
Republican Party. She also admits she is a
liberal Democrat, but her mother is a
conservative Republican who is a big fan of
Bill O'Reilly*She is an outspoken opponent of
LASIK eye surgery, having endured a traumatic series of operations for her own eyesight, which has left her partially blind in one eye with a visible eyeball deformity. She discusses this on her website and on the
Tyra Banks talk show.
*Griffin describes herself as a "militant
atheist."
["Foul-Mouthed and Funny" OutSmart magazine.]*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.
*Griffin,
Jim Gaffigan,
Debra Wilson, and
Michael Ian Black have starred together in several commercials for
Sierra Mist soda.
*She appeared as a panelist on the
June 22,
2006 episode of
CBS' "
Gameshow Marathon," which recreated the
Match Game.* An episode of the
animated TV series Family Guy, "
A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Bucks", includes a cutaway scene where Peter Griffin's cousin Kathy Griffin talks so much that he puts
Rohypnol in her drink to shut her up, but accidentally gives his son her glass.
*Griffin claims to be banned from appearing on
The Tonight Show, and
The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She says
Ellen's producers told her they can't have her on "trashing celebrities".
[The New York Post (May 30, 2006) "Last in Line for Celebrity: Griffin - Hollywood's Outcast", by Deborah Starr Seibel]*Griffin also claims her presence (and eventual victory) on
Celebrity Mole: Hawaii as the moment she became a D-list celebrity (referencing how
Celebrity Mole and other popular reality shows tended to use celebrities that were once popular in previous decades and aren't as prominent today, or "underground" celebrities that are somewhat popular today but whose popularity pales to major multi-millionaire celebs). This joke can be heard on her
Kathy Griffin: The D-List special.
*
Jerry Seinfeld was so amused by Griffin's caustic comments about him in her standup act, that he cast her on
Seinfeld as a standup comic who makes fun of him.
A letter from Seinfeld is also seen framed in Griffin's house on the season finale of
The Adam Carolla Project.
*Kathy Griffin is frequently confused with
Vicki Lewis*Griffin was spoofed on the
MTV2 animated show
Where My Dogs At? as a plastic surgery-obsessed woman who carries body parts in a plastic bag.
*Kathy claims she is now un-banned from
The View after friend
Rosie O'Donnell reportedly asked
Barbara Walters for another chance for Kathy. She claims she was banned after a fight with Walters after calling
Michael Douglas and
Catherine Zeta-Jones's wedding "shotgun" and a feud with
Star Jones.
*She is a
teetotaler.
[Tim Nasson. D-List Status In Jeopardy!.]TV
*
Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful (HBO, 1992)
*
Big News (1995)
*
The Barefoot Executive (1995)
*
Suddenly Susan (NBC, 1996-2000)
*
Seinfeld: "The Doll" (NBC, 1996) and "The Cartoon" (NBC, 1998)
*
Saturday Night Special (Fox late-night series 1996)
*
Premium Blend (
Comedy Central; host in 1997)
*
Kathy Griffin: Hot Cup of Talk (1998)
*
Instant Comedy with the Groundlings (series, 1998)
*
Dilbert (UPN animated series, 1999-2000; voice)
*
Jackie's Back! (1999; cameo)
*
A Diva's Christmas Carol (2000)
*"
X-Files - "
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751123/ Fight Club" As identical twins Betty Templeton and Lulu Pfeiffer (2000)
*
Kathy's So-Called Reality (series, 2001)
*
The Drew Carey Show (one episode, 2002)
*
Whose Line Is It Anyway?*
Celebrity Mole: Hawaii (series, 2003-2004)
*
Average Joe (host, 2003)
* "Spider-Man" (MTV series, voice of psychic twin 2003)
*
Kathy Griffin: Allegedly (2004)
*
Kathy Griffin: The D-List (2004)
*
Kathy Griffin Is... Not Nicole Kidman (2005)
*
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (2005-present, in second season according to
Bravo Network)
*
Kathy Griffin: Strong Black Woman (2006)
*
CNN's Larry King Live (July 11th, 2006)
*
The View (July 27, 2006)
*
Gameshow Marathon:Match Game(2006)
Film
*
The Unborn (1991)
*
Shakes the Clown (1992)
*
It's Pat (1994, cameo)
*
Pulp Fiction (1994, cameo)
*
Four Rooms (1995)
*
The Cable Guy (1996)
*
Who's the Caboose? (1997)
*
Trojan War (1997)
*
Courting Courtney (1997)
*
Can't Stop Dancing (1999)
*
Dill Scallion (1999)
*
Muppets from Space (1999, cameo)
*
Lion of Oz (2000; (voice)
*
The Intern (2000)
*
Enemies of Laughter (2000)
*
On Edge (2001)
*
Run Ronnie Run (2000, cameo)
*
Lovewrecked (2005)
*
Dirty Love (2005)
*
Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone (2005; voice)
*
Her Minor Thing (2005)
*
Vegas Baby (2005)
*
The Last Guy on Earth (2006)
Footnotes
Web sites
*
*
*
Kathy Griffin official site*
Bravo official site: ''Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List'
