List of Famous Female Comedians
There are comedians and then there are famous comedians. In this article, we take a look at the list of really famous female comedians.
What is famous? Is it appearing on the Tonight Show once? Twice? Is it having an HBO special? It is a debatable subject that could literally rage all day. As the author of this piece, we’ve created the following list of famous female comedians based on both their standing in the field of comedy or their ability to breakthrough as a female in a male dominated arena.
Lucille Ball – A breakthrough female comedian that deserves the designation of fame more than just about any other woman. Her “I Love Lucy” television show was a huge breakthrough for women in comedy. While they had been in comedies before, no woman had ever been the front and center star that carried the show. In my humble opinion, Lucille Ball is the greatest female comedian ever.
Phyllis Diller – Huge in the 1960s, Diller was the first cutting edge female comedian. She blew through all social norms and cut right to the chase with her commentary and her comments to the crowd. If Don Rickles was a woman, he would be Phyllis Diller.
Whoopi Goldberg – Once on welfare, Whoopi has given up comedy more or less to be on the talk show gabfest known as “The View.” Before that, however, she was the first great black female comedian. Her shows were part comedy and part cutting social satire. Her standing in comedy was verified when she, Robin Williams and Billy Crystal became the prodigal host of the Comic Relief shows. A breakthrough and famous female comedian.
Sarah Silverman – A white, Jewish woman who has broken through for her somewhat bizarre, but always brutally frank form of comedy. She never pulls a punch and comes out with the outlandish of outlandish comments. Her parlays with former boyfriend Jimmie Kimmel on his show are legendary including some infamous clips involving Mat Damon and Ben Affleck. She took what Phyllis Diller was doing to a new level.
Any list of famous female comedians will be hotly contested. Still, it is hard to think of anyone really outranking these four ladies of comedy.
