Janeane Garofalo is a successful comedienne,
actress, political activist and radio host on Air America
Radio.
During high school, her family relocated to Houston,
Texas, where the trauma of the move prompted her famously
self-loathing acerbic persona to begin to blossom.
While studying history at Providence College, Garofalo
entered a comedy talent search sponsored by the Showtime
cable network, winning the title of "Funniest
Person in Rhode Island."
Dreaming of earning a slot on the writing staff of
the Late Night With David Letterman program, she became
a professional standup upon graduating college with
degrees in History and American Studies but struggled
for a number of years, working briefly as a bike messenger
in Boston.
She officially began her career in stand-up comedy
in the early 90s during the grunge era. Her appearance
was often in line with grunge style: disheveled with
thick black glasses and unkempt hair. Her comedy was
often self-deprecating; she made fun of popular culture
and the pressures put on women to be beautiful and
thin. However she was soon part of popular culture
thanks in large part to the success of her roles in
films such as The Truth About Cats and Dogs and Reality
Bites and a recurring role in the early series of The
Larry Sanders Show (coincidentally playing a member
of staff on a late night talk show).
She also had memorable cameos in Romy & Michele's
High School Reunion and The Cable Guy. She continues
to act in films and do comedy in 2003. In April 2004
she was selected by Comedy Central as one of the 100
Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time, coming in at number
99. She is set to appear in Southland Tales in late
2005.
In 2004 she became a co-host for Air America Radio's
new show The Majority Report. Also in 2004 she was
lampooned for her liberal views in Team America: World
Police; a puppet version of herself met a gruesome
fate in the course of the movie.
Garofalo said she had no problem with the lampoon,
and when she ran into one of the directors of the film
(Trey Parker and Matt Stone) they were hesitant to
make direct eye contact or speak to her. Her only response
was to ask them if they could give her the puppet.
Garofalo is a self-described pessimist: "I guess
I just prefer to see the dark side of things. The glass
is always half empty. And cracked. And I just cut my
lip on it. And chipped a tooth." Garofalo has
had frequent on-air political disputes with Bill O'Reilly,
Rush Limbaugh and Jonah Goldberg. She has become more
of a gadfly on Air America, seeking to combine politics
and humor and create controversy. |
