Kathy Griffin
Kathy Griffin
| Kathy Griffin | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kathleen Mary Griffin |
| Born | November 4, 1960 Oak Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Medium |
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| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Genres |
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| Subject(s) |
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| Spouse | Matt Moline (m. 2001;div. 2006) |
| Website | www.kathygriffin.com [138] |
Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress. She has starred in several comedy specials for cable TV and has released several comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. She has also appeared on TV and on film numerous times, mainly in supporting roles.
Born in Oak Park, Illinois, she moved to Los Angeles in 1978, where she studied drama at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and became a member of the improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings. In the 1990s, Griffin began performing as a stand-up comedian and also appeared as a guest star on several television shows. She achieved wider recognition after her role as a supporting character in the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan (1996–2000).
Her Bravo reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (2005–2010) became a ratings hit for the network and earned her two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Reality Program. Griffin has released six comedy albums, all of which received Grammy Award nominations. Her first album, For Your Consideration (2008), made her the first female comedian to debut at the top of the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart. In 2009, she released her autobiography, Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin.
Griffin has taped numerous standup comedy specials with HBO and Bravo. For the latter network, she has recorded 16 television specials, breaking the Guinness World record for the number of aired TV specials on any network, by any comedian in the history of comedy.[1][2]
In 2011, she also became the first comedian to have four televised specials in a year.[3] Aside from her comedy career, she is an LGBT activist involved in causes such as same-sex marriage and the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell". She has also participated in two USO tours. Griffin is known for her conversational style and controversial statements on celebrities, religion and sexuality. After being nominated for six years in a row for the Grammy for Best Comedy Album, she won the award in 2014.
| Kathy Griffin | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kathleen Mary Griffin |
| Born | November 4, 1960 Oak Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Medium |
|
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Genres |
|
| Subject(s) |
|
| Spouse | Matt Moline (m. 2001;div. 2006) |
| Website | www.kathygriffin.com [138] |
Early life
Kathleen Mary Griffin was born on November 4, 1960, in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois,[4] to Mary Margaret "Maggie" Griffin (née Corbally) and John Patrick Griffin, both first-generation Irish-Americans.[5] Maggie Griffin worked as a cashier for Oak Park Hospital. Griffin has four older siblings: Kenny, Joyce (died 2017), Gary (died 2014), and John. Griffin described herself during her early years as "a kid who needed to talk, all the time".[5] Her brother Gary and her sister Joyce both died from cancer.[6]
She would often visit her neighbors, the Bowens, to tell them stories about her family; she has referred to those visits as her first live shows and the place where she learned "the power of juicy material".[5] After most of her siblings had moved, Griffin often spent hours alone in the house and developed a binge eating disorder. She explained that even though eating disorders were not very well known at that time, she knew her eating behavior was aberrant and always threw the garbage away in the neighbor's can.[7] In her 2009 autobiography Official Book Club Selection, Griffin confessed that she "still suffers [from food issues]" but has learned to "deal with them".[7]
In the same book, Griffin discussed her eldest brother, Kenny, who was a drug addict and homeless at various times, and revealed that she was "afraid of him until the moment he died" due to his violent, abusive nature. Griffin states that Kenny would climb into bed with her when he was 30 and she was 7 and "whisper" into her ears; Kathy refused to speak to him or be in the same room as him for years but did not tell her parents until she was in her twenties, at which point he openly admitted pedophilia to their parents.[8]
As a young girl, Griffin attended St. Bernadine's Elementary School and began to develop a dislike for organized religion because of the punishments she and other "vulnerable" students received from the nuns.[7]
After graduation, she attended Oak Park and River Forest High School and sought refuge in musical theatre, playing roles such as Rosemary in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof.[9] During her senior year she began arguing with her parents, who wanted her to attend college, because she wanted to become a professional actress. Her first appearance on television was as an extra on a Chicago White Sox commercial, and she was signed with several Chicago talent agencies. At 18, Griffin persuaded her parents to move to Los Angeles to help her become famous.[9]
At 19, Griffin attended a show of the California-based improvisational group The Groundlings. She said, "I thought this is where I want to be. This is the greatest thing in the world."[10]
Career
Stand-up comedy, TV, and film
Griffin performing stand up in Las Vegas in 2008
Griffin began performing in the early 1980s in the Los Angeles improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings.[11] In an E! True Hollywood Story segment, she stated that she often went to see the Groundlings perform before she joined. She said that, at one show, she went backstage and talked with Groundling member Phil Hartman and asked him what the group was all about. This led to her taking classes there and eventually being asked into the Groundling's main company. While Kathy was a Groundling, she became best friends with Judy Toll.
She went on to perform standup comedy and became part of the alternative comedy scene in Los Angeles. She appeared at Un-Cabaret and ran her own standup night, Hot Cup of Talk, with Janeane Garofalo. That later became the title of her 1998 solo HBO special.[12]
Griffin made an appearance in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction as a pedestrian coming to the aid of Marcellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) after he is hit by a car driven by Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis). In the credits she was listed as herself. She broke into film in the supporting role of Connie in the horror film The Unborn.
Griffin gradually amassed a number of TV and film credits throughout the 1990s. She appeared in fellow comedian Julie Brown's Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful, a Showtime parody of the 1991 Madonna film Truth or Dare. Griffin had two appearances as the character Susan Klein, a reporter, on NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, her TV sitcom debut.
She appeared in fellow comic Bobcat Goldthwait's film Shakes the Clown and as the enthusiastic leader of a fanatical car club in the Ellen episode "Oh, Sweet Rapture", airing in January 1996. Griffin played Jerry's nemesis Sally Weaver in two episodes of Seinfeld. She starred in a dual role in a seventh-season episode of The X-Files and in 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 had her first consistent public exposure 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 voice-over work and has been featured on a variety of projects such as the animated series Dilbert and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. Her television production company is called Inappropriate Laughter.
On June 12, 2008, Griffin hosted the first Bravo! A-List Awards. Included in the show was a scene wherein Griffin mimicked a "wardrobe malfunction" (referring to the Janet Jackson Super Bowl halftime show controversy in 2004). She also hosted the 2009 Bravo A-List Awards, which aired on April 15, 2009, and her Bravo special Kathy Griffin: She'll Cut a Bitch, taped on March 4, 2009, in Portland, Oregon, aired beforehand. Shout! Factory released an extended version of the show on DVD in early 2010.[13]
On September 8, 2009, Ballantine Books published Griffin's memoir, titled Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin. The book debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list. A week prior, she released her second comedy album, Suckin' It for the Holidays. It was the comedian's second bid to win a Grammy Award.[14][15]
It was announced on November 3, 2009, that Griffin was to host ABC's new show Let's Dance, which was supposed to premiere after the finale of Dancing with the Stars on November 23. On the show, celebrity contestants would have reenacted famous routines from past music videos, movies, and musicals while competing for a $250,000 grand prize for their favorite charity.[16] However, the show never aired.
Griffin hosted CNN's New Year's Eve broadcast on December 31, 2009, along with Anderson Cooper. As Cooper talked about the Balloon boy hoax, Griffin said the word "fucking" while making fun of the pronunciation of Falcon Heene, the six-year-old boy who was said to have been trapped in the balloon gondola.[17]
Although Griffin was rumored to be banned from future CNN broadcasts,[18] she co-hosted the show with Cooper until 2017.[19] CNN terminated Griffin from their New Year's Eve Broadcast in 2017, after Griffin posted pictures of herself holding a bloody, decapitated model head resembling President Donald Trump.[20]
Griffin has also guest-starred in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, playing a lesbian activist.[21]
Since the 2008 presidential election Griffin has made frequent jokes about Republican vice-presidential contender Sarah Palin and family.[22] Griffin parodied Palin in Glee, wearing a red power-suit and wide-rimmed glasses, posing as a judge at the regionals singing competition. Griffin also poked fun at Christine O'Donnell in the show by stating, "Before we start, I would like to say I am not a witch."[23][24]
On March 15, 2011, Griffin had a guest-starring role on Glee in the episode "Original Song" as a Regionals competition judge, "Twitterer and former Tea Party candidate" Tammy Jean Albertson. Her character complained about a duet of Hey Monday's "Candles" between two young men, Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson, and automatically accused their school, Dalton Academy, of being a "gay school". She also remarks that the performance of "Loser Like Me" by the show's primary Glee club, New Directions, was disgraceful because "when I lost the election, I didn't sing about being a loser, I twittered that Obama is a terrorist"; this remark almost started an argument between her and fellow judge Sister Mary Constance (Loretta Devine).
On January 7, 2012, it was announced that—along with having two more standup specials on Bravo—Griffin will start a weekly one-hour talk show on the channel, Kathy, which will consist of standup routines, "rant about pop culture", and celebrity interviews.[25] The first show aired on April 19, 2012, on Bravo. Griffin announced via Twitter on July 26, 2012, that the show had been picked up for a second season.
On April 8, 2013, during a live standup performance in Cincinnati, Ohio, Griffin reportedly announced that her show would not be renewed for a third season. She later confirmed it on her Twitter account. A source close to the series told FOX 411 that Bravo is planning to film several comedy specials starring Griffin after the show wraps.[26]
The ceremony took place on June 22, 2014. Griffin's performance was well received by critics.[29]
Guest co-host of The View
Kathy Griffin served as the unofficial guest co-host of The View from May 2007 to September 2007 and was considered as a replacement for the recently departed Rosie O'Donnell.[30][31] However, Whoopi Goldberg was ultimately selected as the permanent replacement. On September 10, 2007, Sherri Shepherd took over the remaining co-host spot that had been vacant since Star Jones's departure.
Griffin divulged in her standup that she is banned from The View after talking about the gig on her televised comedy special, Kathy Griffin: Straight to Hell.[32]
While declining to discuss the ban on Access Hollywood,[33] during the filming of an episode for My Life on the D-List with former The View co-host/moderator Rosie O'Donnell, Griffin did talk about the ban, specifically targeting The View executive producer Bill Geddie. Griffin had also been mentioned as a possible replacement for Walters when she departed the show.
As of August 2009, Griffin had been un-banned from The View and was a guest on September 18, 2009, and June 15, 2010. However, in an interview on The Talk, Griffin has stated she has been re-banned from The View,[34] due to an argument with The View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.[35] Griffin has since been unbanned once again and has appeared several times on the show, including as a guest co-host.
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (2005–2010)
Laugh Your Head Off World Tour 2017–2018
In August 2017, Griffin announced a worldwide comedy tour. The title "Laugh Your Head Off" was a reference to her depiction of an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump's severed head. The tour visited major cities in Singapore, Australia, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and many more European, and Asian cities. Several shows sold out within minutes of going on sale, leading to Griffin adding several shows to the lineup.[36] She continued with a North America leg of the tour, commencing May 23, 2018, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and including both Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York City.[37][38]
Controversies
Various talk shows bans
Although some talk show hosts such as Craig Kilborn, Bill Maher, and Howard Stern (whom she credits with giving her a "straight fanbase") welcome her humor on their programs, Griffin said she was banned from appearing on several TV shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The View.[39] She got re-banned from The View because of a joke she made about Barbara Walters. She says Ellen's producers told her they cannot have her on "trashing celebrities",[40] but she appeared as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on September 11, 2007.[41] One of the most notable controversies occurred when she made a joke during a 2005 E! televised event that the child actress Dakota Fanning, then age 11, had entered drug rehabilitation.[42] 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.
Emmy Awards controversy
Griffin, Michael McDonald and Karri Turner perform an improvisational skit for soldiers and airmen in Tikrit, Iraq, in 2006
The second season of My Life on the D-List, which premiered on June 6, 2006, earned Griffin the 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program, non-competition, on September 8, 2007. She received it during the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which was hosted by Carlos Mencia and aired on E! on September 15. Griffin stirred up controversy with her acceptance speech, saying,
Now, 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. If it was up to him, Cesar Millan would be up here with that damn dog. So all I can say is suck it, Jesus, this award is my God now![43]
Griffin later explained that she meant this remark not as a slight on Jesus, but rather as a satire of celebrities who thank Jesus profusely and nonsensically for their awards, especially artists who themselves are controversial in their speech and actions.[44]
The Catholic League urged the academy to "denounce Griffin's obscene and blasphemous comment."[45] The Miracle Theater of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, printed out a full-page advertisement for USA Today which said, "Although others may choose to use their national platform to slander our God, we are honored as professional entertainers to stand for Christ."[46]
Termination of appearance on Hannah Montana
Griffin said she was fired from an appearance on the show Hannah Montana, on account of her Emmy acceptance speech. According to Griffin "the instructions literally came down, 'We don't want her anywhere near the building.'"[49]
Griffin responded in her comedy act, joking that Miley Cyrus "...has been flashing her green bra and posing topless."[50]
Banning from Apollo Theater
In a July 2009 episode of My Life on the D-List, after using profanity in an Octomom joke during her routine at New York's Apollo Theater, Griffin said that she received a letter banning her from the venue.[51]
Depiction of Donald Trump
On May 30, 2017, Griffin posted a video of herself holding "a mask styled to look like the severed, bloody head" of U.S. President Donald Trump,[52] which was posted on her Instagram and Twitter accounts. She wrote: "I caption this 'there was blood coming out of his eyes, blood coming out of his...wherever," referencing a past comment Trump had made about Megyn Kelly. The video was from a shoot with photographer Tyler Shields, who is known for producing "shocking" imagery.[53][54]
Donald J. Trump
via Twitter@realDonaldTrump Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick! May 31, 2017<sup>[[55]](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/869874798087819264)</sup>
Various members of the Trump family responded to the photo, including Trump, his son Donald Jr., and his wife Melania, who said, "As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing. When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it."[56]
On June 2, 2017, an attorney for Griffin, Lisa Bloom, stated, "Like many edgy works of artistic expression, the photo could be interpreted different ways. But Griffin never imagined that it could be misinterpreted as a threat of violence against Trump. That was never what she intended. She has never threatened or committed an act of violence against anyone."[59][60] Griffin claimed the Trump family was "trying to ruin my life forever".[61]
Backlash
In May 2017, Griffin subsequently was dropped by Squatty Potty as a marketing spokesperson.[64]
On May 31, 2017, CNN fired her from its New Year's Eve broadcast with Anderson Cooper.[65] CNN said in a statement prior to announcing her termination, "We found what she did disgusting and offensive. We are pleased to see she has apologized and asked that the photos be taken down."[58] Cooper said, "For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate."[66]
All of her remaining scheduled tour dates were canceled by their respective venues,[67] and then U.S. Senator Al Franken from Minnesota disinvited Griffin from a promotional event for his upcoming book.[68] U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto from Nevada announced she is going to donate the $1,000 received from Griffin to charity.[69]
On October 28, 2017, Griffin uploaded a YouTube video titled "Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story", detailing the backlash she received for the Trump photo controversy.[70] She said she was under a federal investigation by the Justice Department for two months and on the No Fly List during that time. She also said she was put on the Interpol list, the Five Eyes list, and had been detained at every airport during her Laugh Your Head Off World Tour.[71][72]
Style of humor
Griffin at the VH1 Divas Awards red carpet in 2009
Griffin developed her love for popular culture through her immediate and extended family, who were frequently commenting about the latest news. She explained that "I may have been into The Brady Bunch like every other kid, but I also wanted to watch John Lennon and Yoko Ono on The Dick Cavett Show, and every minute of the Watergate hearings. It was fear of the dinner table that got me hooked."[73] She has also named her mother Maggie as influential in her consumption of pop culture, calling her "the ideal audience for the Hollywood dish". Griffin named the character of Rhoda Morgenstern of 1970s sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show as an influence, saying,[74]
While Griffin established her career with candid observations about everyday life and her dating experiences, later focusing on mainly mocking celebrities, her act currently consists of recounting embellished stories involving celebrities. Though her humor may be wicked, Griffin hopes people understand that no malice is intended by it. "I'm genuinely a fan of most of the people I trash in the act," said Griffin in an interview. "I really, really try and focus on making fun of people for their behavior. I'm not so into making fun of someone for the way they look, or something that's out of their control."[75]
Griffin is sometimes the object of her own humor, particularly with regard to her D-list status. While Griffin paints herself as a Hollywood outsider, she has a group of close celebrity friends such as Rosie O'Donnell, Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Gloria Estefan, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Coolidge, Rachel True, Larry David, Ricky Gervais, Anderson Cooper, Cher and Lance Bass. Her 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".[76][77]
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.[76] 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?'"[78] Griffin and Hilton ended their feud after the death of Griffin's father, and Hilton appeared on an episode of her show in 2007.[77]
In July 2008, Hilton asserted that Griffin's assistant Jessica Zajicek had quit because she could not take Griffin's now hectic career. Griffin dismissed these statements as false as Zajicek is still working for Griffin.[79] However, the season premiere of The D-List depicted that Zajicek was no longer working for Griffin; Griffin explained early in the episode that Zajicek "has decided to move on" from the show.[80]
LGBT rights and political advocacy
Kathy Griffin arriving at the rally to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (Freedom Plaza, Washington, D.C.)
Griffin is an outspoken supporter for LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage.[81][82] She has protested with fellow proponents in West Hollywood, California,[83] and showcased the footage of such protests on her reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. Her mother, Maggie, is also a supporter of LGBT rights and is seen in Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List protesting alongside her daughter. Prior to the Proposition 8 ballot results, Griffin volunteered for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center's "Vote for Equality" campaign, going door-to-door asking Los Angeles residents for their opinion of LGBT marriage rights.[84]
In March 2010, Griffin helped organize a rally in Washington, D.C., to repeal "Don't ask, don't tell". She stated that she organized the rally after meeting with several closeted gay people serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Griffin held meetings with several Members of Congress to encourage its repeal; she also organized a rally in Freedom Plaza.[85][86]
Griffin caused controversy when she confronted Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann over her views on homosexuality at the 2010 Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner, while in town for her rally against DADT. According to Griffin, she asked Bachmann "were you born a bigot or did you grow into it", a reference to Bachmann's belief that homosexuality is strictly environmental.[87] Griffin said Bachmann replied by saying, "That's a good question, I'll have to think about that." Bachmann's office confirmed the exchange but said Griffin confronted Bachmann after Bachmann approached Griffin to compliment her appearance.[88][89]
Griffin has been a long-time supporter of the Aid for AIDS annual fundraiser, Best in Drag Show in Los Angeles, and hosted the opening of the show for more than five years.[90] In November 2009, Aid For AIDS presented Kathy Griffin with an AFA Angel Award at their silver anniversary celebration.[90][91]
Griffin has been a long-time critic of Sarah Palin, and has made fun of Palin's daughter, Bristol Palin, using the Palin family as material in her comedy routines.[92] In March 2011, Sarah Palin responded to Griffin by calling her a "bully". Palin went on to dare Griffin to "come up to Alaska and pick on me."[93]
Personal life
Griffin at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival
Griffin describes herself as a "non-believer".[96] In her book Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin, Griffin said that while in high school, she fell away from the Roman Catholic Church. She considered becoming a Unitarian but was not sure what that would involve. On March 9, 2008, Kathy Griffin became an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church.[97]
In a 2006 interview, Griffin said she does not drink alcohol.[98]
Griffin is an atheist.[99]
She is an outspoken opponent of LASIK eye surgery, having endured a series of operations for her own eyesight that left her partially blind in one eye with a visible eyeball deformity.[100] She is open about her multiple plastic surgeries, and jokes that the fat "was donated to a soup kitchen" after her liposuction procedure.
Her father, John Patrick Griffin, died of heart failure on February 17, 2007, during the shooting of the third season of her reality show; he was 91 years old. The episode related to his death aired on June 19, 2007.
She placed 17th on Oxygen's 2007 list of "The 50 Funniest Women Alive". In 2009, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.[101]
Marriage and relationships
Kathy Griffin with her then-boyfriend Steve Wozniak in April 2008
Griffin and Jim Weiskopf of the Fisher House Foundation during her visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in April 2008
In July 2007, rumors circulated that Griffin was dating Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.[105] They attended the 2007 Emmy Awards together, and speculation arose when the two were interviewed together on the red carpet.[106] On Tom Green's House Tonight on February 6, 2008, Griffin confirmed her relationship with Wozniak. When asked if she actually targeted Wozniak to make her ex-husband jealous, Griffin stated: "What better way to get back at my ex, who was a tech, than to marry the biggest techno-nerd in the Universe?" Wozniak and Griffin served as King and Queen of the Humane Society of Silicon Valley Fur Ball on April 5, 2008, in Santa Clara, California, and scenes for the fourth season of My Life on the D-List were taped.[107] In June 2008, it was confirmed that Griffin and Wozniak were no longer dating.[108]
In the same interview, she stated that the previous July, she had ended a private romantic relationship that had lasted four years with a man she did not publicly identify, only saying that he was "a regular guy with a regular job", and that it was a "messy breakup".[112] It was later revealed that the man was Tom Vize. Vize was Griffin's tour manager and had appeared on several seasons of My Life on the D List.[113]
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1980 | Battle Beyond the Stars | Alien Extra | Uncredited |
| Fade to Black | Grauman's Chinese Theater Extra | ||
| 1985 | Streets of Fire | Concertgoer | |
| 1991 | The Unborn | Connie | |
| 1992 | Shakes the Clown | Lucy | |
| Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful | Taffy | ||
| 1994 | Pulp Fiction | Hit-and-run witness | |
| It's Pat | Herself | Cameo | |
| 1995 | Big News | TV film | |
| Four Rooms | Betty | ||
| The Barefoot Executive | Mary | TV film | |
| 1996 | The Cable Guy | Mother | |
| 1997 | Who's the Caboose? | Katty | |
| Trojan War | Cashier | ||
| Courting Courtney | Ona Miller | ||
| 1999 | Can't Stop Dancing | Modeling agent | |
| Dill Scallion | Tina | ||
| Muppets from Space | Female armed guard | ||
| Jackie's Back | Herself | TV film | |
| 2000 | Lion of Oz | Caroline | Voice role |
| The Intern | Cornelia Crisp | ||
| Enemies of Laughter | Cindy | ||
| A Diva's Christmas Carol | Ghost of Christmas Past | TV film | |
| E | Nurse | "The Real Slim Shady", music video collection | |
| 2001 | On Edge | Karen Katz | |
| 2002 | Run Ronnie Run! | Herself | |
| 2003 | Beethoven's 5th | Evie Kling | |
| 2005 | Dirty Love | Madame Pelly | |
| 2005 | Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone | Rhoga | Voice role |
| Her Minor Thing | Maggie | ||
| Love Wrecked | Belinda | ||
| 2006 | Bachelor Party Vegas | Spaghetti Wrestling She-Elvis | Uncredited cameo |
| 2007 | Judy Toll: The Funniest Woman You've Never Heard of | Herself | Documentary |
| In Search of Puppy Love | |||
| Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project | |||
| Heckler | |||
| 2010 | A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures | Vera | Voice role |
| Shrek Forever After | Taran | ||
| Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work | Herself | Documentary | |
| 2011 | The Muppets | Scene removed from theatrical release | |
| Hall Pass | |||
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1989–1991 | On the Television | Various | Episode: "Beauty and the Beast" |
| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | |||
| 1990 | Susan Klein | Episode: "Not With My Pig, You Don't" | |
| 1993 | Civil Wars | Yvonne | Episode: "Watt, Me Worry?" |
| Dream On | Dawn | Episode: "The French Conception" | |
| 1995 | ER | Dolores Minky | Episode: "Motherhood" |
| Dweebs | Sheila | Episode: "The Birthday Party Show" | |
| 1995 | Mad About You | Brenda | Episode: "New Year's Eve" |
| 1996 | Ellen | Peggy | Episode: "Oh, Sweet Rapture" |
| Partners | Michelle | Episode: "Can We Keep Her, Dad?" | |
| Caroline in the City | DMV clerk | Episode: "Caroline and the Movie" | |
| Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist | Herself | Episode: "Koppleman and Katz" | |
| Saturday Night Special | 2 episodes | ||
| 1995–1996 | Ned and Stacey | Jeanne | Episode: "Loganberry's Run" and "Accountus Interruptus" |
| 1997 | Oddville, MTV | Episode: August 13, 1997 | |
| The Wonderful World of Disney | Mary | Episode: "The New Barefoot Executive" | |
| 1996–1998 | Seinfeld | Sally Weaver | Episode: "The Cartoon" and "The Doll" |
| 1997–1998 | Premium Blend | Herself | Hostess |
| 1999 | Rock & Roll Jeopardy! | Celebrity edition | |
| 2000 | The X-Files | Betty Templeton/Lulu Pfeiffer | Episode: "Fight Club" |
| 2000 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Herself | Episode: "The Pants Tent" |
| 1999–2000 | Dilbert | Alice | Voice role (uncredited) |
| 1996–2000 | Suddenly Susan | Vicki Groener | Main role; 93 episodes |
| 2001 | The Simpsons | Francine | Episode: "Bye Bye Nerdie" |
| Strong Medicine | Matchmaker | Episode: "Silent Epidemic" | |
| Weakest Link | Herself | Episode: "Comedians Special" | |
| Kathy's So-Called Reality | Hostess | ||
| 2002 | The Drew Carey Show | Kathy | Episode: "The Eagle Has Landed" |
| The Anna Nicole Show | Herself | Christmas special | |
| 2003 | What's New, Scooby-Doo? | Luis Agent Autumn Summerfield | Episode: "The Unnatural" (voice role) |
| Spider-Man: The New Animated Series | Roxanne Gaines | Episode: "Mind Game: Part 1" and "Part 2" (Voice role) | |
| Crank Yankers | Marion Simons | Episode: "Jim Florentine & Kathy Griffin" (voice role) sSegment: Marion gets an Estimate | |
| The Mole | Herself | Season 3 winner | |
| 2002–2003 | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | 4 episodes (5–02, 5–15, 5–19, 5–29) | |
| 2002 | National Lampoon's Funny Money | Episode 1 (guest comedian) | |
| 2004 | Stripperella | The Bridesmaid | Episode: "The Bridesmaid" and "Evil Things Come in Small Packages" (voice role) |
| Half & Half | Dr. Morgan | Episode: "The Big Labor of Love Episode" | |
| Celebrity Poker Showdown | Herself | Two episodes, third tournament | |
| 2001–2004 | Hollywood Squares | 86 episodes | |
| 2005 | Cheap Seats | Rae | Episode: "1995 SuperDogs! Superjocks!" |
| Days of Our Lives | Limo driver | ||
| All-Star Reality Reunion | Herself | Hostess | |
| 2006 | Gameshow Marathon | Herself | "Match Game" |
| 2007 | Ugly Betty | Fashion TV anchor | Episode: "In or Out" |
| Loose Women | Herself | ||
| 2008 | Rosie Live | Impersonated Nancy Grace | |
| Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan | Season 4, episode 24 | ||
| 2009 | Privileged | Olivia | Episode: "All About a Brand New You" |
| Paris Hilton's My New BFF | Herself | Episode: "Must Have Thick Skin" (special guest) | |
| 2008–2010 | Larry King Live | Six episodes | |
| 2009 | The Comedy Central Roast of Joan Rivers | Roast Master | |
| The Celebrity Apprentice 2 | Special guest | ||
| 2005–2010 | Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List | 47 episodes Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | |
| 2010 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Babs Duffy | Episode: "P.C." |
| RuPaul's Drag Race | Guest judge | Season 2, Episode 1: "Gone With The Windows" | |
| The Marriage Ref | Episode: "Tracy Morgan, Kathy Griffin, and Nathan Lane" | ||
| Last Comic Standing | Performer | Season 7 finale | |
| Shep & Tiffany Watch TV: The Best of 2010 | Executive Producer | ||
| 2011 | Glee | Tammy Jean Albertson | Season 2, episode 16: "Original Song" |
| Same Name | Herself | Season 1, episode 2[116] | |
| Drop Dead Diva | Jenna Kaswell-Bailey | Episode: "He Said, She Said" | |
| America's Next Top Model | Guest Judge | Season 17, episode 7[117] | |
| 2012 | American Dad! | Kelly Wilk | Season 7, episode 16: "The Kidney Stays in the Picture"[118] Voice role |
| Whitney | Lindsay | Episode: "Codependence Day" | |
| The Rosie Show | Herself | ||
| Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off | Herself | Season 2, episode 6: "Star Studded Supper" | |
| 2012–2013 | Kathy | Host | Talk show[25] |
| 2013 | Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual | Herself | Episode: "No Voice, No Choice" |
| 2014 | Kirstie | Herself | Episode: "The Girl Next Door" |
| 2014 | Big Brother 16 | Herself | Episode 25 |
| 2015 | Fashion Police | Host | Talk show[119] |
| RuPaul's Drag Race | Guest judge | Season 7, episode 1: "Born Naked" Season 7, episode 5: "The DESPY Awards" | |
| Big Brother 17 | Herself | Episode 5 | |
| 2016 | Lopez | Herself | Episode: "George Doubles Down" |
| 2018 | Make America Great-a-Thon: A President Show Special and A President Show Documentary: The Fall Of Donald Trump | Kellyanne Conway | TV special |
| 2019 | ’’Crank Yankers’’ | Herself (voice) | Episode: ”Jimmy Kimmel, Kathy Griffin & Jeff Ross” |
Stand-up specials
HBO Comedy Half-Hour (1996)[120]
Kathy Griffin: Hot Cup of Talk (1998)[121]
Kathy Griffin: The D-List (2004)
Kathy Griffin: Allegedly (2004)
Kathy Griffin Is...Not Nicole Kidman (2005)
Kathy Griffin: Strong Black Woman (2006)
Kathy Griffin: Everybody Can Suck It (2007)
Kathy Griffin: Straight to Hell (2007)
Kathy Griffin: She'll Cut a Bitch (2009)
Kathy Griffin: Balls of Steel (2009)
Kathy Griffin: Does the Bible Belt (2010)[122]
Kathy Griffin: Whores on Crutches (2010)
Kathy Griffin: 50 and Not Pregnant (2011)
Kathy Griffin: Gurrl Down! (2011)
Kathy Griffin: Pants Off (2011)[123]
Kathy Griffin: Tired Hooker (2011)[124]
Kathy Griffin: Seaman 1st Class (2012)
Kathy Griffin: Kennedie Center On-Hers (2013)
Kathy Griffin: Calm Down Gurrl (2013)
Kathy Griffin: Record Breaker (2013)
Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story (2019)[125]
Discography
On June 10, 2008, Griffin released a comedy CD titled For Your Consideration.[126] It is Griffin's first audio-only release of her stand-up material. The disc was recorded at the ETK Theatre at the Grand Theatre Center For The Arts in Tracy, California on February 17, 2008.[127] Included on the disc are her takes on various celebrities and her personal life. Griffin stated that she decided to release this CD to try to win a Grammy award.[127] On December 3, 2008, Griffin was nominated for a Grammy for Best Comedy Album. However, she lost to George Carlin's It's Bad for Ya.
On August 25, 2009, Griffin released a second comedy album, Suckin' It for the Holidays, in another bid for a Grammy. The album was initially released as a digital download and retail released on November 3, 2009. Despite the album's holiday title, it contains little holiday-related content, and it just barely made the nominations cut-off.[128] On December 2, 2009 it was nominated for Best Comedy Album, making it Griffin's second Grammy nomination.
Griffin received her third Grammy nomination for Kathy Griffin: Does the Bible Belt in 2010[129] and her fourth in 2011 for Kathy Griffin: 50 And Not Pregnant.
On August 14, 2014, Griffin released a third comedy CD titled Look at My Butt Crack.