"Usually, there's nothing being thrown toward the stage or at me. Then I feel pretty good about it." -- Wanda Sykes
Wanda Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American writer, stand-up comedian and actress. She earned the 1999 Emmy Award for her writing on The Chris Rock Show. In 2004 Entertainment Weekly named her as one of the 25 funniest people in America.
She is well known for her role as Barb on The New Adventures of Old Christine and for her appearances on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. In November 2009 The Wanda Sykes Show, her own late-night talkshow, premiered on Fox, airing Saturday nights. Sykes is an open lesbian, and has two children with her wife, Alex.
"A woman would pitch a joke. Nothing. Then a guy would pitch it and everybody would laugh.""Actually, I majored in marketing and I have a bachelor of science.""And then also I think it's harder for women because comedy is so opposite of being ladylike.""Back then, I was doing more of my impression of what a comic is supposed to do.""But I think funny and talent will always win out; I mean, of course there are hurdles, but I think if you're funny you will get over all of that.""But sometimes the women writers will pitch something and I'll hear it, but the men will keep talking.""Don't bother me while I'm eating, or when I'm coming out of the crackhouse or something. Just let me get going.""I always want to go back and do stand-up; I like the freedom.""I guess because of my act, people think that I say things they want to say, and that they can just come up and say anything to me.""I have a funny family, but none of them are remotely in show business.""I like doing a bunch of different things, being all over the place.""I love Costas. He's knows too much, but he's a good guy.""I noticed recently, in the last few shows I did, that I'm starting to get people - not a large group, but quite a few people - who come to see me because they love Curb Your Enthusiasm.""I think it's because my comedy is in your face, and it comes from a place that's real.""I work hard. The staff and crew see how much energy I put into this project, and it makes them step up.""I'm here today because I hated everything else.""I'm here today because I refused to be unhappy. I took a chance.""I'm really funny now.""If something stinks, I say it stinks. But I try to massage it a little and not be as cutting, come behind it with a joke: Hey, I cut you deep, but now let me put a couple of stitches in you.""If you feel like there's something out there that you're supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it.""If you're passionate about your work, it makes the people around you want to be involved too.""In '87, I used to do this awful, awful James Brown impression.""It seems like when I first started, people got into comedy because they wanted to be good comedians.""It wasn't until I became more confident with myself and I put myself forward instead of the jokes; at first it was put the jokes out there and I'm just behind the jokes.""It's easier to rip somebody to shreds while you're making them laugh.""It's hard to get fired from the government. You have to, like, kill people.""Men don't hear women.""Some government workers are dedicated and work hard, but most of them are just waiting to retire.""Then you had people who wanted to get into comedy just to get a TV deal.""What drives the creative person is that we see it all."
Sykes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and raised in the Washington, D.C. area. Her father served as a US Army colonel employed at the Pentagon, and her mother worked as a banker. She attended Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland, and went on to graduate from Hampton University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing. After college, her first job was as a procurement officer with the National Security Agency (NSA), where she worked for five years.
Not completely satisfied with her role with the NSA, Sykes began her stand-up career at a Coors Light Super Talent Showcase in Washington, DC, where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience in 1987.She continued to hone her talents at local venues while at the NSA until 1992, when she moved to New York City.Her first big break came when opening for Chris Rock at Caroline's Comedy Club. In 1997, she joined the writing team on The Chris Rock Show and also made many appearances on the show. The writing team was nominated for four Emmys, and in 1999, won for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special. Since that time, she has appeared in such films as Pootie Tang and on TV shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm. In 2003, she starred in her own short-lived Fox network sitcom, Wanda at Large. The same year, Sykes appeared in an hour-long Comedy Central special, Tongue Untied. That network also ranked her #70 on its list of the 100 greatest all-time stand ups. She served as a correspondent for HBO's Inside the NFL, hosted Comedy Central's popular show Premium Blend, and voiced a recurring character named Gladys on Comedy Central's puppet show Crank Yankers. She also had a short-lived show on Comedy Central called Wanda Does It.
In addition to her film and television work, she is also an author. She wrote Yeah, I Said It, a book of humorous observations on various topics, published in September 2004.
In 2006, she landed a recurring role on the sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine; she became a series regular in the second season. She also guest starred in the Will & Grace episode "Buy, Buy Baby" in 2006. She provided voices for the 2006 films Over the Hedge, Barnyard, and Brother Bear 2. She had a part in My Super Ex-Girlfriend and after playing in Evan Almighty, had a bit part in License to Wed. Sykes' first HBO Comedy Special, entitled Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired, premiered on October 14, 2006; it was nominated for a 2007 Emmy Award. In 2008, she performed as part of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour for LGBT rights.
In October 2008, Wanda Sykes appeared in a television ad for the Think Before You Speak Campaign, an advertising campaign by GLSEN aimed at curbing homophobic slang in youth communities. In the 30-second spot, she uses humor to scold a teenager for saying "that's so gay" when he really means "that is so bad."
In March 2009, it was announced that Sykes would be the host of a new late-night talk show on Saturdays on Fox, The Wanda Sykes Show which was scheduled to premiere November 7, 2009. In April 2009, she was named in Out magazine's Annual Power 50 List, landing at number 35.
In May 2009, Sykes was the featured entertainer for the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, becoming both the first African American woman and the first openly LGBT person to get the role. Cedric the Entertainer had been the first African American to become the featured entertainer in 2005. At this event, Sykes made controversial headlines as she responded to conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's comments regarding President Barack Obama. Limbaugh, in reference to Obama's presidential agenda, had said "I hope he fails". In response, Sykes quipped: "I hope his [Limbaugh's] kidneys fail."
Sykes' third comedy special, Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me premiered on HBO in October 2009.November 2009 saw the premier of The Wanda Sykes Show, which starts with a monologue and continues with a panel discussion in a similar format to Bill Maher's shows Real Time with Bill Maher and Politically Incorrect.
Sykes was nominated for three Primetime Emmys and in 1999 won the Emmy for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special." In 2001, she won the American Comedy Award for "Outstanding Female Stand Up Comic". She won three more Emmys, in 2002, 2004 and 2005 , for her work on “Inside the NFL” for “Outstanding Studio Show - Weekly- Inside The NFL" followed by a Comedy Central Commie Award for "Funniest TV Actress in 2003."
