Wanda Sykes Biography

Wanda Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American writer, comedian, actress, and voice artist. She earned the 1999 Emmy Award for her writing on The Chris Rock Show. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America. She is well known for her role as Barbara Baran 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, until it was cancelled in April 2010. Sykes has also had a successful career in film, appearing in Monster-in-Law, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Evan Almighty, and License to Wed, and voiced characters in Over the Hedge, Barnyard, Brother Bear 2, Rio, and Ice Age: Continental Drift.

Early life

Sykes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and raised in the Washington, D.C., area. Her mother, Marion Louise (née Peoples), worked as a banker, and her father, Harry Ellsworth Sykes, was a US Army colonel employed at the Pentagon. Sykes attended Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland, and went on to graduate from Hampton University where she earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. After college, her first job was as an officer with the National Security Agency (NSA), where she worked for five years.

Sykes' family history was researched for an episode of the 2012 PBS genealogy program Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr. Her ancestry was traced back to a 1683 court case involving her paternal ninth great-grandmother Elizabeth Banks, a free white woman and indentured servant, who gave birth to a biracial child Mary Banks fathered by a slave, who inherited her mother's free status. According to historian Ira Berlin, a specialist in the history of American slavery, the Sykes family history is "... the only such case that I know of in which it is possible to trace a black family rooted in freedom from the late 17th century to the present."

Career

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. Working for the Hal Leonard publishing house, she edited a book entitled "Polyrhythms - The Musician's Guide", by Peter Magadini. 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 No. 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, how 'bout that? Needs a little waterboarding, that's what he needs."

Her second 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.

She appeared as Miss Hannigan in a professional theatre production of Annie at The Media Theatre in Media, PA, a suburb 25 minutes southwest of Philadelphia. Her first appearance in a musical, she played the role from November 23 " December 12, 2010, and again from January 12"23, 2011.

She voices the Witch in the Bubble Guppies episode "Bubble Puppy's Fin-tastic Fairlytale Adventure".

In May 2013, Sykes was a featured entertainer at Olivia Travel's 40th anniversary Music & Comedy Festival in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Personal life

Sykes was married to record producer Dave Hall from 1991 to 1998. In November 2008, she publicly came out as gay while at a same-sex marriage rally in Las Vegas regarding Proposition 8, which forbade new marriages of same-sex couples in California. One month earlier, Sykes married her wife, Alex, whom she met in 2006; they have two children.

During a September 19, 2011 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Sykes announced that she had been diagnosed earlier in the year with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Although DCIS is a non-invasive "stage zero breast cancer", Sykes had elected to have a bilateral mastectomy in order to remove her chances of getting breast cancer.

Sykes splits time living in both Los Angeles and Media, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia.

Activism

Sykes publicly expressed being devastated after California voters passed state Proposition 8. She said: "with the legislation that they passed, I can't sit by and just watch. I just can't do it." She has continued to be active in same-sex marriage issues hosting events and emceeing fundraisers. She has also worked with PETA on promoting dog anti-chaining legislation in her home state.

She has been an outspoken supporter of Detroit's Ruth Ellis Center after the organization's staff sent Sykes a letter asking her to visit during her 2010 tour's stop in Detroit.

Awards

Sykes has been nominated for seven Primetime Emmys, with one win (in 1999) 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 a Comedy Central Commie Award for "Funniest TV Actress in 2003". In 2010 she won a GLAAD award for promoting a good image of equal rights for gays and lesbians.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1998	Tomorrow Night
2000	Nutty Professor II: The Klumps	Chantal
2001	Down to Earth	Wanda
	Pootie Tang	Biggie Shorty
2005	Monster-in-Law	Ruby
2006	The Adventures of Brer Rabbit	Sister Moon	Direct-to-video Voice
	Over the Hedge	Stella (skunk)	Voice Nominated - Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production
	Clerks II	Angry Customer
	My Super Ex-Girlfriend	Carla Dunkirk
	Barnyard	Bessy the Cow	Voice
	Brother Bear 2	Innoko	Direct-to-video Voice
	CondomNation	Linda
2007	Evan Almighty	Rita
	License to Wed	Nurse Borman	uncredited
2011	Rio	Chloe (Canada goose)	voice
	The Muppets	Officer Ethel	Cameo, Deleted
2012	Ice Age: Continental Drift	Granny	voice
2013	The Hot Flashes	Florine Clarkston

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997"2000	The Chris Rock Show	Various Characters	7 episodes
1999	Best of the Chris Rock Show		TV special
2001	The Downer Channel	Various	First 2 episodes
	The Drew Carey Show	Christine Watson	Episode: "Eat Drink Drew Woman" Episode: "Mr. Laffoon's Wild Ride" Episode: " Drew and the King"
2001"2011	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Wanda	Episode: "Thor" Episode: "The Massage" Episode: "The Benadryl Brownie" Episode: "The Terrorist Attack" Episode: "Krazee-Eyez Killa" Episode: "The Surrogate" Episode: "The Bowtie" Episode: "Funkhouser's Crazy Sister" Episode: "Car Periscope"
2002, 2003	Crank Yankers	Gladys/Wanda/Gladys Murphy	3 episodes
2003	MTV: Reloaded	The Oracle	TV film
	Wanda at Large	Wanda Mildred Hawkins	All episodes
	Chappelle's Show	Herself	Episode: "The Best of Chappelle's Show: Volume 2 Mixtape"
	MADtv		Season 9 episode 903
2006	Will & Grace	Cricket	Episode: "Buy, Buy Baby"
2006"2010	The New Adventures of Old Christine	Barbara "Barb" Baran	2006 - 2007 Recurring Role, 13 episodes; 2008 - 2010 Main Cast, 40 episodes
2007"2011	Back at the Barnyard	Bessy the Cow	45 episodes
2009	Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me	Stand-up	HBO comedy special
2009-2010	The Wanda Sykes Show	Herself; also creator, and writer	Talk show
2011	Drop Dead Diva	Judge	Episode: "Prom"2011
2011	Bubble Guppies	The Witch	Guest Appearance "Bubble Puppy's Fin-tastic Fairytale Adventure"
2012	Futurama	Bev the vending machine	Episode: "The Bots and the Bees"
2013	The Simpsons	School Therapist/Counselor	Episode: "What Animated Women Want"

Writer

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997"98	The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show	Writer	11 episodes
1997-00	The Chris Rock Show	Writer	Wrote 33 episodes Co-produced 14 episodes
1998	Comedy Central Presents	Herself and writer (as Wanda Sykes-Hall)	Episode: "Wanda Sykes-Hall"
2001	Best of the Chris Rock Show: Volume 2	Writer	TV special
	The Downer Channel	Writer	Wrote the first 2 episodes
2002	The 74th Annual Academy Awards	Special material written by	Award show
2002"03	Premium Blend	Writer	4 episodes/Stand-up
2003	Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied	Writer	Documentary
	Wanda at Large	Creator, writer and producer	19 episodes
2004	Wanda Does It	Creator, writer and executive producer	Episode: "Wanda Does Repo" Episode: "Wanda Does Vegas" Episode: "Wanda Does the Sky" Episode: "Wanda Does the Night" Episode: "Wanda Does the WNBA" Episode: "Wanda Does Photos"
2006	Wanda Sykes: Sick and Tired	Writer	Stand-up
2009	Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me	Writer	Stand-up

Discography

Year	Title	Label
2007	Sick & Tired	Image Entertainment

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nomination work	Result
1998	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program	The Chris Rock Show
1999	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program	The Chris Rock Show
2000	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program	The Chris Rock Show
2001	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program	The Chris Rock Show
2001	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Female Stand-Up Comic	Herself
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Comedian	Herself
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress - Comedy	Wanda at Large
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Breakout Star - Female	Wanda at Large
2004	Satellite Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical	Wanda at Large
2004	BET Comedy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series	Wanda at Large
2005	BET Comedy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Theatrical Film	Monster-in-Law
2005	Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Curb Your Enthusiasm
2005	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Funny Female Star	Herself
2006	Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Curb Your Enthusiasm
2006	Black Reel Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Monster-in-Law
2007	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special	Wanda Sykes: Sick and Tired
2007	Annie Awards	Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production	Over the Hedge
2008	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Funny Female Star	Herself
2009	Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	The New Adventures of Old Christine
2010	GLAAD Media Awards	GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award	Herself
2010	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special	Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me
2010	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special	Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me