Celebrities

15 Hilarious Female Comedians: Old Favorites and New Stars

Fifteen funny women across legends, veterans, and new stars, with the key facts about each and where to start watching.

By Written Facts StaffJune 5, 2023Updated October 16, 20267 min read

You know the moment. It's late, you've spent twenty minutes scrolling the streaming menu, and you just want something that will make you laugh. Start with these 15 women. Six are legends who set the standard, from Moms Mabley and Lucille Ball to Gilda Radner. Five are veterans whose work runs from network sitcoms to public radio. Four are newer stars, including Ali Wong and Tiffany Haddish, who have been winning Emmys and Grammys and hosting major awards shows. Each entry gives the facts that make her worth your time.

The Legends Who Set the Standard

Every woman further down this list works in a business these six helped shape. Most are gone now, but their shows and specials still hold up.

Moms Mabley

Moms Mabley was born Loretta Mary Aiken in North Carolina. Most records give her birth date as March 19, 1897, and some give 1894. Either year makes her the oldest name here by more than a decade. She was born in the 19th century, before radio or television existed.

Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball, the star of I Love Lucy, earned 13 Primetime Emmy nominations and won 5 of them. She died on April 26, 1989, at 77. Spring 1989 was a hard season for comedy: Gilda Radner died less than a month later.

Carol Burnett

The Carol Burnett Show ran from 1967 to 1978 and won 25 Primetime Emmy Awards. Burnett did not stop when the show ended. She later starred as Norma Dellacorte on Apple TV+'s Palm Royale, so you can watch her work across nearly six decades of television.

Joan Rivers

Joan Rivers died on September 4, 2014, at 81. She went into cardiac arrest during a throat procedure in New York City. Her death came two years after that of another legend of her generation, Phyllis Diller, who died on August 20, 2012, at 95.

Betty White

Betty White's career lasted so long that many fans assumed it would never end. She died in Los Angeles on December 31, 2021, a few weeks short of her 100th birthday, at 99.

Gilda Radner

Gilda Radner died on May 20, 1989, at just 42. She was younger than anyone else in this section and had the shortest life. Her characters are still among the best-loved parts of comedy history.

The Veterans

The legends built the stage, and the next generation stayed on it for decades. These five have careers measured in awards and anniversaries.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

No one on this list has more Primetime Emmys than Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has 11. She won one for Seinfeld in 1996 and another for The New Adventures of Old Christine in 2006. She won 8 for Veep. If you want her range, watch those three shows in that order.

Paula Poundstone

Paula Poundstone is a stand-up comic, and she is also a familiar voice on NPR. She has been a regular panelist on the news quiz Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! for about 25 years. You can hear her quick, off-the-cuff style while you do the dishes.

Wanda Sykes

Wanda Sykes's special I'm an Entertainer came out worldwide on Netflix on May 23, 2023. It's the easiest place to start if you've never seen her stand-up.

Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho's special psyCHO premiered on Showtime on September 25, 2015, and later moved to Netflix. You may know it as a Netflix title, but it was a Showtime production.

Tina Fey

Tina Fey is known for sketch comedy, improv, TV writing and acting, not for stand-up. In 2010 she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and PBS broadcast the ceremony. It was one of the highest honors in American comedy.

The New Stars

The veterans proved a long career was possible. The newest generation has moved quickly from comedy clubs to the biggest awards in entertainment.

Ali Wong

Ali Wong won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie on January 15, 2024, for Beef. She hasn't left stand-up behind: her special Single Lady came out on Netflix on October 8, 2024.

Tiffany Haddish

Tiffany Haddish's album Black Mitzvah won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album at the 63rd Grammy Awards in 2021. She was the first Black woman to win that category since 1986.

Nikki Glaser

Nikki Glaser's HBO special Someday You'll Die premiered on May 11, 2024, and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded). On January 5, 2025, she hosted the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, one of the most-watched hosting jobs in comedy.

Hannah Gadsby

Hannah Gadsby's Netflix special Nanette won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special and a Peabody Award in 2019. If you watch only one special from this list, make it this one.

When You've Watched All Fifteen

You'll probably want more by then. These women are next in line:

Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust, on Netflix since May 30, 2017.
Kristen Wiig: She and Annie Mumolo were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Bridesmaids (2011).
Amy Schumer: In 2016 she became the first woman on Forbes' list of the highest-paid comedians. In 2017 she ranked 5th, with estimated earnings of $37.5 million.
Iliza Shlesinger: In 2008 she won season 6 of NBC's Last Comic Standing and was the show's first female winner. She later created and starred in Forever 31, a 7-episode digital series on ABC's streaming platform.
Kathleen Madigan: Hunting Bigfoot was filmed at the Paramount Theater in Denver and released on Prime Video on February 21, 2023.
Tig Notaro: Hello Again, on Prime Video since March 26, 2024.
Whitney Cummings: She starred in the NBC sitcom Whitney and co-created and executive produced CBS's 2 Broke Girls.
Zainab Johnson: Her special Toxically Optimistic premieres on Netflix on October 27, 2026. It is the first stand-up special from Higher Ground Productions.

Pick one name tonight, and you'll have something good to watch for weeks.

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