Kathy Griffin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kathy Griffin
Griffin at the 2019 South by Southwest Festival
Birth name	Kathleen Mary Griffin
Born	(1960-11-04) November 4, 1960 (age 64) Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up television
Years active	1980–present
Genres	Observational comedy black comedy improvisational comedy
Subject(s)	Popular culture current events Catholicism LGBTQ community Irish-American culture
Spouse	Matt Moline ​ ​ (m. 2001; div. 2006)​ Randy Bick ​ ​ (m. 2020; div. 2025)​

Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress. She has starred in TV shows, comedy specials, and released many 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 in movies.

Griffin was born in Oak Park, Illinois, near Chicago. In 1978, she moved to Los Angeles. There, she studied acting and joined an improv comedy group called The Groundlings. In the 1990s, Griffin started doing stand-up comedy. She also appeared as a guest on TV shows, including Suddenly Susan (1996–2000).

Her reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (2005–2010) was very popular. It won her two Emmy Awards. Griffin has released six comedy albums. All of them were nominated for Grammy Awards. Her first album, For Your Consideration (2008), was the first by a female comedian to top the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart. In 2009, she released her book Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin. After six nominations, she won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 2014.

Griffin has recorded many stand-up comedy specials for HBO and Bravo. For Bravo, she recorded sixteen TV specials. This set a Guinness World record for the most TV specials on any network. In 2011, she was also the first comedian to have four specials on TV in one year. Griffin is known for her bold comedy style. She often talks about celebrities, religion, and other topics.

Early Life and Interests

Kathleen Mary Griffin was born on November 4, 1960, in Oak Park, Illinois. Her parents, Mary Margaret "Maggie" and John Patrick Griffin, were Irish-American. Kathy has four older brothers and sisters: Kenny, Joyce, Gary, and John. She grew up in a Catholic family.

Griffin described herself as a child who loved to talk. She would visit neighbors to tell them stories about her family. She called these her first live shows. She learned how powerful interesting stories could be.

In elementary school, Griffin started to dislike organized religion. She found comfort in musical theater in high school. She played roles in shows like How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Fiddler on the Roof. By her senior year, she wanted to be a professional actor. Her first TV appearance was as an extra in a commercial. At 18, she convinced her parents to move to Los Angeles to help her become famous.

At 19, Griffin saw a show by The Groundlings improv group. She felt it was exactly where she wanted to be.

Comedy Career

Stand-up and Television Appearances

Griffin performing stand up in Las Vegas in 2008

Griffin started performing in the early 1990s with The Groundlings. She then began doing stand-up comedy. She became part of the alternative comedy scene in Los Angeles. With Janeane Garofalo, she created a stand-up act called "Hot Cup of Talk." This became the title of her 1998 HBO special. Griffin also appeared in many TV shows and movies in the 1990s. She was in Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful, a parody film. She also played a reporter on NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

On June 12, 2008, Griffin hosted the first Bravo! Canada A-List Awards. She also hosted the 2009 Bravo A-List Awards. Her Bravo special Kathy Griffin: She'll Cut a ... aired before the awards.

On September 8, 2009, Griffin's book, Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin, was published. It became a number one best-seller on The New York Times Best Seller list. A week before, she released her second comedy album, Suckin' It for the Holidays.

Griffin hosted CNN's New Year's Eve broadcast with Anderson Cooper from 2009 to 2017. Griffin also guest-starred in a 2009 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Since the 2008 presidential election, Griffin has often joked about politicians like Sarah Palin. On the TV show Glee, Griffin played a character making fun of Palin.

On January 7, 2012, it was announced that Griffin would host a weekly talk show called Kathy. The show featured stand-up routines and celebrity interviews. The show ended after two seasons.

On June 13, 2014, Griffin hosted the 41st Daytime Emmy Awards. This event was streamed online for the first time. Critics praised Griffin's hosting.

Guest Co-Host on The View

Kathy Griffin was a co-host of The View from May to September 2007. She later returned as a guest in 2009 and 2010.

Laugh Your Head Off World Tour

In August 2017, Griffin announced a worldwide comedy tour called "Laugh Your Head Off." The tour visited cities in Singapore, Australia, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and other European and Asian cities. Many shows sold out quickly. She continued the tour in North America in May 2018, including shows at Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Comedy Style

Griffin at the VH1 Divas Awards in 2009

Griffin's love for popular culture came from her family. They often talked about the latest news. She said she learned to be interested in everything from The Brady Bunch to important hearings. She also said her mother, Maggie, helped her enjoy Hollywood gossip. Griffin also named the character Rhoda Morgenstern from The Mary Tyler Moore Show as an influence.

Griffin became known for her honest observations about everyday life. She later focused on making fun of celebrities. Her shows now often include exaggerated stories about famous people. Griffin hopes people understand that she doesn't mean to be mean with her humor. She tries to make fun of people's actions, not how they look.

Griffin sometimes jokes about herself, especially about being on the "D-list" (meaning not super famous). She sees herself as an outsider in Hollywood. She has close celebrity friends like Rosie O'Donnell, Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Gloria Estefan, and Lance Bass.

Advocacy for Rights

Griffin arriving at the rally to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (Freedom Plaza, Washington, D.C.)

Griffin supports LGBT rights, including marriage equality. She has protested in West Hollywood, California, and showed the protests on her reality show. Her mother also supported LGBT rights. Before the Proposition 8 vote, Griffin volunteered for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. She went door-to-door to ask people about their views on LGBT marriage rights.

In March 2010, Griffin helped organize a rally in Washington, D.C. The rally was to support ending "Don't ask, don't tell," a policy that affected military members. She met with members of Congress to encourage them to change the policy.

Griffin has also been a long-time supporter of the Aid for AIDS fundraiser Best in Drag Show. In November 2009, Aid For AIDS gave Kathy Griffin an "AFA Angel Award."

Personal Life

Griffin at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

Griffin lived in the Hollywood Hills from 2004 to 2016. She has lived in Bel Air since then.

Griffin's brother Gary died of esophageal cancer in 2014. Her sister, Joyce Patricia Griffin, died in September 2017 from cancer. Kathy shaved her head to support her sister. Her father, John Patrick Griffin, died in February 2007. Her mother, Maggie, died on March 17, 2020.

In 1999, Griffin had a serious health scare during a procedure. She has had some cosmetic surgeries.

In 2007, Oxygen TV channel listed her as 17th on their "The 50 Funniest Women Alive" list. In 2009, she received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars.

Griffin is an atheist. She has said she became more atheist as the country became more religious. In her book, she said she moved away from Catholicism in high school. In 2008, Griffin became an ordained minister to perform a wedding for two fans.

She has spoken against LASIK eye surgery. She had operations that left her with partial vision loss in one eye.

In August 2021, she announced she had lung cancer, even though she was not a smoker. She had surgery that same month to remove part of her left lung.

In April 2023, Griffin shared that she was diagnosed with a severe case of complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

Marriages 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

Griffin married computer administrator Matt Moline in 2001. They divorced in May 2006.

In July 2007, there were rumors that Griffin was dating Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. They attended the 2007 Emmy Awards together. Griffin confirmed their relationship in February 2008. They stopped dating in June 2008.

From 2012 to November 2018, Griffin was in a relationship with marketing executive Randy Bick. They got back together in April 2019. Griffin married Bick at her home on January 1, 2020. Comedian Lily Tomlin performed the ceremony. On December 29, 2023, Griffin filed for divorce from Bick. Their divorce was finalized on January 13, 2025.

Filmography

Film

Television (selected)

Other Appearances

Stand-up Specials (selected)

Discography

On June 10, 2008, Griffin released a comedy CD called For Your Consideration. She released it to try to win a Grammy award.

On August 25, 2009, Griffin released her second comedy album, Suckin' It for the Holidays.

Griffin received her third Grammy nomination for Kathy Griffin: Does the Bible Belt in 2010.

On May 4, 2012, the full song "I'll Say It" was released. It was the theme song for her show Kathy. On August 20, 2012, Griffin released an EP with dance remixes of "I'll Say It."

Her fourth and fifth albums are 50 and Not Pregnant (2011) and Seaman 1st Class (2012).

Calm Down Gurrl (2013), her sixth album, won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album at the 56th Grammy Awards.

Awards and Nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards
Emmy Awards source:

Grammy Awards
Grammy Awards source:

GLAAD Media Awards

PGA Awards

Gracie Awards

See also

In Spanish: Kathy Griffin para niños