Wanda Sykes has been called one of the funniest stand-up comics by her peers and ranks among Entertainment Weekly's 25 Funniest People in America. Her smart-witted stand-up has sent her career in many different areas.

She was recently seen in Comedy Central's Wanda Does It, where she tried various non-showbiz jobs. Her first book, "Yeah I Said It," published by Simon and Schuster, hit bookstores in September 2004, which is a hilarious collection of essays touching on life, family, and current events.

In 2003, she was seen on Fox's Wanda at Large, in which she wrote, produced, and starred. She also has a one-hour Comedy Central special called Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied. In addition, she can be seen on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm or heard on Comedy Central's Crank Yankers as the voice of Gladys Murphy.

Wanda was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and raised in Maryland. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampton University. Her stand-up career began at a Coors Light Super talent Showcase in Washington, DC, where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience.

She spent 5 years as part of the HBO's critically acclaimed The Chris Rock Show. As a performer and writer on the show, she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards 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 a second Emmy in 2002 for her work on Inside the NFL. In 2003, Wanda earned a Comedy Central Commie Award for Funniest TV Actress. Other writing credits include the MTV Video Music Awards 1999, The MTV Movie Awards, The 74th Annual Academy Awards, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, and Wanda at Large.

She also appeared in the feature films Pootie Tang, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Down to Earth, and Monster-in-Law.



Received a Bachelor of Sciences degree in marketing from Hampton University. Her stand-up career began at a Super Talent Showcase in Washington, DC, where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience. Ranked #70 in Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time, the only Black woman to make the list. Came out as gay on November 15, 2008, at a pro-gay marriage rally in Las Vegas hosted by the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) Center of Southern Nevada. At that rally, she also publicly announced for the first time that she has a wife, to whom she was married in California on October 25, 2008. Made history as the first African-American master of ceremonies at the White House Correspondents' dinner. [2009]