- published: 27 Aug 2014
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Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, best-selling author, and producer. She has hosted the late-night talk show Chelsea Lately on E! Entertainment Television since 2007.
Handler grew up in the suburban town of Livingston, New Jersey. The youngest of six children, she was raised in Reform Judaism by her Jewish father, Seymour, and her Mormon mother, Rita. Her mother was German and came to the United States in 1958. Handler has said that while growing up, she felt like an outsider, and told a reporter, "We lived in this nice Jewish neighborhood...Everyone had Mercedes and Jaguars, and I was going to school in a Pinto." Despite this, her family had a summer house on Martha's Vineyard. In a June 2011 episode of her show, she and author James Van Praagh discussed the death of her brother, Chet, when she was nine years old. Handler had an abortion at age 16, which she discussed during an interview in 2011. At age 19, she moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles, CA to pursue an acting career, and two years later, decided to become a stand-up comic after telling her story about a DUI to a class of other offenders, who found it funny.
Sarah Colonna (born December 29, 1974) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and comedy writer. She currently appears as a roundtable regular on the hit E! cable TV network comedy/talk show Chelsea Lately.
Colonna, who grew up in Farmington, Arkansas, to military servicemember parents, later moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of a career in acting and stand-up comedy. She has been working regularly in both fields ever since. Colonna's first televised stand up appearance was on Comedy Central's "Premium Blend," hosted by Harland Williams. In 2006, She was one of 5 finalists in TBS and Myspace's "Stand up or Sit Down Comedy Challenge," which aired on TBS and was taped at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Sarah also appeared on BBC's "The World Stands Up," which tapes in London and features popular comedians from around the world. Later that year she was a Semifinalist on NBC's "Last Comic Standing."
In 2008, Sarah filmed a pilot for TBS titled Comedy Road Show which taped on location in Macon, Georgia. That same year, she also began appearing regularly on the hit E! show Chelsea Lately as a roundtable guest, and in 2009 was hired full time as a writer for the show. Handler's production company, "Borderline Amazing Productions" produced the Comedians of Chelsea Lately, which featured some of the popular comics from her show, on which Colonna was featured. The special was taped at the Nokia Club in Los Angeles, shown on E!, and has sparked a tour of the comics across the country which began in the fall of 2009.
Jennifer "Jen" Kirkman (born August 28, 1974) is an American stand-up comedian, television writer and actress, best known for her regular appearances on late-night talk show Chelsea Lately, and the HBO television series Drunk History. In 2011, she wrote for the NBC sitcom Perfect Couples.
Kirkman performs stand-up comedy in Los Angeles, California, appearing regularly at the Hollywood Improv, The Laugh Factory, Largo, and The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She has performed with comedians Maria Bamford, Greg Behrendt, Mike Birbiglia and Chelsea Handler. In 2009 and 2010, she performed as part of the Comedians of Chelsea Lately. She has made appearances on several American television shows, including performances on Conan, The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, Late Friday, Premium Blend and Special Sauce. She also appears regularly on the monthly Pod F. Tompkast podcast with Paul F. Tompkins, on which he refers to her by the nickname "Southie".
In 2006, Kirkman released her debut comedy album, Self Help. Her second album, Hail to the Freaks, was recorded live at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on December 11, 2010. It was released on May 17, 2011 with a bonus disk of additional material, and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart.