Janeane Garofalo (born September 28, 1964), born in Newton, New Jersey, is a successful comedienne, actress, political activist and radio host on Air America Radio.

During high school, her family relocated to Houston, Texas, where the trauma of the move prompted her famously self-loathing acerbic persona to begin to blossom. While studying history at Providence College, Garofalo entered a comedy talent search sponsored by the Showtime cable network, winning the title of "Funniest Person in Rhode Island." Dreaming of earning a slot on the writing staff of the Late Night With David Letterman program, she became a professional standup upon graduating college with degrees in History and American Studies but struggled for a number of years, working briefly as a bike messenger in Boston.

She officially began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 90s during the grunge era. Her appearance was often in line with grunge style: disheveled with thick black glasses and unkempt hair. Her comedy was often self-deprecating; she made fun of popular culture and the pressures put on women to be beautiful and thin. However she was soon part of popular culture thanks in large part to the success of her roles in films such as The Truth About Cats and Dogs and Reality Bites and a recurring role in the early series of The Larry Sanders Show (coincidentally playing a member of staff on a late night talk show). She also had memorable cameos in Romy & Michele's High School Reunion and The Cable Guy. She continues to act in films and do comedy in 2003. In April 2004 she was selected by Comedy Central as one of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time, coming in at number 99. She is set to appear in Southland Tales in late 2005.

Garofalo was outspoken about her opposition to what became the 2003 Iraq War, appearing on CNN and Fox to discuss it.

In 2004 she became a co-host for Air America Radio's new show The Majority Report. Also in 2004 she was lampooned for her liberal views in Team America: World Police; a puppet version of herself met a gruesome fate in the course of the movie. Garofalo said she had no problem with the lampoon, and when she ran into one of the directors of the film (Trey Parker and Matt Stone) they were hesitant to make direct eye contact or speak to her. Her only response was to ask them if they could give her the puppet.

Garofalo is a self-described pessimist: "I guess I just prefer to see the dark side of things. The glass is always half empty. And cracked. And I just cut my lip on it. And chipped a tooth." [1] Garofalo has had frequent on-air political disputes with Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Jonah Goldberg [2]. She has become more of a gadfly on Air America, seeking to combine politics and humor and create controversy (and attention for her positions).

Filmography

• Reality Bites (1994)
• Bye Bye Love (1995)
• The Truth About Cats and Dogs (1996)
• Larger Than Life (1996)
• Sweethearts (1996)
• Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)
• The Matchmaker (1997)
• Clay Pigeons (1998)
• Permanent Midnight (1998)
• Mystery Men (1999)
• Dog Park (2000)
• Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
• Big Trouble (2002)
• The Laramie Project (HBO; 2002)

Television Shows

• TV Nation, NBC, Fox
• The Larry Sanders Show, HBO
• The Ben Stiller Show, Fox
• Saturday Night Live, NBC

Bibliography

• Feel This Book: An Essential Guide to Self-Empowerment, Spiritual Supremacy, and Sexual Satisfaction ISBN 0694521469 (w/ Ben Stiller)

External links

• Janeane Garofalo.org
• The Majority Report Weblog
• MoveLeft Media articles re Janeane Garofalo
• Janeane Garofalo's political donations
• Independent Air America Radio IRC Chat channel (chat room) on Undernet