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Quick Facts
- NAME: Chelsea Handler
- OCCUPATION: Comedian, Talk Show Host
- BIRTH DATE: February 25, 1975 (Age: 38)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Livingston, New Jersey
- Full Name: Chelsea Joy Handler
- ZODIAC SIGN: Pisces
Best Known For
With her late-night talk show, Chelsea Lately, Chelsea Handler became one of the most-watched women in comedy.
Videos see all videos
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Chelsea Handler - Full Episode (45:28)
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Chelsea Handler - Full Episode
Chelsea Handler's comedy as taken the world by storm. She struggled as a standup comic before finally rising to the top as "Late Night Queen" with her talk show "Chelsea Lately."
Chelsea Handler - To Chuy, Love Chelsea
Chuy recalls a time that Chelsea gave him a car.
Chelsea Handler - Jenny on the Block
Jenny McCarthy talks about a time that Chelsea Handler had her back.
Chelsea Handler - Mini Biography
A short biography of Chelsea Handler, who struggled as a standup comic before finally rising to the top as "Late Night Queen" with her talk show "Chelsea Lately."
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Play NowChelsea Joy Handler. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:59, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/chelsea-handler-20680075.
Chelsea Joy Handler. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/chelsea-handler-20680075 [Accessed 21 May 2013].
"Chelsea Joy Handler." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 05:59 http://www.biography.com/people/chelsea-handler-20680075.
"Chelsea Joy Handler," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/chelsea-handler-20680075 [accessed May 21, 2013].
"Chelsea Joy Handler," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/chelsea-handler-20680075 (accessed May 21, 2013).
Chelsea Joy Handler [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/chelsea-handler-20680075.
Chelsea Joy Handler, http://www.biography.com/people/chelsea-handler-20680075 (last visited May 21, 2013).
Chelsea Joy Handler. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/chelsea-handler-20680075. Accessed May 21, 2013.
Synopsis
A blunt and candid comic, Chelsea Handler was born on February 25, 1975, in Livingston, New Jersey. She moved to Los Angeles at 19 to become an actress. While working as a waitress, Handler turned to stand-up comedy. She landed some television work and then turned to writing, hitting the best-sellers list in 2005. In 2007, Handler made her late-night debut, which continues to be a success.
Quotes
There are two kinds of people I don't trust: people who don't drink and people who collect stickers.
I only have talked about people that I think are acting irresponsibly or are making fools of themselves ... I've never talked about ... and anyone I've become friends with. I'm not going to be friends with them if they're idiots in the first place.
Early Years
The youngest of six children, Chelsea Handler felt that she sometimes got lost in the crowd growing up. She thought her Mormon homemaker mother, Sylvia, and Jewish car salesman father, Melvin, were caring but flaky. Handler explained to Los Angeles magazine that "I was always quizzing my parents: 'Do you know where the school is?'" Even as a youngster, Handler showed her talent for wisecracks.
When she was 10, Handler lost her oldest brother. His death devastated her family, and Handler became even more motivated to strike out on her own as soon as she could. After high school, she moved out to Los Angeles to become an actress. Instead she worked as a waitress as she went on audition after audition without any luck.
At 21, Handler got arrested for drunk driving. She had to take a special D.U.I. class as her punishment. During the class, Handler got laughs from the other students for her depiction of her arrest. This experience led her to try stand-up comedy. Despite being a novice, Handler was able to land some gigs playing comedy clubs.
Career Breakthroughs
An emerging comic talent, Handler wowed audiences with her brash and sometimes vulgar act. She portrayed herself as a hard-partying beauty with an acid tongue. In 2002, Handler got a part on the cable sketch comedy show Girls Behaving Badly. She went to guest appearances on such shows as My Wife and Kids, The Practice and The Bernie Mac Show.
With her first book, My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands (2005), made her way on to the best-sellers list. She chronicled a number of her real-life sexual exploits in the book, which amused and sometimes stunned readers. The following year, she debuted her own series, The Chelsea Handler Show. Handler poked fun at celebrities as well as herself in the show's skits and sketches.
A Huge Success
While her self-titled sketch show only lasted a season, Handler found a larger audience for her sharp quips on pop culture with a late night talk show. Chelsea Lately premiered in 2007 and has become a ratings winner, especially with young female viewers. Compared to other female comics Joan Rivers and Sarah Silverman, Handler has tackled nearly everything and everyone in her monologues from the birth canal to the reality television dynasty, the Kardashian family. She also skewers the latest news with the help of comic guest panelists. Handler has interviewed a number of A-List celebrities on her show, including actress Jennifer Aniston and singer Usher.
In addition to her show, Handler has continued to write books and tour with a stand-up act.
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Female Talk Show Hosts
View groupTaking on topics of politics, entertainment, women's issues and more, female talk show hosts have proven to be every bit as engaging, intelligent, and funny as their male counterparts. Oprah Winfrey's 25-year-reign as the queen of talk is unparalleled, but many other female talk show hosts have come into their own as well, including Tyra Banks, Ellen DeGeneres, Sally Jessy Raphael and Kelly Ripa.
Visit Biography.com's Women's History group to explore more biographies, photos and videos of some the world's most fascinating women.
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Famous Talk Show Hosts
View groupSince the early days of television, talk show hosts have been among the most popular personalities in the medium. From TV pioneers like Jack Paar and Johnny Carson to daytime legends like Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey to late night talkers like Jon Stewart and Jimmy Kimmel, here is a look at the famous hosts who have talked the talk on TV.
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