Sarah Silverman biography

Synopsis

American comedian Sarah Silverman was born on December 1, 1970, in Bedford, New Hampshire. After dropping out of New York University, Silverman focused on the stand-up comedy circuit and received her big break in 1993 as a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live. After that stint, she worked many years as a writer, comedian and actress, becoming known for her good looks and politically incorrect statements. Her 2005 film, Jesus Is Magic, released and highlighted her one-woman comedy show. Two years later, she starred in The Sarah Silverman Show. Silverman continues to write and act on TV and in film.

Early Life

Born on December 1, 1970, in Bedford, New Hampshire. An equal opportunity offender, Sarah Silverman has entertained and shocked audiences with her raunchy, politically incorrect comedy. There doesn’t seem to be a topic off limits for this no-holds-barred comedienne. The youngest of four daughters, she was taught to swear by her father when she was just a toddler. Her knack for saying outrageous things continued as she got older.

As a teenager, Silverman went through a difficult time. She felt like an outsider as one of the few Jewish girls in a mostly Christian town. For years, she also struggled with a bed-wetting problem. Silverman battled with depression as a teenager and began taking medication to treat her problem. She told McLean’s magazine in 2007 that antidepressants “saved my life.” Despite her personal challenges, Silverman developed a love of comedy.

During high school, the budding comic Silverman took the stage at Boston club on an open mic night while attending summer school there. She also appeared in musical theater productions during the school year. For college, Silverman decided to go to New York University. Instead of focusing on her dramatic studies there, she spent most of her time trying to catch a break at the local comedy clubs. Silverman eventually dropped out to work on her comedy full time.

Breaking into Comedy

For years, Silverman performed on the stand-up comedy circuit. Her big break came in 1993 when she landed a gig as a writer and performer on the legendary late night comedy show, Saturday Night Live. At the time, the show featured such comics as Phil Hartman, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Kevin Nealon, and Tim Meadows. Unfortunately, this dream job turned into quite a disappointment for Silverman. She only appeared in a few sketches and most of her jokes were rejected and never used. To top it all off, Silverman learned that she had been fired from a fax sent to her agent by the show’s producer Lorne Michaels.

While deeply disappointed in this turn of events, Sarah Silverman soon bounced back as a cast member of Mr. Show with Bob and David in 1995. This HBO sketch comedy show featured Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. She also did a few guest appearances on The Larry Sanders Show as a television writer, which made fun of her stint on Saturday Night Live.

Around this time, Silverman also started getting small parts in feature films, including Bulworth (1998) and the hit comedy There’s Something About Mary (1998). She was often cast as a pushy or mean-spirited friend—a typecast she would grow to resent.

Controversial Comedienne

In 2001, Silverman got caught up in a media firestorm over her appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. She used a racial epithet about Asians during her routine, which caused an outcry by many viewers. A member of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans went after the show’s network, NBC, and Silverman. While the network issued an apology for the incident, Silverman refused. She received a lot of angry letters about her comment, many of which included attacks on her Jewish heritage.

Returning to series television, Sarah Silverman played Alison Kaiser on the short-lived sitcom Greg the Bunny in 2002. This fantastical program explored the backstage adventures of a children’s television show, and the title character was a rabbit puppet that was treated like a living being. True to type, Silverman played the part of an aggressive network executive.

Around this time, Silverman began performing her one-woman show, Jesus Is Magic, in Los Angeles. She managed her own unique way to crack jokes about a number of usually off-limits subjects, including the September 11th terrorist attacks and the Holocaust. The 2005 film version of the project drew a mixed reaction from critics. Entertainment Weekly called her “a bomb-tossing jester in the blasphemous-and-proud-of-it tradition of Lenny Bruce and Howard Stern,” and Variety described Silverman as the “love child of Lenny Bruce and Sandra Bernhard.” In addition to her stand-up routine, the film also has music bits, which feature humorous, off-color lyrics set to catchy tunes.

Still, there were many who thought she went too far at times in the film, especially when she sang “You’re Going to Die Soon” to a group of senior citizens at a retirement home. And many thought she went too far at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, too. Silverman was the host for the award show and again drew fire for a joke about troubled pop star Britney Spears.

That same year, Silverman debuted a new show on the Comedy Central cable network, The Sarah Silverman Program. It blurs the lines between Silverman and her comic persona became a bit blurry with her new sitcom. Playing a fictional version of herself, she comes off as an odd combination of naïve and offensive, making all sorts of insulting remarks about people from a variety of backgrounds and orientations. Her character largely sponges off her sister Laura—who is, in fact, played by her real-life sister. Still there has been plenty of room for the fantastical on the show with music videos by Silverman being incorporated into the program. Proving there is an audience for decidedly politically incorrect humor, the show has become one of the most popular series on the comedy cable network.

Personal Life

In her personal life, Sarah Silverman and late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! broke up after dating for five years, but are reportedly back together as of October 2008. Back in February 2008, Silverman created a popular viral video in which she sang about her affair with movie star Matt Damon, who appears in the clip. Kimmel responded by making a video of his own, showcasing his relationship with actor Ben Affleck, a close friend of Damon’s. When People named the pair its Funniest Couple Alive, Sarah Silverman said their relationship worked "because we really, really, really like each other. He's kind and funny and maybe the most thoughtful person I know." And Kimmel said, "Sarah is funny and smart and good to look at."