Wendy has been performing her uniquely timed style
of stand-up comedy since 1984, and is the only person in her family in
show business. "My mother is a ventriloquist but not
professionally. For ten years I thought the dog was telling me to kill
my father." Waiting a beat, she adds, "I got my brother to
do it."
Originally from Long Island, Wendy went to college
in Boston (a school she refers to as I.O.U.), where she studied
psychology and histrionics. Browsing through a catalog for continuing
education, Wendy enrolled in a class called "How To Be a Stand-up
Comedian" at the Cambridge Center For Adult Education.
Wendy Liebman started doing open mike nights
at local Boston clubs, including Stitches, the Comedy Connection, and
Catch A Rising Star. For the next six years she performed throughout
all of New England. "I kept my secretarial day job, though I
would call in sick a lot. I would say I had 'female problems'. My boss
didn't know I meant her."
In 1990, Wendy Liebman won the Johnnie Walker
Red Comedy Competition semi-finals in Boston, and competed in the
finals at LA's famous Hollywood Improv. It was at this performance
that she caught the eye of the talent coordinator of the "Tonight
Show," who invited her to be one of Johnny Carson's guests the
following week. If that wasn't thrilling enough, the whole episode was
captured on a segment for CBS' "48 Hours."
Since then, Wendy has been a regular on "The
Late Show with David Letterman"
and has appeared on the "Tonight Show with Jay
Leno." Rosie O'Donnell introduced her onto her new show on
June 12, 1996 with the introduction, "When we sat down to decide
who the first comedian on the show should be, only one name came to
mind…the funniest female comedian on the circuit, Wendy
Liebman!".
Wendy has also been seen on "Politically
Incorrect," "Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist," "Louie
Anderson's Comedy Showcase," "The Daily Show,"
"HBO's Women of the Night," "The Ru Paul Show" and
"Comic Relief VII," as well as "Comic Strip Live,"
"VH1 Stand-up Spotlight," "Evening at the Improv,"
"Caroline's Comedy Hour," and "MTV's Half Hour Comedy."
In 1996, Wendy Liebman starred in her own HBO Comedy Half
Hour special, one of the highest rated comedy half hours in HBO's
history. On February 9, 1997, she was crowned Best Female Stand-up
Comic at the American Comedy Awards. She received her award from
Roseanne and Lily Tomlin and keeps it in her shower, so she can
see it every morning when she's at home.
In April of 1997, Wendy hosted "The 40th Annual
New York Emmy Awards." She guest hosted NBC's "Later"
program September 1-4, 1997, and has covered several events for HBO
including the 1996 Emmy Awards.
On April 22, 1998, Wendy starred in her own
"Pulp Comics" special on Comedy Central that showcased her
in stand-up performance as well as filmed segments. In July, she
returned to headline the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal.
In February of 1999, Wendy made her sixth appearance
on Letterman. After that, she signed
a deal with Columbia TriStar to develop her own animated television
series and continues to tour the country.
The Los Angeles Times raves, "She's a master of
the throwaway line, of making a perfectly rational observation, then
adding, almost subliminally, the punch line which skews everything she
has said before."