Whitney Cummings
Whitney Cummings | |
---|---|
![]() Whitney Cummings in 2019 | |
Born | Washington, D.C., U.S. | September 4, 1982
Medium | Stand-up, television, film |
Education | University of Pennsylvania (BA) |
Years active | 2004–present |
Genres | |
Subject(s) | |
Website | whitneycummings |
Whitney Cummings (born September 4, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, director, producer, and podcaster.
Early life
Cummings was born on September 4, 1982,[2][3] in Washington, D.C.,[4][5] to Patti Cummings, a native of Texas[6] and a public relations director of Neiman Marcus at Mazza Gallerie;[7][8][5] and Eric Lynn Cummings, a lawyer and venture capitalist from West Virginia.[9] She has an older half-brother named Kevin and an older sister named Ashley.[8][5] Cummings was raised Roman Catholic.[4] Her parents divorced when she was five years old.[5][10][11]
She has stated that she was raised in a dysfunctional, alcoholic household.[12] At age 12, she temporarily resided with her aunt in Virginia,[4] and spent summers in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where her father worked as a manager at the Hill Top House Hotel.[13] Cummings attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland, graduating in 2000.[14] During high school, she interned at Washington's NBC-owned television station WRC-TV.[5][15][16] She studied acting at Washington, D.C.'s Studio Theater.[17]
After high school, Cummings enrolled at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. During this time, she worked as a department store model at local shopping malls.[4] She graduated magna cum laude in 2004 with a degree in Communications,[15][18] and initially aspired to a career as a journalist.[19]
Career
2004–2010: Beginnings
Cummings moved to Los Angeles after college and worked on Punk'd on MTV in 2004.[7] That same year, she starred in the low-budget thriller EMR, which was screened at Cannes.[20][21] Cummings began performing stand-up in 2004.[22] In 2007, Variety named her one of 10 Comics to Watch in 2007.[17] In 2008, she appeared in the San Francisco audition for Last Comic Standing, although she did not pass the showcase.[22]
She co-starred on The Tony Rock Project and appeared in the 2008 romantic comedy Made of Honor. Beginning in 2007, Cummings appeared as a regular roundtable guest on the E! series Chelsea Lately, and continued to appear until its conclusion in 2014. In 2008, she was named one of 12 Rising Stars of Comedy by Entertainment Weekly.[23] She subsequently appeared as a comedy roaster in the Comedy Central Roasts of Joan Rivers (2009), David Hasselhoff (2010), and Donald Trump (2011).[5]
In August 2010, her first one-hour special, titled Whitney Cummings: Money Shot, premiered on Comedy Central. In 2010, Cummings went on tour with Denis Leary and the Rescue Me Comedy Tour to promote the show's sixth season. She also appeared with Leary on Douchebags and Donuts.[24]
2011–present: Television projects and specials, book
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Whitney_Cummings_%282016%29.jpg/200px-Whitney_Cummings_%282016%29.jpg)
In 2011, two multi-camera, live-audience sitcoms that Cummings created[25] were picked up by broadcast networks: 2 Broke Girls (which she co-created and executive produced with Michael Patrick King) and Whitney (which she starred in, executive produced, and created).[26][27] Whitney, in which Cummings portrayed a semi-fictionalized version of herself, was not well received by critics,[28][29][30] and Cummings acknowledges it was a learning curve for her.[31][32][33] The series was canceled after two seasons in May 2013.[34] While still working on the second season of Whitney, Cummings also hosted a talk show, Love You, Mean It with Whitney Cummings, on E! in 2012,[35] which was cancelled after 11 episodes.[36][37]
Cummings later stated that she was overworking herself during this period, and was also in the midst of battling an eating disorder in which she would binge eat followed by compulsive exercise.[38] In June 2014, Cummings released her second hour-long special, I Love You, on Comedy Central.[39]
Her third hour-long special debuted on HBO in 2016, titled "I'm Your Girlfriend".[40] Reviews were mixed, suggesting it felt less comedic than her previous stand up performances.[41]
Cummings had a supporting role in the 2017 thriller Unforgettable, starring Katherine Heigl and Rosario Dawson, released in April 2017.[42] The following month, 2 Broke Girls was cancelled after having run six consecutive seasons.[43] Cummings made her directorial debut with The Female Brain (2017), an independent comedy film distributed by IFC Films, which Cummings also starred in.[44]
Also in 2017, Cummings published her first book, titled I'm Fine...And Other Lies, a collection of personal stories about her life.[45]
Beginning in 2018, Cummings served as one of the head writers, an executive producer, and overseer of day-to-day production of the revival of the comedy series Roseanne, for ABC.[46][47] Cummings left the show before its cancelation. [48]
Her fourth hour-long special, Can I Touch It?, was released on July 30, 2019, on Netflix.[49][50] This special features a robot that Cummings had custom made to look exactly like her, and she brings this robot out at the end of the special.[51]
On November 5, 2019, Cummings launched her first podcast entitled Good for You. Her first guest was actor/producer Dan Levy. Good for You is co-hosted by former assistant and fellow comedian Benton Ray, and features a wide variety of guests, ranging from politicians and comedians to actors and journalists.[52] Fans of the show appreciate Cumming's regular guests, including Nikki Glaser who has featured in multiple episodes, creating the impression of a "highly relatable friendship."[53]
Cummings has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans.
Personal life
Cummings had become engaged by the time she taped her 2019 Can I Touch It? special, but by the time of her 2022 Jokes special, she and her fiancee had called off their engagement.
In June 2023, Cummings revealed that she is pregnant and is expecting a son.[54]
Influences
Cummings has described her comedic influences, beginning with Paul Reiser, whom she said, "made these hysterical, brilliant commentary about the most mundane things and open it up to a hysterical world".[55] Other important influences for her were George Carlin, who she says challenged her to "question everything".[56] Later influences were Dave Attell ("a legend now but he's very edgy"), Lenny Bruce, and Bill Hicks.[55]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | EMR | CyberBunnyLilly | [57] | |
2006 | Hooked | Vanessa | Short film | |
2006 | Life is Short | Natalie | Short film | |
2007 | Come to the Net | Whitney | Short film | |
2007 | 7–10 Split | Whitney the Waitress | ||
2008 | Grizzly Park | Tiffany Stone | ||
2008 | Made of Honor | Stephanie | [58] | |
2009 | Why Men Go Gay in L.A. | Sarah | ||
2010 | In Fidelity | Cindy | Short film | |
2010 | Successful Alcoholics | Short film | ||
2012 | 3,2,1... Frankie Go Boom | Claudia | ||
2015 | The Wedding Ringer | Holly Munk | ||
2015 | The Ridiculous 6 | Susannah | ||
2017 | Unforgettable | Ali | [42] | |
2017 | The Female Brain | Julia Brizendine | Also writer and director | [44] |
2020 | The Opening Act | Brooke Bailey | [59] | |
2021 | Tacoma FD | Courtney | ||
2021 | How It Ends | Mandy | [60] | |
2022 | Studio 666 | Samantha | ||
2022 | Good Mourning | Maxine |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Half and Half | Woman | 1 episode | |
2006 | Fire Guys | Ponytails Pi | 1 episode | |
2006 | Trapped in TV Guide | Series regular | Unknown episodes | |
2006 | What About Brian | Sally | 1 episode | [58] |
2007 | Tell Me You Love Me | Louise | 3 episodes | [58] |
2008 | Turbo Dates | Sandy | 1 episode | |
2008–2009 | The Tony Rock Project | Sketch Performer | 4 episodes | [58] |
2009 | House | Courtney | Episode: "Here Kitty" | [58] |
2011–2013 | Whitney | Whitney | 38 episodes, also creator, writer, and executive producer | [58] |
2011–2017 | 2 Broke Girls | 138 episodes, creator, writer, and executive producer | ||
2011 | Dave's Old Porn | Guest host | 1 episode | |
2012–2013 | Love You, Mean It | Host | 11 episodes, also executive producer | |
2014 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Herself | 1 episode | |
2015 | Maron | Herself | 2 episodes | [58] |
2015 | The Jim Gaffigan Show | Herself | 1 episode | |
2015–2016 | Undateable | Charlotte | 5 episodes | [58] |
2016 | Workaholics | Juliette | 1 episode | |
2018 | Crashing | Herself | 1 episode | |
2018–2019 | Funny You Should Ask | Herself | 13 episodes | |
2021 | The Masked Dancer | Herself (guest panelist) | 1 episode | [61] |
2021 | The Wendy Williams Show | Herself | Guest host | [62] |
2023 | Accused | Brenda | Episode: "Brenda's Story" |
Comedy specials
Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Money Shot | Premiered on Comedy Central | [63] |
2014 | I Love You | [64] | |
2016 | I'm Your Girlfriend | Premiered on HBO | [65] |
2019 | Can I Touch It? | Premiered on Netflix | [66] |
2022 | Jokes | [67] | |
2023 | Roast of Whitney Cummings | Only Fans TV |
Bibliography
- I'm Fine... And Other Lies. New York: Penguin. 2017. ISBN 978-0-735-21262-6.
References
- ^ Garber, Megan (January 26, 2016). "The Triumph of Soap-Box Comedy". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- ^ "Whitney Cummings Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013.
- ^ "Thirty & Flirty: Celebs Who Are Turning 30 This Year: Whitney Cummings". Entertainment Tonight. New York City, New York: CBS Studios. 2012. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
Whitney Cummings -- September 4, 1982
- ^ a b c d Miller, Julie (January 21, 2016). "Whitney Cummings Got Hooked on Tinder for Her HBO Special". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Zak, Dan (December 8, 2010). "Comedian Whitney Cummings: Bewitching, brazen and with jokes to make you blush". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ Gill, Julian (April 17, 2019). "Comedian Whitney Cummings sparks social media outrage over small Texas town's legal tradition". Houston Chronicle. Houston, Texas. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020.
- ^ a b Leiby, Richard (April 25, 2004). "The Reliable Source". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b Grigoriadis, Vanessa (November 18, 2012). "Can Whitney Cummings Get Some Respect?". New York. Vulture.com. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- ^ "EDITORIAL: Whitney Cummings doesn't deserve West Virginia". The Parthenon. October 15, 2019. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022.
- ^ Stanhope, Kate (September 9, 2011). "Whitney: How Different Is Whitney Cummings From Her TV Persona, Really?". TV Guide. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Duck, Allison (April 24, 2013). "The Weekly Interview: Whitney Cummings". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Czajkowski, Elise (January 12, 2017). "Whitney Cummings: 'The scariest place to perform standup is America'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- ^ Ryan, Kevin; Foley, H. (July 27, 2022). "Are You Garbage Comedy Podcast: Whitney Cummings!". Are You Garbage? (Interview). Retrieved November 30, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Whitney Cummings '00 Making Her Mark in Entertainment World". St. Andrew's Episcopal School. April 23, 2010. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b "A Woman's Mind Full Monty — Whitney Cummings". AmericasComedy.com. November 17, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ^ "The Jester Interview: Whitney Cummings". Jester.com. June 6, 2011. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
- ^ a b Frankel, Daniel (February 27, 2007). "Whitney Cummings: 10 Comics to Watch". Variety. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Johnson, Greg (May 5, 2011). "Penn Entertainers". Penn Current. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Whitney Cummings almost became a reporter before finding comedy to overcome the facts of an abusive, sad, and lonely childhood". New York Daily News. August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- ^ Harvey, Dennis (February 17, 2005). "Review: 'EMR'". Variety. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ Katner, Ben (June 11, 2004). "Whitney Rocks Punk'd!". TV Guide. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b "Whitney Cummings wants to be your girlfriend". The Laugh Button. January 22, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ Pastorek, Whitney; Snierson, Dan (November 13, 2008). "12 Rising Stars of Comedy". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "Denis Leary: Douchebags and Donuts". Comedy Central. January 16, 2011.
- ^ Rose, Lacey (August 1, 2011). "'Whitney': 10 Things to Know About the NBC Comedy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Stelter, Brian (May 20, 2011). "2 Networks Pin Their Hopes on One Comedian". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Goldman, Andrew (September 16, 2011). "There Is No Escaping Whitney Cummings". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ "Whitney: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Blanco, Robert (September 22, 2011). "'Whitney' sitcom fails in its delivery". USA Today. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Nussbaum, Emiy (November 28, 2011). "Crass Warfare: Raunch and ridicule on "Whitney" and "2 Broke Girls."". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ O'Connell, Michael (July 25, 2012). "TCA 2012: Whitney Cummings Admits 'I Wish I Knew How to Act'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Adalian, Josef (May 13, 2012). "The New Girls: Six female showrunners on why TV just keeps getting better". New York. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Adalian, Josef (May 25, 2012). "Six Female Showrunners Talk Ratings, Their Comedy Icons, and Internet Hate". New York. Vulture.com. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 9, 2013). "UPDATE: NBC's 'Whitney' & '1600 Penn' Cancelled, 'Parks & Recreation' Renewed". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
- ^ Rose, Lacey (April 29, 2012). "E! Greenlights a Weekly Whitney Cummings Talk Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Kepler, Adam (February 15, 2013). "For Whitney Cummings, Good and Bad Ratings News". ArtsBeat. The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Rose, Lacey (February 14, 2013). "E! Pulls Plug on Whitney Cummings' Late-Night Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Cummings 2017, pp. 122–126, 154.
- ^ Silverman, Sarah (June 27, 2014). "Sarah Silverman Talks to Whitney Cummings About the Expectation That Comedians Need to Be in Movies". Vulture. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019.
- ^ "Whitney Cummings: I'm Your Girlfriend". HBO. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ^ Garber, Megan (2016-01-26). "Comedy, or TED Talk?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ^ a b Guglielmi, Jodi (April 20, 2017). "Whitney Cummings Recalls Unforgettable Audition". People. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 13, 2017). "'2 Broke Girls' Canceled By CBS After 6 Seasons". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- ^ a b Lang, Brent (November 14, 2017). "Whitney Cummings Comedy 'The Female Brain' Sells to IFC (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ "I'm Fine...And Other Lies". kirkusreviews.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ "'Roseanne' revival may be in the works". USA Today. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (April 28, 2017). "Roseanne Revival Eyed at ABC". TVLine. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ Husband, Andrew (July 31, 2019). "Whitney Cummings Opens Up About Her Decision to Leave Roseanne Before Its Cancellation". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019.
- ^ "Whitney Cummings Made a Sex Robot of Herself for 'Can I Touch It?' Netflix Special". Decider. July 30, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ Speliberg, Claire (July 31, 2019). "Comedian Whitney Cummings debuts her own lifelike 'sex robot'". News.com.au. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019.
- ^ "Whitney Cummings—and Her Sex Robot—Take on Modern Womanhood". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
- ^ "About". Good For You with Whitney Cummings. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
- ^ Symons, Alex (2023). Women Comedians in the Digital Age (1st ed.). London and New York: Routledge. p. 39. doi:10.4324/9781003268680. ISBN 978-1032215020. S2CID 253620654.
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/CuATPumv69d/
- ^ a b Stipp, Christopher (May 2, 2008). "Trailer Park Whitney Cummings". ASiteCalledFred.com. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Illing, Sean (April 15, 2017). "9 questions for Whitney Cummings". Vox. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017.
- ^ "EMR". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Whitney Cummings Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (July 23, 2018). "Cedric The Entertainer, Whitney Cummings, Ken Jeong, Jermaine Fowler & More Added To 'The Opening Act'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Laffly, Tomris (January 29, 2021). "'How It Ends' Review: A Sweetly Personal Yet Wearisome Apocalyptic Indie Grappling With the World's End". Variety. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ "The Masked Dancer Reveals a Reality Television Legend - And the Panel Was So Close!". TooFab. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ Jackson, Dory. "Whitney Cummings Honors Wendy Williams as She Begins Guest Hosting Gig: 'We All Miss You'". People. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ "Money Shot". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020.
- ^ Martin, Laura Jayne (June 30, 2014). "Whitney Cummings: 'I Love You' Review". Paste. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020.
- ^ Kaufman, Amy (January 24, 2016). "Whitney Cummings is honest with herself — and with you in 'I'm Your Girlfriend'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020.
- ^ Ellis, Emma Grey (July 31, 2019). "Whitney Cummings—and Her Sex Robot—Take on Modern Womanhood". Wired. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020.
- ^ "netflix". Netflix.
External links
- 1982 births
- 21st-century American actresses
- Actresses from Maryland
- Actresses from Washington, D.C.
- Female models from Washington, D.C.
- American film actresses
- American stand-up comedians
- American television actresses
- American television producers
- American women comedians
- American women podcasters
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- American women television writers
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- Catholics from Washington, D.C.
- Living people
- People from Potomac, Maryland
- Showrunners
- OnlyFans creators
- Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania alumni
- Female models from Maryland
- 21st-century American comedians
- Screenwriters from Maryland
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- People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)
- 21st-century American screenwriters
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