Jump to content

Samantha Bee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 208.205.40.224 (talk) at 22:56, 30 January 2017. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Samantha Bee
Bee in February 2011
Born (1969-10-25) October 25, 1969 (age 54)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Citizenship
  • Canada
  • United States[1]
Medium
  • Television
  • theatre
  • film
  • books
Alma materUniversity of Ottawa
Years active2003–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Spouse
​
(m. 2001)​
Children3
Websitesamanthabee.com

She is not funny. Samantha Bee (born October 25, 1969)[2] is a Canadian-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actress, media critic, and television host. Bee holds both Canadian and United States citizenship after being naturalized as an American citizen.[1] Bee is best known for being a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where she became the longest-serving regular correspondent.[3] In 2015, she departed the show after 12 years to start her own show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

Early life and education

Bee was born in Toronto, Ontario, and has said of her family: "Dating from well before the turn of the 20th century, if there has ever been a successful, happy marriage in my family lineage, I've yet to hear about it."[4] Bee's parents split up soon after her birth, and she was initially raised by her grandmother, who worked as a secretary at the Catholic school Bee attended,[5] on Roncesvalles Avenue during her childhood. She attended Humberside Collegiate Institute and York Memorial Collegiate Institute.

After graduating from high school, Bee attended McGill University, where she studied humanities. Dissatisfied with a range of issues at the school, she transferred to the University of Ottawa after her first year. At the University of Ottawa, Bee signed up for a theatre class thinking it would be easy. The class led to Bee discovering her love of performing.[5] Bee later enrolled in the George Brown Theatre School in Toronto.[6]

Career

Bee started auditioning for acting roles in Toronto while working as a waitress.[5] At age 26 Bee toured with a stage production of Sailor Moon where she played the title role.[5][7] Bee performed in Sailor Moon's "A" cast and future husband Jason Jones was a member of the "B" cast.[5]

Bee was one of the four founding members of Toronto-based sketch comedy troupe The Atomic Fireballs.[8] The Fireballs were all women. Demonstrating mutual support, the group would try to perform as many of each others' ideas as they could.[9]

The Daily Show

Bee then became a correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on July 10, 2003.[10] On that program, Bee demonstrated an ability to coax people into caricaturing themselves—particularly in segments like "Kill Drill", on hunters and fossil fuel executives claiming to be environmentalists;[11] "They So Horny?",[12] on the dearth of Asian men in U.S. pornography; "Tropical Repression", on Ed Heeney, a Florida politician running his campaign based on opposition to gay rights;[13] "The Undecided", an over-the-top look at the undecided voters leading up to the 2004 U.S. presidential elections; the "Samantha Bee's So You Want To Bee A..." report series, which humorously caricatured the way in which one can easily obtain a certain job, like becoming a 527 group; and a segment entitled "NILFs" ("News I'd Like to F#@k"), discussing the sexiness of news anchors: "CNN has the wholesome girl-next-door NILFs, the kind you can bring home to meet your mother. MSNBC has the dirty-over-30 NILFs. Fox has the filthy NILFs who will report anything. They're the Hustler of NILFs."[14]

She had her first starring role in a feature film in 2004 with the Canadian independent film Ham & Cheese, co-written by Jones, and starring Canadian comics Scott Thompson and Dave Foley.[15] The film marked Bee's first starring role.[16] She won a Canadian Comedy Award for "Pretty Funny Female Performance" for her role.[16]

Jones joined The Daily Show as a correspondent in 2005, two years after his wife.[17][18] Jones became a freelance correspondent for the show while Bee reduced her workload during her pregnancy.[18]

In December 2005, on The O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly used a clip of Bee from The Daily Show as an example of "The War on Christmas", presenting it as having aired recently. The satirical clip featured Bee mentioning how Christmas was the only religious holiday that's also a federal holiday in the United States, with O'Reilly talking about "Secular Central...excuse me, Comedy Central".[19][20] Jon Stewart responded on his show; inviting Bee out for a discussion, and unlike in the clip that aired on Factor, Bee was visibly eight months pregnant. Bee joked it was obvious that the footage O'Reilly showed was a year old (it originally aired in 2004) because she had different highlights in her hair, before stating that her water had just broken.[21][16]

Bee was the sole female correspondent on The Daily Show from her debut in 2003 until Kristen Schaal joined the show in March 2008. She was The Daily Show's first non-US citizen correspondent.[22] Bee was recognized with a 2005 Canadian Comedy Award for Best Female TV Performance for her work on The Daily Show.[23] In 2009, she appeared in the original cast of Love, Loss, and What I Wore.[24] That same year, she had a cameo role in the comedy Whatever Works, written and directed by Woody Allen.

Bee authored the book I Know I Am, But What Are You?,[25] which was published in 2010.[26]

On October 7, 2014, she co-hosted The Daily Show with her husband Jason Jones, in the absence of Jon Stewart.[8]

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

In March 2015, it was announced that she would leave The Daily Show to host her own satirical news show on TBS.[27][28] Bee departed The Daily Show on April 30, 2015.[29] Her new show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, debuted on February 8, 2016.[30] With the program's debut, Bee became the first woman to host a late-night satire show.[9] Bee also tried to implement a hiring process which would give her show a more diverse staff than what is typical for a late night comedy show.[9] The first season of Full Frontal generated critical acclaim[31][32] and in November 2016, the show was renewed for a second season throughout 2017.[33]

On January 30, 2017, Bee announced that she would be hosting a gala to counter the White House Correspondents Dinner to be aired on TBS.[34]

Guest appearances

On January 20, 2008, Bee finished as the highest scoring celebrity in the CBC game show Test The Nation. She had a minor role in Episode 15, "Spy Something or Get Out", of Little Mosque on the Prairie. Bee also appeared in the 12th episode of Season 20 of Law & Order ("Blackmail", episode 445), which aired on January 15, 2010. She played a minor role on an episode of the HBO series Bored to Death.

Bee appeared as herself on the "Madame President" episode of The Electric Company, in which she moderated a debate between two candidates Lisa Heffenbacher and Francine Carruthers running for president of a book club. Later in the show, she appeared as a newscaster announcing the election results, finally choosing Lisa to be the winner. Bee also did a guest voice role of a talk show hostess named Pam in the Season 2 finale of Bob's Burgers, in addition to providing the voice for Lyla Lolliberry for two episodes in Season 4 of Phineas and Ferb. She appeared on Sesame Street during Season 42 as Mother Goose.

In 2012, she appeared in Ken Finkleman's series Good God as Shandy Sommers, a devoutly Christian cable news host. She has also played roles in the series Bounty Hunters and Game On. In 2014, Bee was a panelist on Canada Reads, the CBC's annual national book debate. She defended Rawi Hage's novel Cockroach.[35]

Influences

Bee has credited Jon Stewart as one of her major influences,[36] and in several interviews she has said that her other comedic influences include: Steve Martin, David Letterman, Mary Tyler Moore, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Betty White,[37] and Joan Rivers.[38]

Personal life

Married to actor and fellow Daily Show cast member Jason Jones since 2001, Bee lives in Manhattan, New York. In January 2006, she gave birth to Piper Bee-Jones. Bee returned to The Daily Show in March 2006.[39]

On January 24, 2008, Bee announced a second pregnancy on air during a bit about the media's coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign.[40] In 2008, their second child, Fletcher Bee-Jones, was born.[41] Their third child, a daughter named Ripley, was born in late 2010.[42][43] During her third pregnancy, Bee joked she and Jones were "just procreating like we're farmers."[44]

Bee holds both Canadian and United States citizenship after being naturalized as an American citizen in 2014.[1][45][46][47]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Ham & Cheese Beth Goodson
2007 Underdog Principal
2008 Coopers' Camera Nancy Cooper
The Love Guru Cinnabon Cashier
2009 Whatever Works Chess Mother
Motherhood Alison Hopper
2010 Date Night Woman in Times Square Uncredited
Furry Vengeance Principal Baker
2014 Learning to Drive Debbie
2015 Get Squirrely Raitch (voice) aka A.C.O.R.N.S.: Operation Crackdown
Sisters Liz

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Real Kids, Real Adventures Neighbour Episode: "Explosion: The Christopher Wise Story"
2001 The Endless Grind Various roles
Ham I Am Television film
2003–2015 The Daily Show Herself (correspondent) 332 episodes
2003 Jasper, Texas Kathy Television film
2005 Odd Job Jack Linda Callahan (voice) Episode: "Law and Lawless"
2006 Love Monkey Carol Dulac - Letterman Booker Episode: "The One That Got Away"
2007 Not This But This Various TV series
Little Mosque on the Prairie Nancy Layton Episode: "Spy Something or Get Out"
Rescue Me Real Estate Agent Episode: "Animal"
Two Families Television film
2009–2011 Bored to Death Renee Dalton 3 episodes
2010 Law & Order Vanessa Carville Episode: "Blackmail
Love Letters Melissa Television film
2010–2012 Sesame Street Mother Goose 2 episodes
2011 Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays Nancy Slade Episode: "Sweating"
2012 Good God Shandy Sommers 9 episodes
2012–present Bob's Burgers Pam, Nurse Liz (voice) 4 episodes
2013 Bounty Hunters Stacy (voice) 13 episodes
2013–2014 Phineas and Ferb Lyla Lolliberry, additional voices 2 episodes
2013–2016 Creative Galaxy Mom (voice) 21 episodes
2014 The Michael J. Fox Show Dr. Young Episode: "Surprise"
Deadbeat Darcy 2 episodes
2015 Halal In The Family Wendy Episode: "The Amazing Race"
2015–2016 Game On Geri 25 episodes
2016–present Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Herself (host) Also creator, writer, executive producer
2016 The Detour Nate's Mother Episode: "The Hotel"

As crew member

Year Title Notes
2016–present The Detour Co-creator, writer, executive producer

Published works

  • America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Warner Books, September 2004) ISBN 978-0-446-53268-6.
  • Bee, Samantha (2010). I Know I Am, But What Are You?. Gallery Books. ISBN 978-1-4391-4273-8.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2005 Canadian Comedy Award Film – Pretty Funny Performance – Female Ham & Cheese Nominated
Television – Pretty Funny Female Performance The Daily Show Won
2009 Best Performance by a Female – Film Coopers' Camera Won
2012 Best Performance by a Female – Television Good God Nominated
2013 Canadian Screen Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic Series Nominated
2016 Television Critics Association Awards[48] Outstanding Achievement in News and Information Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Won
Individual Achievement in Comedy Nominated
Gold Derby Awards[49] Best Variety Performer Won
Online Film & Television Association Award[50] Best Female Performance in a Variety Program Nominated
Best Writing of a Variety Program Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award[51] Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Award[52] Best Talk Show Nominated
2017 Producers Guild of America Awards[53] Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television Nominated
Dorian Awards[54][55] TV Current Affairs Show of the Year Won
Wilde Wit of the Year Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b c Kreps, Daniel (October 1, 2016). "Samantha Bee on 2016 Election: 'I Want It to Be Over So Badly'". Rolling Stone (online ed.). Retrieved January 8, 2017. this year's election marks the first time she and her husband, fellow former Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones, would be able to vote since they now have dual citizenship
  2. ^ "Samantha Bee". Biography in Context. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  3. ^ "'The Daily Show's' famous alumni". CNN. March 31, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  4. ^ "The Not-So-Secret Life Of Samantha Bee". Fresh Air. NPR. June 2, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e "How Samantha Bee Crashed the Late-Night Boys' Club". The Rolling Stone. June 30, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Samantha Bee: A Bee-autiful Life". Toronto Star. October 10, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Wyatt, Nelson (July 22, 2005). "Daily Show's Bee helps keep Canada in the "news": However, correspondent does not hide her past as Sailor Moon at the CNE". Edmonton Journal. The Canadian Press. (754 words)
  8. ^ a b Sullivan, Margaret (July 28, 2016). "Toronto native Samantha Bee has a message for unhappy Americans: 'Canada is full'". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Taister, Rebecca (January 26, 2016). "Smirking in the Boys' Room With Samantha Bee". The Cut. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  10. ^ "Bee White House Uranium Admission". The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Comedy Central. July 10, 2003. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  11. ^ "Kill Drill". Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  12. ^ "They So Horny?". Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  13. ^ Tropical Repression, video aired August 2, 2004. Archived March 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "News I'd Like To F@#K". The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Comedy Central. May 16, 2007. Archived from the original on April 6, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  15. ^ Eisner, Ken (March 12, 2004). "Review: 'Ham & Cheese'". Variety. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  16. ^ a b c Duca, Lauren (February 8, 2016). "The Rise and Rise of Samantha Bee". Vulture. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  17. ^ "Samantha Bee joins the late-night boys' club". CBS News. January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  18. ^ a b Miller, Winter (November 13, 2005). "A night out with: Samantha Bee; Joking for Two". The New York Times (online ed.). Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  19. ^ The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel, December 2, 2005.
  20. ^ The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, December 2, 2005.
  21. ^ "Secular Central". The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Comedy Central. December 7, 2005. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010.
  22. ^ Felshman, Jeffrey (April 26, 2007). "An interview with The Daily Show's Samantha Bee". Cracked. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  23. ^ "Our 2005 Canadian Comedy Award recipients". Canadian Comedy Awards. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  24. ^ Isherwood, Charles (October 2, 2009). "Spandex Agonistes: Why Don't You Try It On?". The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  25. ^ Bee, Samantha (2010). I know I am, but what are you?. ISBN 978-1-4391-4273-8. OCLC 419815571.
  26. ^ Donahue, Diedre (May 27, 2010). "Hot summer author: Samantha Bee". USA Today. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  27. ^ Hunnings, Alexandra (March 5, 2015). "Samantha Bee leaves The Daily Show to start her own satirical news program". CBC News (online ed.). CBC/Radio Canada. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  28. ^ Bacle, Ariana (September 2, 2015). "Samantha Bee's Full Frontal to premiere in January". Entertainment Weekly (online ed.). Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  29. ^ "Thursday, April 30, 2015". The Daily Show. April 30, 2015.
  30. ^ Poniewozik, James (February 9, 2016). "Review: Samantha Bee's Fierce, Fiery Feminism Anchors 'Full Frontal'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  31. ^ "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  32. ^ "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  33. ^ Real or Fake: Extra Special Announcement. YouTube. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. November 16, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  34. ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (January 30, 2017). "Samantha Bee is throwing her own party the same night as White House Correspondents' Dinner". CNN. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  35. ^ "Samantha Bee and Rawi Hage talk Canada Reads". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 12, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  36. ^ Ian Phillips (August 6, 2015). "12 influential comedy careers Jon Stewart helped launch on 'The Daily Show'". Business Insider. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  37. ^ "Samantha Bee comic influences". YouTube. June 6, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  38. ^ Lorraine Berry (February 8, 2016). "Samantha Bee: 'I'm the only woman stupid enough to do this job'". The Guardian. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  39. ^ "Samantha Bee - Biography and Images". Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  40. ^ Daily Show-Down, video aired January 24, 2008. Archived March 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ "Samantha Bee adjusts to her party of five". People Magazine. December 1, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  42. ^ Lewine, Edward (October 28, 2010). "Samantha Bee's Laughing Pad". The New York Times (online ed.). Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  43. ^ "Samantha Bee's Laughing Pad". The New York Times Magazine. October 31, 2010. p. MM18.
  44. ^ The Spilling Fields - Vietnamese Fisherman, video aired June 3, 2010.
  45. ^ Bee, Samantha (May 6, 2015). "Samantha Bee debriefs about The Daily Show, her new TBS comedy, and her soul". Entertainment Weekly (Interview). Interviewed by Eric Renner Brown (online ed.). Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  46. ^ Sullivan, Margaret (July 27, 2016). "Samantha Bee says her show isn't influential. Don't believe her". The Washington Post (online ed.). Retrieved January 8, 2017. Samantha Bee has been a United States citizen for only a couple of years
  47. ^ Blake, Meredith (February 5, 2016). "Samantha Bee goes 'Full Frontal' after long 'Daily Show' run". latimes.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  48. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (August 6, 2016). "TCA Awards 2016: "Please Give Us A 15-Minute Warning When You Turn On Us" 'Full Frontal' Star Samantha Bee Jokes". Deadline. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  49. ^ "Gold Derby TV Awards 2016: 'People v. O.J. Simpson' leads winners, 'Game of Thrones' & 'Veep' also prevail". Gold Derby. September 7, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  50. ^ "20th Annual TV Awards (2015-16) - Online Film & Television Association". Online Film & Television Association Award. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  51. ^ "Nominees/Winners". Emmys.com. Emmy Awards. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  52. ^ Sharf, Zack (December 11, 2016). "Critics' Choice Awards 2016: 'La La Land' Wins Best Picture And Seven More Prizes". IndieWire. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  53. ^ "Producers Guild TV Nominees Include 'Westworld,' 'Stranger Things,' 'Atlanta'". The Hollywood Reporter. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  54. ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 12, 2017). "'Moonlight' Leads Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics' Dorian Award Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  55. ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 26, 2017). "'Moonlight' Named Best Film of the Year by Gay And Lesbian Entertainment Critics Group". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 26, 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samantha_Bee&oldid=762822755"