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Michelle Wolf

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Not to be confused with Michelle Wolff.

Michelle Wolf
Wolf in 2016
Born (1985-06-21) June 21, 1985 (age 39)
Hershey, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
Alma materCollege of William & Mary
Years active2014–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Websitemichelleisawolf.com

Michelle Wolf (born June 21, 1985) is an American comedian and writer. She was a contributor and writer for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

Early life and education

Wolf was born in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where she grew up with her two older brothers.[1][2][3] She graduated from Hershey High School in 2003.[4] She was on the track and field team while in high school and college, and participated in the high jump, triple jump, and 400 meter sprint before an injury caused her to stop competing.[5] Wolf graduated from College of William & Mary in 2007, where she majored in kinesiology.[5] According to Wolf, in college, while on the track team, she did not party much and worked in the cardiovascular physiology lab where she experimented on rats.[6]

Career

Wolf was employed at Bear Stearns from 2007 to 2008, and later at JPMorgan Chase, working for almost four years between the two banks.[7][8] Her first appearance on late-night television was in July 2014, when she appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers. She went on to re-appear on numerous segments on Late Night, often as her fictional persona, "Grown-Up Annie." She later held additional positions at the same show, including, most recently, writing supervisor.[9][10]

In November 2015, Comedy Central released the entirety of Now Hiring, a web series hosted by Wolf, on YouTube.[11] Wolf is a regular at the Comedy Cellar in New York City. She joined The Daily Show with Trevor Noah as a contributor in April 2016.[12]

In August 2016, she performed her stand-up show So Brave at the Edinburgh Festival, which was her first time performing outside North America.[13]

Wolf's television work in the United Kingdom also includes an appearance on Live At The Apollo in late 2016 and an appearance as a panelist on the UK comedy game show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown in early 2017, partnering with team captain and British stand-up comedian Jon Richardson. She appeared on the same show later on in the year, this time partnering with Sean Lock. On November 20, 2016, Wolf appeared as a guest on Frankie Boyle's American Autopsy on BBC2, reflecting on the result of the 2016 US Presidential Election.[14] She also appeared on an episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats in January 2017, partnering with English footballer Jermaine Jenas and team captain Rob Beckett.[15] On December 2, 2017, Wolf made her HBO stand-up debut, Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady,[16] which was taped at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City[17] in mid-August 2017,[18] and has received rave reviews highlighting the comedian's ability to keep her jokes fresh while not relying on the news headlines as many comedians have been doing of late.[19][20][21]

Due to her dark complexion she is sometimes mistaken for African American or multiracial. For a segment on The Daily Show addressing the Rachel Dolezal controversy, Noah asked whether Wolf is ever tempted to claim Blackness for herself. Wolf replied, "Black isn't just a club you can join. You know how I know I’m white? I can cry myself out of a parking ticket. Hell, I can cry myself out of a murder charge."[22]

2018 White House Correspondents' Dinner appearance

External videos
video icon 2018 White House Correspondents' Dinner, April 28, 2018, C-SPAN

On April 28, 2018, Wolf hosted the White House Correspondents' Dinner.[23] After the event, she received both praise and criticism for her jokes aimed at the Trump administration—most notably at Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House Press Secretary—and at the media itself.[24][25][26]

Journalists including Andrea Mitchell of NBC News,[27] Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC,[28][29] and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times criticized Wolf for targeting Huckabee Sanders.[30] Margaret Talev, president of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA), issued a statement that the program "was meant to offer a unifying message about [the WHCA's] common commitment to a vigorous and free press while honoring civility, great reporting and scholarship winners, not to divide people."[31][32] James Poniewozik, writing for The New York Times, criticized the WHCA for disavowing Wolf, saying that she was "defending the mission of the White House press: sticking up for the truth. Michelle Wolf had the WHCA’s back Saturday night, even if it didn’t have hers the day after."[33] The New Yorker's Masha Gessen was particularly impressed with Wolf's criticism of journalism in "The Age of Trump":[34]

Wolf’s routine burst the bubbles of civility and performance, and of the separation of media and comedy. It plunged the attendees into the reality that is, in the Trump era, the stuff of comedy. Through her obscene humor, Wolf exposed the obscenity of the fictions—and the fundamental unfunniness of it all. Her last line, the most shocking of her entire monologue, bears repeating: "Flint still doesn’t have clean water."

Several comedians also came to Wolf's defense, including Jimmy Kimmel,[35] Trevor Noah [36] Seth Meyers,[37] Adam Conover,[38] Dave Chappelle,[39] Guy Branum, Kathy Griffin, Nell Scovell, and Anthony Atamanuik.[40]

References

  1. ^ McCarthy, Sean L. (June 18, 2016). "Book Excerpt: Meet The Regulars" with Sasheer Zamata and Michelle Wolf, by Joshua D. Fischer". The Comic's Comic. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  2. ^ Zarum, Lara (November 30, 2017). "Michelle Wolf Is the Voice Comedy Needs Right Now". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  3. ^ Johnson, Ted (February 23, 2018). "Michelle Wolf Says She Won't Hold Back Humor, Even If Trump Attends White House Correspondents' Dinner". Variety. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  4. ^ Vadala, Nick (April 30, 2018). "Comedian Michelle Wolf ran track in Hershey before she trashed Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner". The Philadelphia Enquirer. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Meet the Regulars".
  6. ^ Eby, Margaret (November 19, 2014). "Comedian Michelle Wolf Is Taking Brooklyn By Stand-Up". Brooklyn Magazine. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  7. ^ Otterson, Joe (June 24, 2016). "How 'Daily Show's' Newest Correspondent Michelle Wolf Went From Wall Street to Comedy Central". The Wrap. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  8. ^ Davidson, Phil (August 6, 2014). "Balancing Standup and Writing for 'Late Night' with Michelle Wolf". Splitsider. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  9. ^ Petski, Denise (April 4, 2016). "'Daily Show With Trevor Noah' Adds Michelle Wolf As On-Air Contributor & Writer". Deadline.com. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  10. ^ Blumenfeld, Zach (April 4, 2016). "Comedian Michelle Wolf Joins The Daily Show As Writer, Contributor". Paste. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  11. ^ Wright, Megh (November 9, 2015). "Watch Michelle Wolf's Comedy Central Web Series 'Now Hiring'". Splitsider. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  12. ^ Lackey, Emily (April 4, 2016). "Who Is Michelle Wolf? This New 'Daily Show' Correspondent Has A Lot To Offer". Bustle. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  13. ^ Czajkowski, Elise (August 2, 2016). "Michelle Wolf: 'Four years of Donald Trump jokes will drive me insane'". The Guardian. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  14. ^ "Frankie Boyle's American Autopsy 2016". BBC Two. BBC.
  15. ^ "8 Out of 10 Cats - Episode Guide". All 4. Channel Four Television Corporation. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  16. ^ Techler, Graham (December 1, 2017). "Michelle Wolf Insists She's Not a Nice Lady". Paste Magazine. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  17. ^ "Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady". HBO. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  18. ^ Greene, Steve (December 2, 2017). "'Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady' is a Great Standup Time Capsule for 2017". IndieWire. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  19. ^ Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady, retrieved December 4, 2017
  20. ^ Zarum, Lara (November 30, 2017). "Michelle Wolf Is the Voice Comedy Needs Right Now". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  21. ^ Ratledge, Ingela (December 2, 2017). "Michelle Wolf's Comedy Special 'Nice Lady' Will Have You in Stitches". TV Insider. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  22. ^ Trevor Noah Consults His Most Racially Ambiguous Reporter After Rachel Dolezal’s Book News, Slate, March 31, 2017
  23. ^ Associated Press (February 22, 2018). "Michelle Wolf to headline White House correspondents' dinner". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  24. ^ Bachai, Sabrina (May 1, 2018). "As Republicans, we can't laud Kanye West but denounce Michelle Wolf". The Hill. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  25. ^ Frum, David (April 30, 2018). "Michelle Wolf Does Unto the White House as It Has Done Unto Others". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  26. ^ Gessen, Masha (April 30, 2018). "How Michelle Wolf Blasted Open the Fictions of Journalism in the Age of Trump". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  27. ^ Heil, Emily (April 29, 2018). "The many reactions to Michelle Wolf's speech, from Trump saying she 'bombed' to Kumail Nanjiani's support". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  28. ^ McArdle, Mairead (April 30, 2018). "Mika Brzezinski: White House Correspondents Dinner a Big Win for Trump". National Review. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  29. ^ Ryan, Erin Gloria (April 30, 2018). "Michelle Wolf's WHCD Honesty Is What America Needs Right Now". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  30. ^ Stewart, Emily (April 30, 2018). "The Michelle Wolf White House Correspondents' Dinner controversy, explained". Vox. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  31. ^ Jensen, Erin (April 29, 2018). "White House Correspondents' Dinner: Michelle Wolf obliterates Sarah Huckabee Sanders". USA Today. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  32. ^ Samuels, Brett (April 29, 2018). "White House Correspondents' Association: Michelle Wolf's routine 'not in the spirit' of our mission". The Hill. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  33. ^ Poniewozik, James (April 30, 2018). "Michelle Wolf Did Her Job. It's the Correspondents' Dinner That Is the Problem". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  34. ^ Gessen, Masha (April 30, 2018). "How Michelle Wolf Blasted Open the Fictions of Journalism in the Age of Trump". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  35. ^ McAfee, Tierney (April 30, 2018). "Jimmy Kimmel and More Stars Defend Michelle Wolf Over Sarah Sanders Jokes". People. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  36. ^ Feldman, Kate (May 1, 2018). "Trevor Noah 'fires' ex-'Daily Show' writer Michelle Wolf over White House Correspondents' Dinner". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  37. ^ Wilstein, Matt (May 1, 2018). "Seth Meyers Defends Michelle Wolf: 'Sarah Huckabee Sanders Got Off Easy'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  38. ^ Conover, Adam (April 30, 2018). "Michelle Wolf Did What Comedians Are Supposed to Do". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  39. ^ Jacobson, Murrey (April 30, 2018). "Dave Chappelle says Michelle Wolf 'nailed it' at White House Correspondents Dinner". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  40. ^ Izadi, Elahe (April 30, 2018). "Michelle Wolf's correspondents' dinner set made Washington uncomfortable. But comedians have her back". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 1, 2018.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michelle_Wolf&oldid=839124869"