Kathy Griffin

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Image:1695dvdcover.jpg Kathy Griffin (born November 4, 1961 in Oak Park, Illinois) is an American stand-up comedian whose career took off in the early 1990s amongst comedically different counterparts like Janeane Garofalo and David Cross. She is also an actress, voice actor, a frequent commentater on E!, and a self-proclaimed D-list celebrity.

At a time when comedy was turning from punch-line oriented joke-telling to humorous social-commentary and satire, Griffin's wry observations about celebrity culture and fame quickly propelled her into stardom (she even made a cameo in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 smash Pulp Fiction). In the late 1990s she became a household name playing the quirky best friend of the title character on the long running American sitcom Suddenly Susan. Griffin also voiced the character of Alice in the animated television series Dilbert during the run of the series. In 2003 she was the grand prize winner on Celebrity Mole Hawaii (where she had to travel over a bed of hot lava in her bare feet), and she continues to tour with her stand-up routine. In 2005, she returned to television in a reality show on the cable network Bravo based on her everyday adventures, titled Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.

Griffin is also a notable gay rights activist. She frequently mentions her admiration for gay men and, in her live performances, acknowledges her large gay following. Her stage act invariably consists of recounting real and embellished events involving celebrities. Her favorite celebrity topics are plastic surgery, drunkenness, substance abuse, snooty attitude, eating disorders, and stars whose sexual orientation is disputed. Among Griffin's staples are Clay Aiken, Whitney Houston, and Anna Nicole Smith. Most of all, she is the butt of her own humor, particularly with regard to her less-than-successful plastic surgery and stagnant D-List status.

One of her most notable controversies occurred when she made a joke during an "E!" televised event that eleven-year-old actress Dakota Fanning entered rehab.

On September 27, 2005, she filed for divorce from husband Matt Moline, to whom she was married for 4 1/2 years. As of December, however, they are back together.

Griffin is a vocal opponent of plastic surgery including the use of botox. She has discussed her own surgeries on television shows including Oprah. She is an outspoken opponent of LASIK eye surgery, having gone through a traumatic series of operations for her own eyesight which has left her partially blind in one eye with a visible eyeball deformity. She discusses this in a section of her website.

Griffin is a favorite of the late night radio call-in show Loveline, once hosted by Adam Carolla.

Griffin has also played on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Face to Face - National Domestic Violence Project charity.