History Creator / KathyGriffin

Kathleen Mary "Kathy" Griffin (born November 4, 1960 in Oak Park, Illinois) is an American stand-up comic, actress, and televison host known for her crass, storytelling-like humour that focuses on celebrities and her self-appointed status as a D-list celebrity.

* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: Griffin is no stranger to these type of situations[[note]]She had previously been banned from ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', ''The View'', ''Series/HannahMontana'', and even the Apollo Theater[[/note]], lost a large amount of her support and show appearances in 2017 after posting a picture of her holding (depending on the source) either a pineapple dressed to look like or a mask that resembled UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's severed head, complete with a knife and fake blood. Being outspoken about her dislike of Trump, it was clear Griffin was making a "shocking" image, but this backfired as many people called her out on what came across as a call to violence against the president, or in general, seeing it as [[DudeNotFunny too extreme of a joke]]. Griffin initially apologized and removed the image after she received backlash for it, but by that point, the damage was done; she was dropped by her marketing team, followed by Creator/{{CNN}}, several of her comedy shows were outright cancelled, and several state senators cancelled their support or events with her in response. By the end of it all, she had been put on the No Fly List and investigated by the Department of Justice for two months. She attempted to continue her comedy career in spite of this, but the events around it made it very difficult for her to do so, causing her to largely back off from comedy as a result. In early 2019, she attempted to offer her perspective of the whole controversy with an interview movie about the experience, but very little buzz occurred for it despite her best efforts to spread the word. Griffin's stand-up tours still sold well, though the COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on live stand-up comedy.

She had co-hosted [[UsefulNotes/NewsNetworks CNN]]'s New Year's Eve coverage from 2007 to 2017 with best friend and frequent humiliation target Creator/AndersonCooper (why he agreed to do it with her every year is a mystery to everyone, up to and including Cooper himself). Every successive broadcast required her to go to even further lengths to kill him with embarrassment; despite (among other antics) spray-tanning his face with no warning, painting stripes in his hair, and getting her kit (mostly) off on live TV. Repeatedly. Though its ratings were far lower than that of the famous "New Year's Rockin' Eve", it did have a loyal fanbase. She was fired from the show in May 2017 after she released a graphic publicity photo that depicted her holding a bloody mask made to represent the decapitated head of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump.

She had co-hosted [[UsefulNotes/NewsNetworks CNN]]'s New Year's Eve coverage from 2007 to 2017 with best friend and frequent humiliation target Creator/AndersonCooper (why he agreed to do it with her every year is a mystery to everyone, up to and including Cooper himself). Every successive broadcast required her to go to even further lengths to kill him with embarrassment; despite (among other antics) spray-tanning his face with no warning, painting stripes in his hair, and getting her kit (mostly) off on live TV. Repeatedly. Though its ratings were far lower than that of the famous "New Year's Rockin' Eve", it did have a loyal fanbase. She was fired from the show in May 2017 after she released a graphic publicity photo that depicted her holding the decapitated head of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump.

She had co-hosted Creator/{{CNN}}'s New Year's Eve coverage from 2007 to 2017 with best friend and frequent humiliation target Creator/AndersonCooper (why he agreed to do it with her every year is a mystery to everyone, up to and including Cooper himself). Every successive broadcast required her to go to even further lengths to kill him with embarrassment; despite (among other antics) spray-tanning his face with no warning, painting stripes in his hair, and getting her kit (mostly) off on live TV. Repeatedly. Though its ratings were far lower than that of the famous "New Year's Rockin' Eve", it did have a loyal fanbase. She was fired from the show in May 2017 after she released a graphic publicity photo that depicted her holding the decapitated head of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump.

In 2003, Kathy participated in and won the third season of the ''[[Series/TheMole The Mole, Celebrity Edition]]''. She claims this was the moment in which she officially became a D-list celebrity (meaning she felt she was just barely one) and in 2004, she officially claimed the title by naming her third comedy special ''The D-List''. This comedy special was popular enough to lead to her Emmy award-winning reality show ''My Life on the D-List'' that followed her attempts to gain stardom in Hollywood, which lasted six years. She would go on to host her own talk show, called ''Kathy'', for two seasons and hosted E!'s Fashion Police after the passing of Creator/JoanRivers.

* SitcomArchNemesis: A staple of Griffin's act is claiming she is mutually this with a number of celebrities. Creator/BarbaraWalters, Andy Cohen, Donald Trump, Creator/SharonStone and Ryan Seacrest are her most frequently cited nemeses.

* SitcomArchNemesis: A staple of Griffin's act is claiming she is mutually this with a number of celebrities. Creator/BarbaraWalters, Andy Cohen, Donald Trump, Creator/SharonStone and Creator/RyanSeacrest are her most frequently cited nemeses.

Kathleen Mary "Kathy" Griffin (born November 4, 1960 in Oak Park, Illinois) is an American stand-up comic, actress, and televison host known for her crass, story telling like-humour which focuses on celebrities and her self-appointed status as a D-list celebrity.

At the beginning of her career, Griffin landed small roles in movies and regularly performed on the comedy circuit. However, her big break was on the TV show ''Series/SuddenlySusan'', where she played the sassy restaurant critic Vicki. This, however, was not enough to make her a household name, and after the finale of the series she reverted back to semi-obscurity, landing small roles in TV and film.

In 2003, Kathy participated and won on the third season of the ''[[Series/TheMole The Mole, Celebrity Edition]]''. She claims this was the moment in which she officially became a D-list celebrity (meaning, she felt she was just barely one) and in 2004, she officially claimed the title by naming her third comedy special ''The D-List''. This comedy special was popular enough to lead to her Emmy award-winning reality show ''My Life on the D-List'' which followed her attempts to gain stardom in Hollywood, which lasted six years. She would go into host her own talk show called ''Kathy'' for two seasons and hosted E!'s Fashion Police after the passing of Creator/JoanRivers.

She had co-hosted Creator/{{CNN}}'s New Year's Eve coverage from 2007 to 2017 with best friend and frequent humiliation target Creator/AndersonCooper (why he agreed to do it with her every year is a mystery to everyone, up to and including Cooper himself). Every successive broadcast required her to go to even further lengths to kill him from embarrassment; despite (among other antics) spray-tanning his face with no warning, painting stripes in his hair, and getting her kit (mostly) off on live TV. Repeatedly. Though its ratings were far lower than that of the famous "New Year's Rockin' Eve", it did have a loyal fanbase. She was fired from the show in May 2017 after she released a graphic publicity photo that depicted her holding the decapitated head of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump.

Griffin's comedy is mainly based on celebrities, whether it's the ones she comes into contact with in real life or the ones she sees on TV. While this has gained her some admirers, many celebrities actively avoid her (such as her former ''Suddenly Susan'' co-star Creator/BrookeShields). She's also an outspoken LGBT activist, and fought the anti-gay marriage Prop 8, and in recent stand-ups has read hate mail she receives from people opposed to gay rights.

Griffin currently holds the world record for the most comedy specials by a stand-up comedian in history, with (as of 2015) '''20 comedy specials aired'''. She's also a Grammy winner, and is known for her shameless attempts to get nominations for awards shows, such as the previously mentioned Grammys (with her album ''"For your Consideration"'') the Tonys (with her one-week Broadway show ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony]]'', and even an attempt to align herself with Creator/OprahWinfrey's book club with her autobiography ''Official Book Club Selection''.

* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': She had a small role in one episode, and was called back to do another one after she trash talked Creator/JerrySeinfeld on her comedy specials.

* ''Series/TheMole'': She was the winner of the third season of Celebrity Mole.
* ''Series/MyLifeOnTheDList'': Her reality show, which lasted 6 seasons over 5 years.

* TheArtifact: Her status as a D-list celebrity. Following her reality show, she (briefly) hosted ''Fashion Police'' and the New Years Eve show on CNN from 2007 to 2017, has won several awards, is a household comedy name and is also friends with very, very famous people. This is one of the reasons why she didn't continue with her reality show, as in her own words, "[She's] too famous now."

* DarkAndTroubledPast: In her most serious interviews, she has talked about how as a child she was called a dog and barked at for four years straight during her years at a catholic school, the severe beatings she got from the other girls, and how her brother was a pedophile of whom she was scared until the day he died.

* FagHag: Self described due to her large LGBT fanbase.

* OddFriendship: Would you believe wacky, brash Kathy Griffin was once good friends with straight-laced, stoic newsman Anderson Cooper? It did veer into VitriolicBestBuds, however, since it seemed a good chunk of their dynamic seemed to be Kathy [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZswCUiAM9E pushing Anderson's buttons.]] Fortunately, he seemed to react with bemused affection and mild annoyance as opposed to genuinely being angry about it. Even more oddly, she is also extremely close to Anderson's ''mother'', Gloria Vanderbilt; he inadvertently introduced them by phone after one of their New Year's Eve broadcasts, and a genuine, close friendship was born. They have since become estranged after Cooper criticized her controversial Trump photo shoot.

* SitcomArchNemesis: A staple of Griffin's act is claiming she is mutually this with a number of celebrities. Barbara Walters, Andy Cohen, Donald Trump, Sharon Stone and Ryan Seacrest are her most frequently cited nemeses.

* SitcomArchNemesis: A staple of Griffin's act is claiming she is mutually this with a number of celebrities. Barbara Walters, Andy Cohen, Donald Trump, and Ryan Seacrest are her most frequently cited nemeses.

* TheTeetotaler: Kathy proudly claims to be one of these, as her response to growing up in a house with many alcoholics when she was a child. Griffin says the only time she's ever drank alcohol in her life was when she accidentally took a sip of a beer as a child.

* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: It's up in the air as to whether or not Griffin strips down to her knickers and bra on New Year's Eve purely to embarrass Anderson Cooper, or because she has a "rockin' bikini bod" and wants to show it off. Knowing Griffin, it's probably both.

* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: Griffin is no stranger to these type of situations[[note]]She had previously been banned from ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', ''The View'', ''Series/HannahMontana'', and even the Apollo Theater[[/note]], lost a large amount of her support and show appearances in 2017 after posting a picture of her holding (depending on the source) either a pineapple dressed to look like or a mask that resembled UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's severed head, complete with a knife and fake blood. Being outspoken about her dislike of Trump, it was clear Griffin was making a "shocking" image, but this backfired as many people called her out on what came across as a call to violence against the president, or in general, seeing it as [[DudeNotFunny too extreme of a joke]]. Griffin initially apologized and removed the image after she received backlash for it, but by that point, the damage was done; she was dropped by her marketing team, followed by Creator/{{CNN}}, several of her comedy shows were outright cancelled, and several state senators cancelled their support or events with her in response. By the end of it all, she had been put on the No Fly List and investigated by the Department of Justice for two months. She attempted to continue her comedy career in spite of this, but the events around it made it very difficult for her to do so, causing her to largely back off from comedy as a result. In early 2019, she attempted to offer her perspective of the whole controversy with an interview movie about the experience, but very little buzz occurred for it despite her best efforts to spread the word. Griffin's stand-up appearance still sold well, though the COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on live stand-up comedy.

* BlackComedy: In heaping amounts. She once made a joke of Creator/DemiLovato being a "cutter" and got enough death threats on Twitter that police officers contacted her for protection.

* MrsRobinson: She is 57 and her current boyfriend is 36.

At the beginning of her career, Kathy landed small roles in movies and regularly performed on the comedy circuit. However, her first "big break" was on the TV show ''Series/SuddenlySusan'', where she played the sassy restaurant critic Vicki. This however was not enough to make her a household name, and after the finale of the series she reverted back to semi-obscurity, landing small roles in TV and film.

In 2003, Kathy participated and won on the third season of the ''[[Series/TheMole The Mole, Celebrity Edition]]'', She claims this was the moment in which she officially became a D-list celebrity (meaning, she felt she was just barely one) and in 2004, she officially claimed the title naming her 3rd comedy special ''The D-List'', this comedy special was popular enough to land her an Emmy award-winning reality show ''My Life on the D-List'' which followed her attempts to gain stardom in Hollywood, and lasted six years. She would go into host her own Talk show called ''Kathy'' (which lasted 2 seasons) and is currently the host of E!'s Fashion Police, after the passing of Creator/JoanRivers.

She had co-hosted Creator/{{CNN}}'s New Year's Eve coverage from 2007 to 2017 with best pal and frequent humiliation target Creator/AndersonCooper (why he agrees to do it with her every year is a mystery to everyone, up to and including Anderson himself). Every successive broadcast requires her to go to even further lengths to kill him from embarrassment; fortunately, she has yet to succeed, despite (among other antics) spray-tanning his face with no warning, painting stripes in his hair, and getting her kit (mostly) off on live TV. Repeatedly. Though its ratings are far lower than that of the famous "New Year's Rockin' Eve", it did have a loyal fanbase. She was fired from the show however in May 2017 after she released a graphic publicity photo that depicted her holding the decapitated head of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump.

Griffin's comedy is mainly based on celebrities, whether it's the ones she come in contact with in real life or the ones she sees on TV. While this has gained her some admirers, many celebrities actively avoid her (Such as her former Suddenly Susan co-star Creator/BrookeShields). She's also an outspoken LGBT activist, has marched against and helped fight Prop 8, and in recent stand-ups has read hate mail she receives from people opposed to gay rights.

Kathy currently holds the world record for the biggest number of comedy specials by a man or woman in history, with (as of 2015) '''20 comedy specials aired'''. She's also a Grammy winner, and is known for her shameless attempts to get nominations for awards shows, such as the previously mentioned Grammys (with her Album ''"For your Consideration"'') the Tonys (with her one week Broadway show [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony]] and even an attempt to get in Oprah's Official book club selection with her autobiography ''"Official Book Club Selection"''

* TheArtifact: Her Status as D-list celebrity. Following her reality show, she (briefly) hosted Fashion police and the New Years Eve show on CNN from 2007 to 2017, she has won several awards, she's a household comedy name and is also friends with very, very famous people. This is one of the reasons why she didn't continue with her reality show, as in her own words "[She's] too famous now"
* BlackComedy: In heaping amounts. She once made a joke of Creator/DemiLovato being a "cutter" and got enough death threats on twitter that police officers contacted her for protection.

* EvilCounterpart: To Creator/EllenDeGeneres. As Kathy herself has said, Ellen is a comedian who's in the "business" of being nice to celebrities, while Kathy is in the...Opposite business.

* OddFriendship: Would you believe wacky, brash Kathy Griffin was once good friends with straight-laced, stoic newsman Anderson Cooper? It did veer into VitriolicBestBuds, however, since it seemed a good chunk of their dynamic seemed to be Kathy [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZswCUiAM9E pushing Anderson's buttons.]] Fortunately, he seemed to react with bemused affection and mild annoyance as opposed to genuinely being angry about it. Even more oddly, she is also extremely close to Anderson's ''mother'', Gloria Vanderbilt; he inadvertently introduced them by phone after one of their New Year's Eve broadcasts, and a genuine, close friendship was born. They have since become estranged after Cooper criticized Kathy's controversial Trump photo shoot.

* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: It's up in the air as to whether or not Kathy strips down to her knickers and bra on New Year's Eve purely to embarrass Anderson Cooper, or because she has a rockin' body and wants to show it off. Knowing Kathy Griffin, it's probably both.
* TheTeetotaler: Kathy proudly claims to be one of these, as her response to growing up in a house with many alcoholics when she was a child.

Kathleen Mary "Kathy" Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American stand-up comic, actress, and televison host known for her crass, story telling like-humour which focuses on celebrities and her self-appointed status as a D-list celebrity.

Since 2006 she has co-hosted Creator/{{CNN}}'s New Year's Eve coverage with best pal and frequent humiliation target Creator/AndersonCooper (why he agrees to do it with her every year is a mystery to everyone, up to and including Anderson himself). Every successive broadcast requires her to go to even further lengths to kill him from embarrassment; fortunately, she has yet to succeed, despite (among other antics) spray-tanning his face with no warning, painting stripes in his hair, and getting her kit (mostly) off on live TV. Repeatedly. Though its ratings are far lower than that of the famous "New Year's Rockin' Eve", it does have a loyal fanbase.

* ''Series/MyLifeOnTheDList'': Her reality show, which lasted 6 years.

* TheArtifact: Her Status as D-list celebrity. Nowadays she hosts Fashion police and the New Years Eve show on CNN, she has won several awards, she's a household comedy name and is also friends with very, very famous people. This is one of the reasons why she didn't continue with her reality show, as in her own words "[She's] too famous now"