Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955 in suburban Flint, Michigan, but raised in Arizona) is a United States actress, entertainer, and comedian. The brassy and outspoken performance artist first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy. She has since become a household name from her appearances in various films (including The King of Comedy, Hudson Hawk, The Apocalypse, Follow That Bird, and Inside Monkey Zetterland) as well as her television spots, most notably as Nancy, a lesbian friend of the title protagonist on Roseanne. She also guest-starred as herself on two episodes of Will & Grace and appeared in several episodes of The L Word as a literary professor.
Her one woman show Without You, I'm Nothing was a massive success on Broadway, and was turned into a recording as well as a film. She returned to New York in 2006 with the Off-Broadway show Everything Bad and Beautiful.
She has developed a cult following with her stand-up comedy shows that are better described as performance art. She is bisexual, with public intimations of a relationship with Madonna, which both made in the late 1980s.
Within her comedy, often bitterly ripping apart celebrity culture and political figures, Bernhard performs classic pop music, jazz, and blues tunes. She has released several albums (combinations of music and comedy) including:
I'm Your Woman
Without You, I'm Nothing
Excuses For Bad Behaviour (Part One)
I'm Still Here...Damnit
The Love Machine
Hero Worship
Excuses for Bad Behaviour (Part Two)
The Love Machine Remastered (entirely different than The Love Machine)
Giving Til it Hurts
Sandra Bernhard: Live
Gems of Mystery
She is also an accomplished writer with the books:
Confessions of a Pretty Lady
May I Kiss You on the Lips, Miss Sandra
Love, Love and Love
She is number 97 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.
The King of Comedy (1983)
