Kathy Griffin

About Kathy Griffin

Kathy Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an Emmy Award-winning American stand-up comedian, producer, actress and gay icon. She has also been a voice actress and a red carpet commentator. Griffin is a self-proclaimed "D-list celebrity." She is arguably best known for her role on NBC's Suddenly Susan. She is also known for her reality show, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, and for guest co-hosting on The View.

Griffin was born in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, and raised there and in nearby Forest Park. Her mother, Maggie, was a hospital administrator, and her father, John, was an electronics store manager. The youngest of five children, she attended Oak Park and River Forest High School, where she graduated in 1978.

Griffin began performing in the early 1980s Los Angeles improv comedy troupe, The Groundlings. In an E! True Hollywood Story segment, she stated that she often went to see shows at the Groundlings before she joined. She said one time she was there she went backstage and talked with a Groundling member (Phil Hartman) and asked him what The Groundlings were all about. This led to her taking classes there and eventually being asked into the Main Company.