Mathilde O'Callaghan "Tig" Notaro (born March 24, 1971) is an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

, radio contributor, and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She is known for her

deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blun ...

comedy. Her acclaimed album ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

'' was nominated in 2014 for the

Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement in comedy." The award was awarded yearly from 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to prese ...

at the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid comp ...

. The special '' Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted'' was nominated in 2016 at the

68th Primetime Emmy Awards The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2015 until May 31, 2016, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 18, 2016 at the Mi ...

for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special. In 2017, the album ''Boyish Girl Interrupted'' was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album at the

59th Annual Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year ...

Early life

Notaro was born in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

, the daughter of Mathilde "Susie" O'Callaghan and Pat Notaro. Her mother was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Notaro was raised in

Pass Christian, Mississippi Pass Christian (), nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport– Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,307 at the 2019 census. History Pre-European history ...

, until kindergarten. Her family later moved to

Spring, Texas Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. The population was 62,559 at the 2020 census. While the name "Spring" is popu ...

, a suburb of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

. She has a brother, Renaud Notaro, who is a year her elder and works as a radio talk show host. "Tig" is a childhood nickname given to her by her brother when she was two years old. Notaro's maternal great-great-grandfather was John Fitzpatrick, mayor of New Orleans from 1892 to 1896. When taking part in season 5 of '' Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'', Notaro found out that she is also a distant cousin of

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Steinem was a c ...

. In an interview with '' Mother Jones'' magazine, she said she disliked school. Notaro failed three grades, eventually dropping out of high school. In 1990, while living in Texas, Notaro got her general equivalency diploma. Notaro plays the guitar and drums and was in bands when she was younger.

Career

An avid music fan, Notaro moved to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where she became involved in the music industry. She became a band manager, working under the name Tignation Promotions in the mid-'90s. Notaro's work promoting bands took her to Los Angeles, where she tried stand-up for the first time in the late '90s. Notaro has since been featured on '' Comedy Central Presents'' and on '' The Sarah Silverman Program'' as a lesbian police officer. She collaborates frequently with writing partner

Kyle Dunnigan Kyle Dunnigan (born May 25, 1971) is an American comedian, actor and writer, best known as a writer for ''Inside Amy Schumer'', and for his role as Craig in ''Reno 911!'' Career Dunnigan was a member of the Groundlings Sunday Company and receive ...

. With Dunnigan and David Huntsberger, she co-hosted the podcast '' Professor Blastoff'' from May 2011 until July 2015. In 2011, she released her debut stand-up album, '' Good One''. Her 2012 album, ''

'', is a recording of a stand-up set performed shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2012, Notaro appeared on '' Conan'', and in May of that year on the live episode of ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internati ...

'', which was broadcast to theaters nationwide and on radio in edited form. She performed a monologue about having encountered

Taylor Dayne Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman; March 7, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 1987 after her debut single " Tell It to My Heart". Dayne achieved six additional U.S. top-10 singles, including "Love Will ...

on multiple occasions, greeting her each time with, "Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, but I just have to tell you. I love your voice." After her monologue, Dayne made a surprise appearance, serenading Notaro with the song "I'll Always Love You". She worked on fellow comedian

Amy Schumer Amy Beth Schumer (born June 1, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition series ''Last Comic Standing'' ...

's Comedy Central series '' Inside Amy Schumer.'' In June 2012, Notaro did a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

-funded series called ''Clown Service'' written by her and starring herself. Notaro wrote a memoir for

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

imprint

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called ''I'm Just a Person'', and there is a Showtime documentary made about her life that chronicled her post-cancer stand-up tour called '' Knock Knock, It's Tig Notaro.'' In July 2015, a

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

movie called '' Tig'', which chronicles Notaro's attempts to become pregnant with her fiancée, Stephanie Allynne, was also released. The singer

Sharon Van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums, the latest of which is '' We've Been Going About This All Wrong'' (2022). Early life Van Etten was born in Belleville, N ...

wrote a song in homage to Notaro called "Words" that is shown in the credits. In November 2015, Notaro co-wrote, produced, and starred in a semi-autobiographical TV pilot for

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

called '' One Mississippi''. The show received a six-episode series order from Amazon a month later. The show follows Notaro's character as she returns to her hometown of Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, after her mother's unexpected death. Her first stand-up one-hour special was released by HBO in 2015, '' Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted''. In 2016, it was released as her third album on her own label, Bentzen Ball Records, which also put out

Aparna Nancherla Aparna Nancherla (born August 22, 1982) is an American comedian and actress of Indian descent. She has appeared on '' Inside Amy Schumer'' and has written for ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' and '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell''. Nancherla ...

's ''Just Putting It Out There''. In April 2018, it was announced that Notaro would appear in the second season of '' Star Trek: Discovery'' as Chief Engineer Jett Reno of the U.S.S. ''Hiawatha''.

released Notaro's second one-hour special, '' Happy to Be Here'', on May 22, 2018. Notaro was digitally inserted in post-production in

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with '' Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since t ...

's ''

Army of the Dead ''Army of the Dead'' is a 2021 American zombie heist film directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten and Joby Harold, based on a story he also created. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Dave Bautist ...

'', replacing Chris D'Elia, who was accused of sexual misconduct.

Comedic style

On her approach to comedy (and whether she considers herself a dark comic): "I'm always going to do whatever I think is funniest. If something's dark, I'll do it. If it's a sock puppet, if it's a stool, I'll do it. There's no preconceived idea of who I think I might be now." Notaro said that since her cancer diagnosis, she has shifted not to darker comedy but rather to personal comedy. Previously she was more distant and observational, but now she reflects on her childhood and her life. In the autumn of 2016, she appeared in a video as an onstage "stand-in" during the Nostalgic for the Present concert tour of Australian singer Sia for the song "

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

Personal life

Notaro met her wife, Stephanie Allynne, on the set of the movie '' In a World...'' They became engaged on January 1, 2015 and were married on October 24, 2015. They welcomed twin sons in 2016, conceived via a surrogate using Allynne's eggs.

Cancer

Notaro was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in both breasts on July 30, 2012. On August 3, she addressed her cancer diagnosis and other personal difficulties during her live stage show at Largo in Los Angeles. The set has been described as "instantly legendary", with many comedians praising her work. The next day, comedian Louis C.K. called Notaro, telling her he wanted to release the audio of the show. She was uncomfortable with the idea at first, but decided the material could help people, so she agreed. C.K. made audio of the performance available that October for download on his site under the title ''

''. Notaro later released the audio (with booklet) on

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. ''Live'' ended up selling more copies than Kiss's album ''

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

'', which debuted the same week, something Notaro said she never dreamed could happen. She was a fan of the band in her youth. Notaro subsequently had a double mastectomy with no reconstructive surgery; she opted out of chemo but decided to continue treatment with hormone blocking. In November 2014, as part of the New York Comedy Festival, Notaro did a set at

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

in New York City wherein she performed part of the set topless. The ''New York Times'' described it: "She showed the audience her scars and then, through the force of her showmanship, made you forget that they were there. It was a powerful, even inspiring, statement about survival and recovery, and yet, it had the larky feel of a dare." After a November 2014 show in Philadelphia, Notaro was hospitalized and required surgery for a cyst. In 2017, Notaro adopted a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

diet, which she credited for eliminating the chronic pain she had experienced in the years following her cancer diagnosis. She later earned a certification in plant-based nutrition.

Discography

Albums

* 2011: '' Good One'' ( Secretly Canadian) – CD+DVD, LP, download, streaming * 2012: ''

'' ( Pig Newton) – download, streaming * 2013: '' Live: Deluxe Edition'' (Secretly Canadian) – 2xCD, picture disc LP, LP, download, streaming * 2016: '' Boyish Girl Interrupted'' (Secretly Canadian) – CD, LP, download, streaming * 2018: '' Happy to Be Here'' (

) – LP, streaming * 2022: ''Drawn'' (

Comedy Dynamics Brian Volk-Weiss (born May 28, 1976) is an American film and television producer and director. He is the founder and current chief executive officer (CEO) of The Nacelle Company and its subsidiary company, Comedy Dynamics. Volk-Weiss is the cre ...

) - LP, download, streaming

Specials

* 2004: '' Comedy Central Presents'' – download, streaming * 2015: '' Boyish Girl Interrupted'' ( HBO) – download, streaming * 2018: '' Happy to Be Here'' (Netflix) – download, streaming * 2021: ''Drawn'' (

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

) - download, streaming

Videos

* 2008: '' Have Tig at Your Party'' – also director, writer, executive producer (bonus DVD of ''Good One: Deluxe Edition'') * 2013: '' Professor Blastoff'' – 100th Episode! –

Earwolf Earwolf is an American comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. In 2011, they announced a partnership with Funny Or Die. It merged with podcast advertising network The Mid Roll in 2014, a separate com ...

– Video Podcast Network (YouTube) * 2014: '' The Moth'' – "R2, Where Are You" (

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

) – also writer (the audio of the video is the bonus content of her album ''Live: Deluxe Edition'')

Singles

* 2016: "Mississippi Relatives" – download, streaming * 2017: ''7-Inches for

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

'' – "My Ideal Exchange with a Stranger" (Live at Largo) (7-Inches For™, LLC) – 7" pink vinyl, download * 2020: "Little Titties" – download, streaming

Audiobook

* 2016: ''I'm Just a Person'' ( Harper Audio) – CD , download

Compilations

* 2010: ''Live Nude Comedy, Vol. 1'' (Salient Music) – download (tracks 11 and 12) * 2010: ''

Comedy Death-Ray ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' (formerly ''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'') is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009.A Special Thing Forums:Comedy Death-Ray Radio starts today! Popularly known as ''Humani ...

Xmas CD 2010'' (

ASpecialThing Records ASpecialThing Records is a stand-up comedy record label started by Matt Belknap and Ryan McManemin. Belknap was the creator of aspecialthing.com, an internet message board especially popular with West Coast comedy fans. McManemin was an execut ...

) – CD (song: ''We Are The World 25.75'')

Filmography

Film

Television

Audio broadcasts

Radio

* 2012–2016: ''

'' Episodes 464, 476, 518, 558 and 577 * June 15, 2016:

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' * July 18, 2015: NPR ''All Things Considered'' * July 19, 2013: NPR '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' "Not My Job" * April 17, 2013: '' The Moth'' - "R2 Where Are You" Recorded December 5, 2012 * December 7, 2012: PRI '' Science Friday'' * October 8, 2012: NPR ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...

Podcasts

Hosted

* 2020–present: ''Don't Ask Tig'' * 2020–present: ''Tig and Cheryl: True Story'' – cohosted with Cheryl Hines * 2011–2015: '' Professor Blastoff'' w/

and David Huntsberger (217 episodes)

Guest

* 2019: '' Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend'' Episode 23 *2017: ''

2 Dope Queens ''2 Dope Queens'' is a podcast hosted by Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson that aired between April 4, 2016, and November 14, 2018. For the first seven days following the podcast's launch, it was number one on the iTunes podcast charts. It ...

'' Episodes 26 & 45 * 2017: '' The Ezra Klein Show'' * 2017: '' Movie Crush'' Episode 2 * 2017: '' Good One: A Podcast About Jokes'' * 2017: ''Out Here In America'' Episode 2 and Bonus Episode * 2014, 2017: ''

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn ''Bullseye with Jesse Thorn'' (formerly ''The Sound of Young America'') is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California, and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). The weekly show is currently heard on over 50 public ra ...

'' 2017, 2014 * 2011, 2017: ''

Jordan, Jesse, Go! ''Jordan, Jesse, Go!'' (often abbreviated to ''JJGO'') is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which began airing in 2007. It is hosted by comedian Jordan Morris, a television writer, producer, and actor, and Jesse Thorn, a public radio host. The sho ...

'' Episode 175 and 501 * 2009–2017: '' Comedy Bang! Bang!'' (12 episodes) * 2013: '' Making It'' Episode 67 * 2013: ''

You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes ''You Made It Weird'' is a weekly comedy interview podcast, hosted by Pete Holmes. It was hosted on the Nerdist network since October 25, 2011; however, as of August 2022, it is independently distributed. The show originated under the premise t ...

'' Episode 177 * 2013: '' The Nerdist Podcast'' Episode 381 * 2012–2013: '' The JV Club'' Episodes 32 and 49 * 2011: ''The Long Shot'' Season 1, Episode 14 * 2010-2011: '' WTF with Marc Maron'' Episodes 81 and 105 * 2008-2011: '' The Sound of Young America'' 2011 Interview with Dave Holmes, Best Comedy of 2009, 2008 Stand-up at

Bumbershoot Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend (leading up to and including the first Monday of September) at th ...

Books

* (Humor/memoir)

References

External links

*
Tig Notaro
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

*
Tig Notaro
at Secretly Canadian
Official Bentzen Ball Records site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Notaro, Tig 1971 births Living people American film actresses American television actresses American women comedians American stand-up comedians American voice actresses American women podcasters American podcasters Actresses from Mississippi Actresses from Texas People from Pass Christian, Mississippi Actors from Jackson, Mississippi People from Spring, Texas Lesbian comedians LGBT people from Mississippi LGBT people from Texas LGBT memoirists 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians Secretly Canadian artists American lesbian actresses