Patricia Williams (born April 2, 1972), better known by her stage name Ms. Pat, is an American stand-up

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

and actress known for ''

The Ms. Pat Show ''The Ms. Pat Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Jordan E. Cooper and Patricia "Ms. Pat" Williams that premiered on the streaming service BET+ on August 12, 2021. The show is based on the comedy and life story of comedian Ms. P ...

'', and host of the podcast ''The Patdown with Ms. Pat''.

Career

Comedy

Ms. Pat started doing comedy after being encouraged by her caseworker. She did her first stand-up in 2002 in Atlanta. In 2006, her career as a comic elevated to the next stage after moving to Indianapolis with her husband, where she improved her comedic skills at Morty's, a well-known comic store. In 2015, she participated in the ninth season of NBC's ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' was an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group ...

''. Ms. Pat has appeared on popular shows and podcasts hosted by

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning s ...

Marc Maron Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than fort ...

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC color commentator, podcaster, comedian, actor, and former television presenter. He hosts ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', a podcast in which he discusses current events, comedy, polit ...

, Eddie Ifft, Bert Kreischer, Joey "CoCo" Diaz, Bobby Lee and Ari Shaffir. She is also a frequent guest talent on the comedy Bob and Tom Show. In 2017, she released her first stand-up album, ''Rabbit.'' In 2018, she appeared in Netflix's stand-up series ''The Degenerates''. On February 8, 2022, Netflix released her hour-long comedy special, "Ms. Pat: Y'all Wanna Hear Something Crazy?"

TV show

After getting dropped by

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

and

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...

, a TV show based on her life was picked up by the premium streaming service BET+ in October 2020 & premiered on August 12, 2021, as ''

'', its first season consists of 10 episodes. Stage actor J. Bernard Calloway plays her husband and Tami Roman plays her sister. The series was renewed for a second season on September 2, 2021.

Author

She is the co-author of ''Rabbit – The Autobiography of Ms. Pat'', a comical

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

of her turbulent upbringing. The book was a finalist for the

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for Outstanding Literature in 2018.

Podcast Host

In 2019, Ms. Pat began hosting a podcast available on YouTube titled ''The Patdown with Ms. Pat''. In the podcast, Ms. Pat discuses day-to-day issues with her co-hosts, sometimes telling stories of her lived experiences which raise awareness of racial prejudice.

Personal life

Patricia Williams was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, on April 2, 1972. She gave birth to her first child at 14 and her second at 15. The father of her first two children was eight years her senior; he began sexually abusing her when she was 12 years old. Earlier in childhood, she also suffered sexual abuse from one of her mother's boyfriends. At age 15, she began selling

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' call ...

in Atlanta, while supporting herself and her two children using the street name "Rabbit". Her two younger children were conceived later in life with her husband, Garrett. She then later adopted four children who are the biological children of her sister. She is open about having two

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

s in her teenage years.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pat, Ms. 1972 births Living people Actresses from Atlanta Comedians from Georgia (U.S. state) American television actresses American sketch comedians American stand-up comedians American women comedians American women podcasters American podcasters American autobiographers African-American actresses African-American female comedians American drug traffickers 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians