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

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, radio contributor, and

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

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 Comedy, comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant t ...

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'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' was nominated in 2014 for the

Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album is presented by the The Recording Academy, 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 t ...

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 co ...

. 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 US 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 is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

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

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Notaro lived in

Pass Christian, Mississippi Pass Christian (), nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi, Biloxi Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...

, until attending kindergarten. Later, her family relocated to

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

(a suburb of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

). She has a brother, Renaud, who is a year older and works as a

radio talk show Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews wi ...

host. "Tig" is a childhood nickname given to her by her brother when she was two years old. The family was

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Notaro's maternal great-great-grandfather was John Fitzpatrick, who was the mayor of New Orleans from 1892 to 1896. While taking part in season 5 of '' Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'', Notaro learned she is also a distant cousin of

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem ( ; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social movement, 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. ...

. In an interview with '' Mother Jones'' magazine, Notaro said she disliked being a student. She failed three grades, eventually dropping out of high school. In 1990, while living in Texas, she received her

general equivalency diploma The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four academic subject tests in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories certifying academic knowledge equivalent to a high school diploma. This certifi ...

. Notaro plays the guitar and drums; she was in bands when she was younger.

Career

An avid music fan, Notaro moved to

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, where she became involved in the music industry. She became a band manager, working under the name Tignation Promotions in the mid-'90s. Her work promoting bands took her to Los Angeles, where she tried stand-up for the first time in the late '90s. She has since been featured on ''

Comedy Central Presents ''Comedy Central Presents'' is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series ...

'' and on ''

The Sarah Silverman Program ''The Sarah Silverman Program'' (stylized as ''The Sarah Silverman Program.'') is an American television sitcom, which ran from February 1, 2007, to April 15, 2010, on Comedy Central starring comedian and actress Sarah Silverman, who created the ...

'' as a lesbian police officer. She collaborates frequently with her writing partner Kyle Dunnigan. With Dunnigan and David Huntsberger, she co-hosted the podcast '' Professor Blastoff'' from May 2011 until July 2015. In 2011, Notaro 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, she appeared on '' Conan'', and in May of that year on the live episode of ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American 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 internationally, and is ...

'', 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 who rose to fame after her first two albums ('' Tell It to My Heart'' and '' Can't Fight Fate'') were both certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of ...

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, actress, writer, producer, and director. Schumer ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition ...

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

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

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

-funded series called ''Clown Service,'' which she wrote and starred in. Notaro wrote a memoir for

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

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

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

film, '' Tig'', chronicling her attempts to become pregnant with her fiancée, Stephanie Allynne, was also released. Singer

Sharon Van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Originally from New Jersey, and currently based in Los Angeles, Van Etten's music is noted for its indie rock aesthetic and personal lyric ...

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

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

called '' One Mississippi''. It received a six-episode series order from Amazon a month later. It 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 Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

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's ''Just Putting It Out There''. She was cast in '' Star Trek: Discovery'' as Chief Engineer Jett Reno of the U.S.S. ''Hiawatha'', originally as a guest role in the second and third seasons before being promoted to a regular role, and will continue to play the character as a regular in the upcoming series ''

Starfleet Academy Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for condu ...

''.

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

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with ''Dawn of the Dead (2004 film), Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead (1978 film), of the same name ...

's '' Army of the Dead'', 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), Notaro says: "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... 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 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. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...

Personal life

Notaro met her wife Stephanie Allynne on the set of the film '' In a World...'' They married in 2015, officiated by a Catholic deacon (Notaro's cousin). 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 Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in both breasts on July 30, 2012. On August 3, she addressed her cancer diagnosis and other personal difficulties during a live stage show at Largo in Los Angeles. The set has been described as "instantly legendary"; many comedians have praised 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

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

; it sold more copies than rock band

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

's album ''

Monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

'', which debuted the same week, something Notaro said she never dreamed could happen. She was a Kiss fan in her youth. Notaro subsequently had a double

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer choose to have ...

with no reconstructive surgery; she opted out of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

but decided instead to continue treatment with hormone blocking. In November 2014, as part of the New York Comedy Festival, she did a set at

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

in New York City wherein she performed part of the set topless. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct envelope and division compared with the nearby tissue. Hence, it is a cluster of cells that have grouped together to form a sac (like the manner in which water molecules group together to form a bubb ...

. In 2017, Notaro adopted a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

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 Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, part of the Secretly Group. The Secretly Group includes record labels Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publis ...

) – 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) - CD, LP, download, streaming * 2024: ''Hello Again'' (Secretly Canadian) – CD, LP, download, streaming

Specials

* 2004: ''

'' – download, streaming * 2015: '' Boyish Girl Interrupted'' (

) – download, streaming * 2018: '' Happy to Be Here'' (Netflix) – download, streaming * 2021: ''Drawn'' (

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

) – download, streaming * 2024: ''Hello Again'' (

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

) – 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. initially built around the ''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'' podcast, the network has since grown to include many podcasts on diverse subjects. ...

– Video Podcast Network (YouTube) * 2014: ''

The Moth The Moth is a nonprofit group based in New York City, dedicated to the craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featuring promine ...

'' – "R2, Where Are You" (

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

) – 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 an American nonprofit organization

'' – "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 HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the " Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. HarperCollins is ...

) – CD , download

Compilations

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

Comedy Death-Ray Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Gr ...

Xmas CD 2010'' ( Aspecialthing Records) – CD (song: ''We Are The World 25.75'')

Filmography

Film

Television

Audio broadcasts

Radio

* 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, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...

'' * December 7, 2012: PRI ''

Science Friday ''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 500 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by science ...

'' * 2012–2016: ''

'' Episodes 464, 476, 518, 558 and 577 * April 17, 2013: ''

'' - "R2 Where Are You" Recorded December 5, 2012 * July 19, 2013: NPR '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' "Not My Job" * July 18, 2015: NPR ''All Things Considered'' * June 15, 2016:

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

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 ...

Podcasts

Hosted

* 2011–2015: '' Professor Blastoff'' w/ Kyle Dunnigan and David Huntsberger (217 episodes) * 2020–2024: ''Don't Ask Tig'' * 2020–2023: ''Tig and Cheryl: True Story'' – cohosted with

Cheryl Hines Cheryl Ruth Hines (born September 21, 1965) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her role as Cheryl David on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' (2000–2024), earning two Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She also ...

* 2023–present: ''Handsome'' – cohosted with Fortune Feimster and Mae Martin

Guest

* 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 (state), Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day (United States), Labor Day weekend (leading up to and ...

* 2009–2017: '' Comedy Bang! Bang!'' (12 episodes) * 2010–2011: ''

WTF with Marc Maron ''WTF with Marc Maron'' is a weekly podcast and radio show hosted by stand-up comedian Marc Maron. The show was launched in September 2009. The show is produced by Maron's former Air America co-worker Brendan McDonald. Background The show's ...

'' Episodes 81 and 105 * 2011: ''The Long Shot'' Season 1, Episode 14 * 2011, 2017: '' Jordan, Jesse, Go!'' Episode 175 and 501 * 2012–2013: '' The JV Club'' Episodes 32 and 49 * 2013: '' Making It'' Episode 67 * 2013: '' You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes'' Episode 177 * 2013: '' The Nerdist Podcast'' Episode 381 * 2014, 2017: ''

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to: Symbols * ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes (Unicode block), Geometric Shapes Unicode block * (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click Animals ...

'' 2017, 2014 * 2017: '' 2 Dope Queens'' 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 * 2019: '' Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend'' Episode 23

Books

* (Humor/memoir)

References

External links

* *
Tig Notaro
at

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 comedy podcasters Actresses from Texas People from Pass Christian, Mississippi Actresses from Jackson, Mississippi Actors from Spring, Texas Lesbian comedians LGBTQ people from Mississippi LGBTQ people from Texas 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians Secretly Canadian artists American lesbian actresses American LGBTQ comedians Comedians from Mississippi Lesbian memoirists