Bio

Kathleen Madigan is an exception. Over the past three decades, most comedians haven’t built and sustained the sort of touring and specials business she has without some sort of major TV show or movie role. Coming from a long line of Midwestern union workers, Madigan has always approached stand-up as a job, and by doing so has established herself as one of the most successful road comics ever as her career continues to explode.

In addition to touring, Madigan has released six stand-up specials including her most recent 2023 special, Hunting Bigfoot, on Amazon Prime. The special won the Interrobangs’s 2023 Comedy Special of the Year as voted on by fans. Her previous special, Bothering Jesus, released on NETFLIX, became the highest selling album and most played comedy album on streaming services since 2015. This April, Madigan will shoot her highly anticipated 7th stand-up special at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, WI.

Over her career, she’s squeezed in over 40 appearances on late-night & day-time talk shows, appeared on Comedians in Cars getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld and has multiple comedy specials airing on Amazon, NETFLIX, MAX, SHOWTIME and Comedy Central.

In 2020, taking advantage of time off touring on the road because of the pandemic, Madigan created “Madigan’s Pubcast” which has garnered over 10 million streams and over 200 episodes. She shares her thoughts on everything from Taylor Swift to Area 51. It’s equal parts silly and sincere and feels as natural and comfortable as chatting with Madigan herself.

After a recent performance at the Chicago Theater, The Chicago Tribune wrote, “She has all but perfected the art of crafting and delivering a perfect joke. That singular dedication to the craft shows in both the evolution of her material over the years and the way she can make a complicated joke with a hidden nub of wisdom seem both effortless and offhand.”

“I just wanted to tell jokes,” she said. “I didn’t start doing open mic night to become an actor or a celebrity. Those things never crossed my mind. For a few of us working, telling jokes was our main and only goal. I don’t have any more goals. Can’t you just have a goal, reach it and enjoy it? Why do we have to set more? I don’t get it. Grab a beer and enjoy what you’ve done.”

She’s won the American Comedy Award for “Best Female Comedian” and the Phyllis Diller award for “Best Female Comedian.” She’s done multiple USO tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The USO shows are the best. Trust me, no crowd is more appreciative and fired up to see a show. I’m glad I have the chance to give back for what they do for all of us.”

RECENT ACCOLADES:

“She has delivered consistently excellent stand-up for over three decades. She is very good at her job.” – VULTURE

“It’s hard to say what we love more, Madigan’s jokes of her delivery because both are so honed, so sharp and yet feel absolutely off the cuff, as if Madigan is just holding court in the corner of a local pub over pints. Kathleen is a national treasure and Hunting Bigfoot should be high on your list of specials to watch.” —THE INTERROBANG

“Madigan’s mix of the mundane and somewhat absurd is what makes her act fell fresh and fun, even after decades of touring.”—ST. LOUIS MAGAZINE

“Madigan has the heartland appeal of Roseanne Barr and the cultural mindset of Chelsea Handler but exists somewhere between the two of them while not like being either one of them.”—DECIDER.COM

“She’s small, practical and fun. She makes a lot of sense but not too much sense. Just enough to be hilarious.” —JERRY SEINFELD

“There’s nobody better than Maddy. Smart and just crushes it every time. She’s not just one of the best “female” comics, she’s one of the best comics period.—RON WHITE

“She’s the fun lady at the end of the bar with a lot of opinions and only half the information. She’s one of the best comics working today. And she beats me in golf which is just bullshit.”—LEWIS BLACK

Madigan splits her time between Nashville and the Missouri Ozarks and originally hails from St. Louis, Missouri.

For more information go to www.KathleenMadigan.com

Follow Kathleen on social media:

Twitter: @KathleenMadigan

Instagram: @officialkathleenmadigan

Facebook: @facebook.com/KathleenMadigan

Official YouTube Channel: youtube.com/user/kathleenmadigan

Credits:

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – CBS
This Is Not Happening—Comedy Central
Morning Express with Robin Meade-- HLN
Bothering Jesus--NETFLIX HOUR LONG SPECIAL
Madigan Again – NETFLIX HOUR LONG SPECIAL
Gone Madigan – NETFLIX HOUR LONG SPECIAL
In Other Words – SHOWTIME HOUR LONG SPECIAL
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
American Dad
Patricia Heaton Parties--THE FOOD NETWORK
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore--Comedy Central
The View--ABC
Montreal GALA (CBC TV, 8 appearances)
The Tonight Show With Jay Leno – NBC (25 appearances)
The Late Show with David Letterman – CBS (7 appearances)
The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson - CBS
Late Night with Conan O’Brien – NBC (2 appearances)
Why We Laugh: Funny Women (Documentary 2013)
Ron White’s Salute To The Troops – CMT
The Green Room with Paul Provenza – Showtime
Dr. Phil – Syndicated (3 appearances)
E! Entertainment - (numerous commentary appearances)
TV Guide Network - (numerous commentary appearances)
ESPN 2 - (numerous commentary appearances)
The Bonnie Hunt Show – Syndicated (2 appearances)
The Joy Behar Show - HLN Martin Short: Let Freedom Hum – TBS
Root of All Evil – Comedy Central (2008)
I Love The… (70’s, 80’s, 90’s, New Millennium) – VH1 (numerous appearances)
Last Comic Standing – NBC
The World Stands Up – Syndicated Internationally
Dennis Miller Show – NBC
Shorties Watchin’ Shorties – Comedy Central
Best Week Ever – VH1
Hollywood Squares – Syndicated Internationally
The World Comedy Tour: Melbourne
Comic Remix – Comedy Central
USO Comedy Tour – Comedy Central
Late Friday – NBC
Comedy Central Presents
HBO Comedy Half Hour
Live at Jongleurs
Bob Hope Presents the Ladies of Laughter – NBC
Women of the Night – HBO
½ Hour Comedy Hour – MTV
Stand-up Spotlight – VH1

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May 2021