Unsung Women of Comedy

Edi grew up in Texas and lives in Los Angeles. She is a Groundlings Main Company member, and regularly performs there in improv and sketch comedy shows. She is also a member of improvisational theatre company Impro Theatre, which performs full-length, completely improvised plays. Edi likes fun and she also likes you.

After graduating with a B.F.A in Theatre Performance from Miami University of Ohio, Lindsay moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television. Almost a year later, she was cast as Christine Banks in Fox's hit show Boston Public and was submitted for Emmy consideration in the category of Outstanding Guest Star. This led to numerous other guest appearances on such shows as ER, Strong Medicine, Any Day Now, Popular, and as Susan Adamson on NBC's popular daytime series Days of Our Lives.

Lindsay has also completed work in 18 films; most notable would be her role opposite Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway in Get Smart as Max's Dance Partner in a now-iconic dance scene. Lindsay can be found in Pee Wee's Big Holiday produced by comedy legend Judd Apatow and available on Netflix.

In addition, Lindsay has written several feature films and TV shows and created/wrote/starred in two seasons of her own web series, Breaking Fat. She also adapted the comedic version of the popular film BloodRayne, called Blubberella, and played the title character (produced and directed the controversial German filmmaker Uwe Boll).

Lindsay has a production company with good friend Katherine VanderLinden: Lead's Best Friend Productions.

Widely recognized for her work on the Emmy-winning, late night sketch comedy series MADtv Mad TV (1995) Daniele grew up doing theater in Minneapolis. She earned her SAG card shooting a commercial at Paisley Park. Years later she would be called on stage to dance with Prince during two concert tours, bringing the Minneapolis connection full circle. While an undergraduate at Northwestern University she landed a spot in The Mee-Ow Show, the premiere sketch comedy and improv group on campus. She moved to Los Angeles where she studied at Howard Fine Studios and EDGE Performing Arts Center. She went on to star in three series regular roles on broadcast network television series - two in prime time - while a member of the Groundlings Sunday Company and the Groundlings Main Company. She continued her run as a character actor with a recurring role as Super President Kickbutt on Kids' Choice Award winner "The Thundermans"The Thundermans (2013) on Nickelodeon, making memorable guest appearances on shows such as "Key & Peele" Key and Peele (2012) and "2 Broke Girl$." 2 Broke Girls (2011) Daniele broke into the world of animation singing a track and voicing characters on "BoJack Horseman," BoJack Horseman (2014) "American Dad" American Dad! (2005) and "Mike Tyson Mysteries." Mike Tyson Mysteries (2014) Active on the small theater and cabaret scene in Los Angeles, she has performed at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and the Cavern Club Celebrity Theater. As an improviser in the cast of the The Black Version Show, (featured in Rolling Stone's 2013 Hot List issue) she has performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Toronto and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Beth Crosby is a Groundlings Sunday Company Alumni and Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Graduate. She's an LA-based actress/writer best known as the creator of the viral Tiktok channel "Garbagemom", and as the co-creator of the hit web series "Jessica and Hunter" (NewNowNext Award Nominee). Her videos have garnered over 60 million views and have been featured on E!, Huffington Post, ABC World News, TMZ, and Buzzfeed.

Susan Yeagley had a lead role in Christopher Guest's latest feature, Mascots. The film is a parody set amidst world of professional mascots; Susan and Parker Posey play competitive sisters who are both mascots themselves.

She is often known for her role playing "Jessica Wicks" in NBC's comedy Parks and Rec. Prior to that she recurred in the FOX comedy Til Death for several seasons.

Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, at a young age Susan realized she didn't have the voice to become a country singer, so she opted to become an actress. At the age of ten she won an acting role in an Amy Grant music video. For compensation she was paid twenty-five dollars (cash) plus an Amy Grant album. She still has that twenty-five dollars but they are not the original bills.

Susan graduated from USC Film School with honors and went on to become a member of the prestigious 'Sunday Company - Groundlings Improv Group.' It was during that stint that a casting director saw her perform and cast her in her first film role, Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. Her list of other film credits include the Coen brother's Intolerable Cruelty, Coyote Ugly, Neil Berger's The Lucky Ones and Blended (Adam Sandler).

Susan was voted one of "Ten Comedians to Watch" by the Daily Variety and they honored her with a trophy and a chicken dinner.

Susan resides in Los Angeles with her husband and son, although her heart will always be in Nashville.

Originally from Stamford, CT, Beth Shea graduated from the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC before moving to L.A. to pursue acting. Beth is the co-founder of Hall of Shea Productions with Leigh Hall. Together they have written, produced, and starred in acclaimed films such as Not in My Family, Love Royale, and Chubduction. In 2011, Beth partnered with Leyna Weber and Annie Lukowski of Working Bug Media, and co-wrote and starred in the hit comedy series "A Series of Unfortunate People." Beth is a graduate of The Groundlings School and the Dee Wallace Stone Acting Studio in Los Angeles. In LA, Beth enjoyed performing improv and sketch comedy at such venues as the Groundlings, Improv Olympic West and ACME Comedy Theater. A proud member of SAG/AFTRA, Beth works in film, television and commercials, represented by Collier Talent Agency in Austin, TX, where she is now based.

Suzy Nakamura was born on 2 December 1973 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), Modern Family (2009) and Dead to Me (2019). She was previously married to Harry Hannigan.

Holly Mandel is known for Showtime (2002), Bug (2002) and Show Offs (2019).

Mary Jo Smith is known for One Night at McCool's (2001), Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004) and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999).

Carrie Seim is known for StoryTime for Moms (2013), 7 Deadly Hollywood Sins (2006) and Mr. Tricker's Treat (2011).

Annie is a main company member of the famed Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles, California, where she writes, performs and directs regularly. Her one-act play, 'How To Not Kill Yourself for 30 Days...and the Next 330' directed by Michaela Watkins, is enjoying sold-out runs in LA and NY. Annie is originally from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Patty Wortham is known for Soup of the Day (2006), Closing Escrow (2007) and Walking for the Stars: The Foley Artistry of Nancy Anne Cianci (2007).

Mary Gross was born March 25, 1953 in Chicago, Illinois, to Virginia Ruth and William Oscar Gross. She is often associated with her run on Saturday Night Live (1975), from 1981-85, and other characters she plays on television and film including, Janis Zuckerman in Feds (1988), Annie Herman in Troop Beverly Hills (1989), Ms. Quick in seasons 2, 3, and 4, of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996), Patricia Patterson in season 3 of Disney's That's So Raven (2003), and Leigh Swift in season 4 of Boston Legal (2004).

Rachael Drummond is known for Bombshell (2019), From Scratch (2022) and Unprisoned (2023).

Leigh is the daughter of an Air Force Colonel, and she spent most of her "formative" years overseas: her family moved from Turkey, to the Philippines, to Germany, to Greece, and back to Germany, all before she was 18. She received a B.A. from Princeton University, where she studied Theater and Art History. Leigh has appeared in numerous theatrical productions in New Jersey and Los Angeles, including 3 original sketch comedy shows with the troupe she helped found in 1999, Wrenches & Wenches. In addition to her theatrical and television work, Leigh starred in the independent film, "re: stinky boss", directed by Christopher Leone, in 2001.

Colleen Crabtree is known for I Love You, Man (2009), Opposite Day (2009) and Shuffle (2011). She has been married to Dan Rothenberg since 25 October 2001. They have one child.

Jen Parker is known for Hollywood Saturday Night (2012), ACME Saturday Night (2008) and Dark Reality (2006).

Amy Kidd is known for Must Love Dogs (2005), Arrested Development (2003) and Up All Night (2011).

Johanna was born and raised in upstate New York. She started out as a ballet dancer and trained for over 8 years where she discovered her love of the stage and she decided to switch gears. She received her BFA in acting from Syracuse University, and then moved to New York City where she worked as a model and actress. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Eric Appel.

Michelle Davidson was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Michelle is known for TV roles in "House of Cards" (Netflix) "Halt and Catch Fire" (AMC) and "Boss" (Starz). Her feature film credits include "Lucky," "Last Ounce of Courage" and "Nailbiter."

Michelle co-wrote the thriller "Arbor Demon" with director and frequent collaborator Patrick Rea. The creature-feature, starring Fiona Dourif and Jake Busey, premiered at Fright Fest UK in 2016 and screened at New York Horror Film Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival, Fantasporto in Portugal and Belgium Horror Film Festival.

Michelle wrote, directed and produced the Mid-America Emmy Award winning comedic short film "A Senior Moment,"also recognized with a Celtx Seed Grant. She is also a regional Emmy award-winning writer/producer for the web series "Unreal Housewives of Kansas City."

Nicol Paone was born in New Jersey, USA. She is a writer and director, known for Friendsgiving (2020), This Is 40 (2012) and Funny People (2009).

Naomi Grossman was a 2018 Primetime Emmy nominee for "Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama" for her role in Ctrl Alt Delete. Best known as the first crossover character, the fan-favorite "Pepper" on FX's American Horror Story: Asylum & Freak Show, Naomi also appeared as a new character, the Satanist "Samantha Crowe" in the eighth season, Apocalypse. Naomi made #5 of IMDb's "Top 10 Breakout Stars" after her STARmeter skyrocketed to #1, making her the most searched in its entire 8 million person database. Huffington Post, The Wrap, Screen Rant, and Syfy all ranked Pepper among "The Best AHS Characters Ever;" MTV named her their "#1 Good Guy;" Uproxx, their "#1 Most Tragic;" Geek Insider, a "Top 5 Most Underrated AHS Performer," and Entertainment Weekly called her being cast in the role "The Best of 2012." Fans may also recognize her from cameos in the following feature films: Table for Three, The Chair, 1BR, Sky Sharks, Bite Me, Painkillers, The Lurker, Murder RX, The Portal, Preacher Six, An Accidental Zombie (Named Ted), and Fear, Inc. Naomi graduated in theatre from Northwestern University, and is a former member of the Groundlings Sunday Company.

Stand-up comedian, writer, and actor, Fortune Feimster, is one of the busiest women working today. She first became known as a writer and panelist on E's hit show Chelsea Lately, and then starred as a series regular on The Mindy Project for Hulu and Champions for NBC. She has gone on to have many guest appearances on TV shows including Claws, 2 Broke Girls, Workaholics, Glee, Dear White People, and Tales of the City, as well as recurring roles on Showtime's The L Word: Generation Q and CBS's Life In Pieces.

She's had memorable roles in the movies Office Christmas Party with Jennifer Aniston, Yes Day with Jennifer Garner, and Lionsgate's Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Her voiceover work includes Pixar's Soul, The Simpsons, the Cartoon Network's Summer Camp Island and Craig of the Creek, and a series regular on Fox's Bless the Harts.

When not acting, Fortune tours the world doing stand-up. She most recently released a one-hour special on Netflix called "Sweet & Salty," which was nominated for a Critics Choice Award. She's done late night TV sets on Conan and Late Night with Seth Meyers, and she has half hour specials on Comedy Central and as part of Netflix's season one of The Standups.

As a writer, Fortune spent seven years as a professional entertainment journalist while she pursued comedy. She later created and starred in the Tina Fey produced pilot Family Fortune for ABC. Additionally, Amblin, recently acquired two features Fortune wrote, Bad Cop, Bad Cop and Field Trip, both of which she is attached to star.

Fortune can be seen as a recurring guest star on the NBC sitcom, Kenan. She also co-hosts the series, The Netflix Afterparty, alongside David Spade and London Hughes. She can be heard every morning on Netflix is a Joke's radio show, "What a Joke with Papa and Fortune," on Sirius XM, and she hosts the popular podcast, Sincerely Fortune, which features fan favorites; her wife Jax and her mother Ginger.

Lisa's first professional gig was singing and dancing at the Hyatt Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco for the crowned Prince of Saudia Arabia's son and his 15 body guards. She then landed a 6 month gig at Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, spent another few months singing on an Italian cruise ship, followed by four years on the road with the 50's rock group "Sha Na Na". In 1996, a no name producer at the Hollywood Improv told her she was "too pretty to be funny" so Lisa became a full time stand-up comic and created "Pretty Funny Women," the now, longest running all female comedy show in the world. In addition to writing on "Chelsea Lately" and on game shows and Oxygen's #1 hit "Girls Behaving Badly", she's done hundreds of national commercials and voice-overs, including campaigns for Vons/Safeway, Mattel, Cici's Pizza, Ford, Kraft, and more. You can hear her on Cartoon Network's animated hit, "Robot Chicken" with Seth Green, & narrating "The 50 Best Chick Flicks", "Rise of the Geeks", and "50 Shocking Celebrity Confessions" on E!. Lisa produces live "Pretty Funny Women" shows at The La Jolla Comedy Store & Flappers in Burbank & teaches stand up comedy classes for women in Los Angeles.

Shanna Micko is known for Leaving Bliss (2009), Threshold (2013) and Out of Mind (2013).