JOAN RIVERS is a force of nature and one of the hardest-working celebrities in the world. An entertainment legend of unparalleled accomplishment and talent, she’s an in
JOAN RIVERS is a force of nature and one of the hardest-working celebrities in the world. An entertainment legend of unparalleled accomplishment and talent, she’s an internationally renowned comedienne, Tony-nominated actress, best-selling author, Emmy Award-winning television talk show host, playwright, screenwriter, motion picture director, columnist, lecturer, syndicated radio host, jewelry designer and cosmetic company entrepreneur, red carpet fashion laureate, businesswoman — and most importantly, a proud mother and grandmother.
Joan has enjoyed an illustrious career spanning more than four decades in the entertainment industry and beyond, and as her recent accomplishments reveal, she’s as robust and hard-working as ever. In 2009, she starred in NBC’s hit reality series The Celebrity Apprentice with her daughter Melissa, emerging as the Season Two winner. She also celebrated the publication of two critically acclaimed, best-selling books: Men Are Stupid and They Like Big Boobs: A Woman’s Guide to Beauty Through Plastic Surgery and Murder at the Academy Awards: A Red Carpet Murder Mystery, both published by Simon & Schuster. She received a Daytime Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Bubbe in PBS’ award-winning animated children’s series Arthur, gave life to the character, Dot Matrix in the animated series, Spaceballs, played an eccentric aunt in two seasons of IFC’s popular mockumentary series Z Rock, and wowed audiences at The Underbelly in London with her comedy show Unplugged and Uncensored.
Joan Rivers is a true pioneer: she created her own brand of irreverent, unconventional comedy and forged her remarkable rise to stardom in the entertainment world. Enduring humiliation and deprivation for nearly a decade playing tawdry clubs, Borscht Belt hotels, and Greenwich Village cabarets (“I was insanely persistent,” she says.), her career skyrocketed in 1968 when she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Within three years she was hosting That Show With Joan Rivers, one of the first syndicated daytime shows. She soon made television history as the first sole guest host of The Tonight Show.
A pre-eminent connoisseur of fine art, antiques, and vintage jewelry, Joan keeps her finger on the pulse of all the latest trends and is widely considered America’s most visible, accessible, and authoritative fashion spokesperson. Her firm belief that when women look their best they can be their best was the inspiration for Joan Rivers Beauty, a continually expanding line of products that was launched on QVC in 2000. It encompasses Absolutely Magic skincare, color cosmetics, and her signature fragrance, Now & Forever.
While continuing to headline at prestigious concert venues worldwide, Joan is always working on new projects. In April 2002, she brought her critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Festival one-woman show, Broke and Alone, to London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket, where she received rave reviews and the theatre’s first standing ovation in fourteen years. The show enjoyed equally enthusiastic critical and audience response at the State Theatres in Sydney and Melbourne. Subsequent performances, including two one-week runs at the Canon Theatre in Los Angeles, all garnered “hottest ticket in town” status.
By 2003, Joan was once again dazzling audiences as a headliner in Las Vegas. In October of 2004, she returned to the U.K. for her first national concert tour. The Glasgow International Comedy Festival followed in March of 2005, but the U.K. was clamoring for more, so she returned to England for her second major tour in two years. In the spring of 2006, the greatly sought-after comedienne returned to Australia for sold-out shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Canberra.
From her signature question “Can we talk?” (a Federal trademark) to her red-carpet mantra “Who are you wearing?”, the woman who asks the questions gets the answers America — and the world — wants to hear.
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