While Nikki Finke, Editor in Chief of Deadline Hollywood, was watching the Emmys’, she wrote:
“Beautiful actresses are not funny. They don’t know how to do comedy…Only women who grew up ugly and stayed ugly, or through plastic surgery became beautiful, can pull off sitcoms or standups. Bowen isn’t a comedienne just like Brooke Shields wasn’t and a zillion more. Because it’s all about emotional pain and humiliation and rising above both by making people laugh with you instead of at you. So stop casting beautiful actresses when you should be giving ugly women a chance.”
It reminded me of an article I read in Vanity Fair by the late Christopher Hitchens. He explained that attractive women don’t need to be funny to get attention from men, that women in general aren’t childish (crude) enough to be funny and that the rare female comedians who are funny are normally “hefty or dykey or jewish” (oh my).
There are other opinions out there suggesting women in general aren’t funny.
So, can attractive women be funny? Can women in general be funny people?
Nope. You’re right, Nikki Finke and ghost of Christopher Hitchens (who quoted the 1911 poem “The Female of the Species” by Rudyard Kipling, which says women deal with the seriousness of motherhood and have no time for jest). I guess we can all agree because we all have the same views on what it means to be “beautiful” and/or “funny,” despite the variety of both female characteristics and types of humor that exist.
I really just can’t think of any funny, pretty women on TV and my lovely lady friends/the beautiful female bloggers are certainly all dull.
And yikes, Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Tina Fey never get me to even crack a smile:
Photo by Annie Leibowitz, Vanity Fair
Anyway, I’m off to make some sort of stew and have a baby or something. If readers have any examples of funny, attractive women, please share.
No? You don’t? Didn’t think so.
This is brilliant ……..
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Thank you, doll face!
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You are a smart and beautiful cookie, You 🙂
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and black men can’t read…and gay men can’t play sports…and gay women all look like boys…and asians can’t drive…and the irish are always drunk…and the polish are stupid… etc, etc. i don’t know why this “argument/ debate/ nonsense” still continues. it’s ridiculous, really. and if you don’t know a funny woman (whoever you are out there) then chances are, it’s YOU who aren’t funny. nice piece tho. xoxox, sm (a funny lez, but a kind of cute one too. i guess on the days i’m cuter, i’m less funny. sigh.)
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Exactly. And hey, stop being so cute so I will love your blog even more. 😉
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looooool.
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Duh!!! You are so funny, and duh…attractive too. So there you have the answer!! 🙂
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Oh stop, thank you.
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Have you ever seen the show “Coupling”? The British version, not the horrific and unfunny American remake that lasted three episodes. The women on there are hi-LAR-ious and gorgeous. Seriously, in addition to all the funny ladies you talked about, I can think of tons of women who are funny and beautiful. Maybe comedy does come out of pain, but why should women only be subject to pain based on their looks? Lots of beautiful women have experienced lots of pain, because of all sorts of things — maybe even because they’re always judged based on their looks. And you know what? I thought Brooke Shields was actually pretty funny. And Julie Bowen is unfunny? Has this guy even seen Modern Family? What a fucktard.
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I really want to hang out with you.
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Because all three women that were on Friends certainly weren’t attractive. And, that show wasn’t funny at all….They never made names for themselves and haven’t gone on to do other funny movies and whatnot.
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Ugh I know, terrible show.
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Ack! Typecasting, much? Reese Witherspoon, Christina Applegate, Courtney Cox… And a lot of folks in Hollywood are Jewish, so I don’t even know where to go with that. Yikes. It is 2012, right?
I do think people with rocky pasts gravitate toward dark humor as a survival mechanism. So I guess that part is right.
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I agree, and I think humor is good for a rocky past. Christina Applegate is a hoot. Good one!
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Joan Rivers
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Oh, Joan.
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Sandra Bullock
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Lucille Ball was super hot on I Love Lucy. What about Marilyn Monroe or Judy Holliday?
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Ooooh yeah, guess we forgot about those broads.
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Julia Roberts….a fav or mine…
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She’s awesome, that’s a great one!
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yes she is!
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Along with you, more cool examples: the women from Parks and Recreation and from Bridesmaids, Sarah Silverman, Kristen Schaal, Janeane Garofalo, Garfunkel and Oates, Lizzy Caplan, , Zooey Deschanel, Elizabeth Banks, Maria Bamford (and there’s probably a lot more that I’m forgetting at the moment)
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See, I knew no one would have examples for this. (I love Zooey and Elizabeth Banks and Garfunkel and Oates–forgot about those two gals…all good choices!).
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Emma Stone and Jane Lynch too. (your blog post was very unusually nice enough to make me forget to log in so i impusifyingly posted as Anonymous. correcting that now though as zf)
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I adore Emma Stone! (no worries, it happens to me all the time).
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I agree with Christopher hitchens inasfar as that attractive women need not be funny. But, that cannot be extrapolated to mean that they actually aren’t. We need to weed out these stone-age perceptions to call ourselves a progressive society.
Nicely done!
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Agreed! And thank you. I was pleased to see you updated your blog. 🙂
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La La,
Stereotypes. Sad ones, too.
Sarah Silverman. Thank you.
Even better: The Ringmistress. Thank you.
Le Clown
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Those Sarahs are fine, funny gals indeed.
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I heart you forever with my boobs and other lady bits….LIKE MY BRAIN.
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Minus an “h” for this Sara, of course. And brains? We have those?
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Nikki Finke sounds like a bitter, twisted moron. And I never took my views on life from Christopher Hitchens, because I think he was an idiot.
So in addition to all the attractive women you named who aren’t funny, I would also add Carole Lombard and Myrna Loy—two old-school Hollywood actresses who were SO not funny. Nope.
I’m funny, but I have boils all over my face, a hump on my back, and a beard. So I guess that’s okay.
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Hmm, I can help you with those boils, but as for the hump and the beard, you’re on your own.
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You’re a kind soul, Carrie. But you’re pretty, so it’s too bad you aren’t funny.
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I guess I have JC Penney’s portrait studio to thank for that illusion…
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See, I sensed that you have a lady beard and boils, but I didn’t want to ask. That explains why you are so funny!
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Isn’t that a crazy stereotype? Sophia Vergara makes me laugh out loud every week, and I doubt anyone would say that woman isn’t gorgeous. And what about Christina Applegate? Talk about great comedic timing.
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She’s a total babe, and hilarious, too!
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Great post and observation. I think beautiful funny women are the best. I’m not a big Julie Bowen fan but that doesn’t mean she isn’t funny. I thought Brooke Shields was really funny in Suddenly Susan and I was bummed when that went off the air. I’m going to go way back here but Carole Lombard was hilarious in My Man Godfrey. Justine Bateman in Family Ties. Kirstie Alley. Portia de Rossi, maybe she can be funny b/c she is gay for that hideously ugly and not funny woman Ellen Degeneres, who just got the Mark Twain Award for American humor, probably b/c she is so ugly she has to wear a bag over her head.
Gahhhh! For pete’s sake.
Well done LaLa!
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Thank you. Ellen won an award? I wonder if they know she’s a woman. Maybe not, because women aren’t funny.
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Ellen won a huge award but she does have really short hair.
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Y’see, men are SUPPOSED to be sexy and funny. Us ladies, we can only handle one major responsibility at a time. Which is why I haven’t blinked since I started typing this. No multi-tasking, thanks. So being pretty OR funny OR a mom OR a secretary….but not two at the same time. And if you were to try and combine three or four, I’m certain that there would be a rift in the space time continuum and we’d all be ruled by evil sponge lords. SO really, no responsible woman would try to do more than one thing.
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Hahaha, I would like to take this comment home with me and hug it a lot and make it my multitasking boyfriend.
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Yes. One major responsibility at a time. I for one, don’t even drink beverages with my food anymore. It’s just too much burden.
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Lisa Lampanelli, wait, she’s not cute.
Carrot Top, wait, that’s a guy.
Sarah Silverman is funny and she’s cute.
Women are damn funny, regardless the looks.
I gotta leave the office but I’ll complete the comment later on.
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Yay! And boo Carrot Top!
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omg…don’t even get me started…don’t get me started. This is often up for debate..if pretty chicks are funny. Funny is funny y’all…and if the tits are real, its just a plus. LOVE THE PIC OF SNL BEST OF THE BEST. (It is now my screen saver.) You are awesome. Now go make your baby stew…
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Baby stewing, haha. Thank you! Glad we found each other!
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Me too!!!
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I stopped going to the gym and wearing make-up so people would think my blog is funnier. You should try it. You are not at an equal ugly to funny ratio.
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You mean I don’t have to work out….interesting….you should come over and we can eat stuff.
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You’re on. We are going to be the Medusa queens of comedy.
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I actually prefer a good female comic. There is something about a raunchy intelligent sexy woman that brings it all together for me.
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Raunchy or not, ladies can be funny it seems 🙂
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Freshly pressed! Freshly pressed! Come on chant with me!
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Silly! xoxo
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Someone’s already mentioned her, but I think she deserves another mention – Christian Applegate. Funny and cute. Nikki Finke – don’t know who she is, don’t care – she sounds like a jealous bitch.
But, you know, it’s great to take the pressure off. Tomorrow I’m ditching the diet, am going to wear only sweats from now on and avoid any kind of personal hygiene. I don’t need to do that anymore because hey I’m funny!
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Hells yeah. She really is a great, funny lady. Feel free to come over and eat ice cream with Becca and I!
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Good call!! Christina Applegate is super funny and beautiful…and she was funny as a teen and only got funnier!!
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Here’s Christina Pazsitzky and Tammy Pescatelli…Two very attractive, very funny laddies.
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also: Carrie Brownstein and Wanda Sykes.
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I dont think anyone mentioned Ali Wentworth. I think she is hysterical.
–
Hey La La, I would like to email you, is there a way to do that that I cant figure out?
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Hi Kathleen, I emailed you!
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Wow! A million comments before I got over here, and all of the beautiful, funny women who crossed my mind have already been mentioned. So, I’m just popping in to say hello to a beautiful, funny woman! 🙂
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Interesting. Yeah it seems like you get to pick 1 to shine with. Looks or brains. There is Zoe Deshanel or however you spell it, but she’s quirky ditzy too. Hmmm. Hollywood you dick.
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If you don’t think Tina Fey is funny, you don’t know what funny is! She’s kinda the perfect woman, actually.
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Agreed. I’d love to be friends with her.
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There are lots of South Korean actresses that are funny and beautiful. Kim Haneul (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Ha-neul), Lee Nayoung (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Na-young), etc. They’re just in movies though, not stand-up.
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The fact there are so many more male comedians has always bothered me. Do you think it’s because males don’t want to laugh at women because then they are under their control? Stinkin’ aloha males…
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Wait, I meant alpha males!!
Although aloha males sound like jerks too.
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Haha You just made this date I’m having with Downton Abbey well worthwhile.
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😀
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This is great, La La! I like your thinking.
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Instead of listing any of the fifty million gorgeous funny famous and non-famous ladies I know of, I’m just going to chime in with: agreed.
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That editor needs to stop sippin’ on her Haterade. I think it’s such a bad thing for someone to say, especially another woman. It makes women feel like they have to choose to be one of two things: dull and pretty or ugly and funny. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I’ve met more women in my life who have caused me to think, “Oh, sure. Be funny and pretty and cool and smart and nice. Make it harder on the rest of us.”
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I concur. When I feel that way I’m like wow…girlfriend is put together!
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Maybe we can say it this way. There are more funny unattractive women than funny attractive women.
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Thanks for your opinion. Any thoughts on why?
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The answer, of course, is YES! You’re beautiful AND funny….
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Reblogged this on Christopher De Voss and commented:
Happy reblog Thanksgiving Thursday! I figure you will read plenty of posts about being thankful, and turkey, and relatives who are turkeys…so I thought I would share a post that should have been freshly pressed instead. Enjoy! (It’s not too late fresh pressed people!)
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How did I miss that?
Hitchens is my absolute love. A forbidden one, too, especially for a Catholic girl. Well, that would also make me a necrophile now. Anyway.
I think there is a lot of truth to his words. As much as it pains me to say it, women are just *not* as funny as men. It hurts. Oh well…
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