Wanda Sykes

Wanda Sykes (born March 7, 1964), also known as Wanda Sykes-Hall or Adriana Bedoya, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and is a graduate of Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.

Sykes is known for her blunt observations on current events, the difference between the sexes and races, and life in general. Much of her humor comes from her delivery, and timing. An example of her humor is her comparison between white-collar corporate thieves and muggers in bad neighborhoods: “You get mugged, you might lose what you got on that DAY. But I ain’t never been mugged of my FUTURE.”

Sykes began her standup career in 1987 when she entered a Washington D.C.-area talent competition. Although she lost, she discovered her passion for comedy. She continued to hone her talents at local venues while working as a procurement officer at the National Security Agency (NSA). In 1992 she left NSA and moved to New York. Her first big break came when she opened for Chris Rock at Caroline’s Comedy Club. In 1997 she joined the writing team on The Chris Rock Show. The writing team was nominated for four Emmys — they won one in 1999. Since that time, she has appeared in such films as Pootie Tang and on TV shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm. In 2003, she starred in her own, short-lived Fox network sitcom, Wanda at Large. The same year, Sykes appeared in an hour-long comedy special, Tongue Untied, that aired on Comedy Central. That network also ranked her #70 on its list of the 100 greatest standups of all time. She has also served as a correspondent for HBO’s Inside the NFL, has hosted Comedy Central’s popular show Premium Blend, and provides the voice for a recurring character named Gladys on Comedy Central’s puppet show Crank Yankers. She had a short-lived show on Comedy Central called “Wanda Does It”, where she takes various careers and tries them out herself. She frequently winds up choosing what career she’ll try out after chewing someone out in an over-the-top fashion who does the particular job.

In addition to film and television work, Sykes is also an author. She wrote Yeah, I Said It, a book of humorous observations on various topics, which was published in September 2004.

2006 was busy year for Sykes. She starred in a recurring role on the sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine. She also provided voices for the 2006 films Over the Hedge, Barnyard and Brother Bear 2. She played a role in My Super Ex-Girlfriend and is currently scheduled to play a part in Evan Almighty, the follow up to Jim Carrey’s hit Bruce Almighty. Sykes’ first HBO Comedy Special, titled “Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired”, premiered at 10:00 PM EST on October 14th, 2006. Sykes also toured college campuses, of which included the liberal arts institution Swarthmore College.

Wanda is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Actress
Evan Almighty (2007)
Clerks II (2006)
My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006)
The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006) (TV)
Brother Bear 2 (2006) (voice)
Barnyard (2006) (voice)
Over the Hedge (2006) (voice)
The Adventures of Brer Rabbit (2006) (voice)
Monster-in-Law (2005)
Wanda Does It (2004) (TV)
Wanda at Large (2003) (TV); also producer
Premium Blend (1997) (TV) …. Host (2002)
Crank Yankers (2002) (TV) (voice)
The Downer Channel (2001) (TV)
Pootie Tang (2001)
Down to Earth (2001)
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)
Best of Chris Rock (1999) (TV)
Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999) (TV)
Tomorrow Night (1999)
The Chris Rock Show (1997) (TV)
The Drew Carey Show (1995) (TV)

[edit] Writer
Wanda at Large (2003) (TV)
The 74th Annual Academy Awards Show (2002) (TV)
Best of Chris Rock: Volume 2 (2001)
The Downer Channel (2001) (TV)
The Chris Rock Show (1997) (TV)
The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show (1997) (TV) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.