When life gets unbearable, comedians like Lisa Lampanelli have proven to be the voice of escape we need from the misery of living. The actress recently announced her retirement to the disappointment of many. Here is a look at the life and career of the American comedian cum actress.
Lisa Lampanelli Bio
Lisa Lampanelli retired as a larger than life personality who was never afraid to make anyone the butt of her jokes. She also retired as a rich comedian but that wasn’t always the reality of Lisa Lampanelli. She was born to a middle-class family in Trumbull, Connecticut on July 19, 1961, as one of the three siblings of the family. America is known as the land of immigrants, this is a fact that is expressed in the origins of Lisa whose grandparents are of Italian and Polish descent.
A formal career was the initial path for Lisa Lampanelli who attended Roman Catholic schools and studied at Boston College and Syracuse University, majoring in journalism. She completed the acquisition of her journalism academic credentials at Harvard for the Radcliffe Publishing Course. Before she abandoned the pen for the microphone, Lisa Lampanelli worked at Popular Mechanics, Rolling Stone, Hit Parader, and Spy magazine.
Career Achievements
As for the reflective reason that prompted a change in career for Lisa, she has never actually said what it was but she regularly claims her desire to get paid to insult and make racial slurs was a motivation for the switch. Whatever her true motivation was, it took root in the early 90s, when she began to appear on stages in New York as a stand-up comedian. Known for her insult comedy, she had her big break in the roast of Chevy Chase at the New York Friars’ Club.
As a somewhat roast master, Lisa Lampanelli has been on the panel for the roast of personalities like Pamela Anderson, Denis Leary, Flavor Flav, William Shatner, Donald Trump, and David Hasselhoff. She was also a regular feature on The Howard Stern Show, featuring on the roasting of Artie Lange, Andy Dick, and a couple others.
Her first special, Take It Like A Man was released in 2005. She followed it up with another special, Dirty Girl which was released in 2006. Other specials include Lisa Lampanelli: Long Live the Queen, and Tough Love.
Lisa has had appearances in films like Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, Delta Farce, Drillbit Taylor and a cameo appearance in So NoTORIous.
She earned a nomination for her comedy album, Back to the Drawing Board as Best Comedy Album for the 2016 Grammy Awards.
She has appeared on The Celebrity Apprentice which she used to raise $130,000 for Gay Men’s Health Crisis. She has also released a memoir, Chocolate, Please: My Adventures in Food, Fat, and Freaks. The book was released in 2009.
On the show where she frequently appeared throughout her career, The Howard Stern Show, she announced her retirement from stand up comedy on October 30, 2018.
On the whole, Lisa Lampanelli has had an amazingly successful career with several highlights. One of them includes a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album. Another thing that is definitely worth celebrating is the fact that she was on television in various capacities for over 25 years.
Her Net Worth
Lisa has been able to build a substantial net worth for herself through comedy. She is considered to be worth a total of $4.5 million. Her successful stand-up career, along with a published book and other investments are believed to be the source of her wealth.
Lisa Lampanelli’s Family
If you define the success of a marriage by its length, then one could say that Lisa hasn’t been as successful in her marital life as she has in her career. She has been married twice with both marriages ending in divorce. First to James Stock and then to Jimmy Cannizzaro. She is currently believed to be single.
Her Weight Loss Journey
Lisa has been struggling with body weight and excess fat. Her struggle with obesity became a form of identity as she regularly made jokes about her weight during her routines. In 2012, Lisa gave up the identity by going under the knife for gastric sleeve surgery. With a combination of exercise and dieting, she has been able to maintain a healthy body size since.