Wanda Sykes is an American writer, comedian, actress, and voice artist. She earned the 1999 Emmy Award for her writing on The Chris Rock Show. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America.
Sykes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and raised in the Washington, D.C., area. Her mother, Marion Louise Sykes worked as a banker, and her father, Harry Ellsworth Sykes, was a US Army colonel employed at the Pentagon. Sykes graduated from Hampton University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. After college, her first job was as a contracting specialist at NSA where she worked for five years. Her position as a procurement officer at the National Security Agency didn’t particularly suit her.
As it turned out, Sykes was much better suited for the stage than for government bureaucracy. In 1987, she performed at the Coors Light Super Talent Showcase. She didn’t win the contest but it didn’t really matter; the audience loved her. More importantly, Sykes had found something that she loved. At 28, she was finally on the road to becoming one of the most recognizable comedians of our day—someone who presents the world as she sees it, with intelligence and likeability instead of abrasiveness.
Sykes has starred on several television shows over the past few years. Her Own special “Herlarious” highlighted female comics. Last year she made a return to HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” starring opposite Larry David. In 2010 she starred on her own late night talk show on FOX, “The Wanda Sykes Show.” In October of 2009 her second HBO stand up special “I’mma Be Me” premiered. It was taped at the Warner theatre in Washington DC where she tackled topics like the first black president, gay cruises, being a new mom and aging.
In July 2012 she was heard in the animated feature “Ice Age: Continental Drift” as ‘Granny.’ In 2010 she was heard in the Fox animated feature “Rio” as ‘the Goose.’ Her first HBO comedy special “Wanda Sykes; Sick and Tired” debuted in October 2006 and was nominated for a 2007 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.
She spent 5 years as part of the HBO’s critically acclaimed “Chris Rock Show.” As a performer and writer on the show, she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy’s and in 1999 won the Emmy for “Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special.” In 2001, she won the American Comedy Award for “Outstanding Female Stand Up Comic.”