Born in Livingston, New Jersey, to a Jewish father and Mormon mother, Chelsea Handler is the youngest of six children…all good material for a career in comedy. Not only was this disappointing on many levels, but she was also born just five and a half years after her sister Shoshanna burst onto the scene and had since embraced and relished in being the youngest of the Handler clan. Shoshanna was pissed that her parents had failed to use birth control and didn't know why her mother Rita didn't exercise her right to choose.
In July 2007 Chelsea broke into the world of male-dominated late-night talk shows with her E! Entertainment series, “Chelsea Lately,” airing weeknights at 11:00 p.m. Consistently the highest-rated program on E!, “Chelsea Lately” has been picked up through 2012, providing Chelsea with the perfect showcase for what she does best: comment on pop culture and entertainment news while interacting with the public. The daily program offers a tongue-in-cheek look at entertainment news, celebrity truths and rumors that just won't die, and other hot topics of the day. Bringing refreshing new energy to the late night arena, “Chelsea Lately” is an authentic and hilarious commentary on the celebrity culture around us.
As one of the nation’s fastest-rising female stand-ups, Chelsea has performed to sold out -out audiences at venues and festivals everywhere most recently, the prestigious Carnegie Hall. Her comedy intermixes fearless honesty, ironic riffs and self-deprecations with no shortage of material. In March 2007 her first half-hour stand-up special, airing on Comedy Central, was a ratings hit. She regularly appears on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” has co-hosted “The View,” was profiled on “Nightline,” and has appeared on the “Today” show and “Late Night with David Letterman.”
Chelsea has been recently featured in the New York Times, Cosmopolitan, W, People and is a special guest columnist for The Los Angeles Times Magazine. Vanity Fair proclaimed her one of the “Queens of Comedy” and she was recently named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the top 10 “Breakout Stars of 2008.”
For all of its four seasons, Chelsea was the star of Oxygen’s “Girls Behaving Badly” which is now syndicated in over 90 markets. She also starred on E! in “The Chelsea Handler Show.” In 2007 – 2008, Chelsea starred with Jenny McCarthy and Leah Remini in the hugely popular MSN online web series “In The Motherhood.”
Chelsea’s first book, entitled “My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands,” published by Bloomsbury, was released in the U.S. and over twenty other countries, and is currently on its 48th week on the New York Times Best Seller list. It has become a bestseller on several lists. Her follow-up book, entitled “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea,” published by Simon Spotlight, came out on April 22, 2008 and debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Since it debut at #1 it has remained on the list for 58 weeks. Her third book, "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang" will be released by Grand Central Publishing on March 9th 2010.
In March 2009, Chelsea was honored the prestigious Ally for Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign, recognizing the outstanding efforts of those who dedicate time, energy, spirit and whole-hearted commitment to better the lives of LGBT people. Chelsea and business partner Tom Brunelle are proud owners of the newly formed Borderline Amazing Productions & Borderline Amazing Comedy. For more information visit www.chelseahandler.com.
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