MEET LEIGHANN
I’ve been a stand-up comedian for 25 years. (Yes, I started when I was 10.) Comedy has literally taken me around the world and back again; from Bagdad to Brooklyn. It has opened the door to being an actor, author, and keynote speaker. I believe that humor makes people happy. Happiness gives us hope and my hope is that if we can laugh together we can live together.
As a second generation American of Caribbean descent, I consider myself lucky (you don’t get to choose your parents). Now retired, my Mom was a pre-school teacher. She stayed home with me until I was four-years old, teaching me how to read, write and use my imagination. My Dad, a king masquerading as a civil servant, was the head of the New York City Fire Department’s print shop (which means I can have incredibly geeky conversations about kerning and fonts). The baby of the family and the only girl, I grew up with a lot of love and laughter, which is where my comedy comes from. I'm not the funniest person in my family; just the one who gets paid for it.
I had a busy childhood: dance classes, girl scout meetings and regular outings to see Broadway and Off Broadway shows, which laid the foundation for my love of theatre and my work as an actor.
A native New Yorker, I was raised in Jamaica, Queens. In high school (St. Francis Preparatory School – Go Terriers!) I was a member of the color guard, marching band and drum corps (of course I thought I was the next Sheila E!). I earned a place in the LEAD Program (Leadership Education and Development) and INROADS. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Baruch College, City University of New York, with a degree in Journalism & Creative Writing. I was accepted into City University’s Creative Writing MFA program but chose instead to pursue a career in Stand-Up Comedy.
Well... I didn't go straight into stand-up. I took a five-year detour into corporate America. I hated it. It was great! There's nothing like having a job you don't want to motivate you to find the career you do.
I love doing stand-up and infusing humor into my keynotes because of the effect it has on people. I love watching them laugh, know and grow. When someone comes up to me after a show or a talk and says, "I really needed that;" when they share a bit of their lives with me – anything from a job loss, to a death in the family or just a plain old bad day; and they say I made them laugh and feel better — that’s good stuff. That’s great stuff! It’s humbling and mutually uplifting. We need that.”
Life is hard. Laugh harder.
I'm a dog lover, believing that life is better with fur in it. I look forward to someday soon being a dog mom again. I'm an avid science fiction fan. Star Wars or Star Trek? Why do we have to choose? It’s all sci-fi big love. Live Long & Prosper!
As a second generation American of Caribbean descent, I consider myself lucky (you don’t get to choose your parents). Now retired, my Mom was a pre-school teacher. She stayed home with me until I was four-years old, teaching me how to read, write and use my imagination. My Dad, a king masquerading as a civil servant, was the head of the New York City Fire Department’s print shop (which means I can have incredibly geeky conversations about kerning and fonts). The baby of the family and the only girl, I grew up with a lot of love and laughter, which is where my comedy comes from. I'm not the funniest person in my family; just the one who gets paid for it.
I had a busy childhood: dance classes, girl scout meetings and regular outings to see Broadway and Off Broadway shows, which laid the foundation for my love of theatre and my work as an actor.
A native New Yorker, I was raised in Jamaica, Queens. In high school (St. Francis Preparatory School – Go Terriers!) I was a member of the color guard, marching band and drum corps (of course I thought I was the next Sheila E!). I earned a place in the LEAD Program (Leadership Education and Development) and INROADS. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Baruch College, City University of New York, with a degree in Journalism & Creative Writing. I was accepted into City University’s Creative Writing MFA program but chose instead to pursue a career in Stand-Up Comedy.
Well... I didn't go straight into stand-up. I took a five-year detour into corporate America. I hated it. It was great! There's nothing like having a job you don't want to motivate you to find the career you do.
I love doing stand-up and infusing humor into my keynotes because of the effect it has on people. I love watching them laugh, know and grow. When someone comes up to me after a show or a talk and says, "I really needed that;" when they share a bit of their lives with me – anything from a job loss, to a death in the family or just a plain old bad day; and they say I made them laugh and feel better — that’s good stuff. That’s great stuff! It’s humbling and mutually uplifting. We need that.”
Life is hard. Laugh harder.
I'm a dog lover, believing that life is better with fur in it. I look forward to someday soon being a dog mom again. I'm an avid science fiction fan. Star Wars or Star Trek? Why do we have to choose? It’s all sci-fi big love. Live Long & Prosper!
10 Fun Facts About Me (In No Particular Order)
- My Favorite Golden Girl is Dorothy (And yes, I’ve been to the Golden Girls Café in New York City. It’s official name is Rue La Rue.)
- I’m a serious Science Fiction fan and have been to Dragon Con three times. (What’s Dragon Con? It’s Comic Con with dragons.)
- I have a black belt in mixed martial arts (kickboxing and submission grappling). It’s way rusty but I earned it.
- If given the opportunity I’m sure the Hogwarts sorting hat would put me in Ravenclaw.
- I was a member of my high school marching band and a member of the drum corps. I started on the base drum and moved up to the snare line. (That one time in band camp… Another fun sub-fact: I've never seen American Pie.)
- The quirkiest thing I do? I’m super organized so I fold my underwear, safety pin my socks and label my clear, Container Store shoe boxes according to color, heel height and season. Doesn’t everybody?
- My favorite sci-fi movie is T 2, followed closely by Serenity.
- On a scale from one to 10, how much of a nerd am I? 42.
- I still sleep with a Teddy Bear. His name is Bear.
- I’m not religious. I’d like to describe myself as a Humanist but human beings are a hard species to love, so … I guess that makes me a Dogist. (Life is better with fur in it. You too, cat people.)
LEIGHANN LORD'S LONG BIO | "Comedy, this is class. Class, this is comedy."
LEIGHANN LORD ON STAGE AT THE APOLLO
AWARD WINNING
Smart, sexy, savvy, and funny, Leighann Lord’s “heads up humor” is stand-up comedy at its finest. Inspired by the brilliance of George Carlin, the smooth jazz style of Franklyn Ajaye, and the elegance of Rita Rudner, Leighann has crafted her own unique brand of Thinking Cap Comedy. It’s no wonder she received the NYC Black Comedy Award for “The Most Thought Provoking Black Female Comic.” And for two consecutive years, Leighann was Harlem Week’s official comedian. (The only other comedian in Harlem Week’s history to earn that distinction was Richard Pryor.)
WORLD TRAVELED
Leighann has performed around the world. In London she appeared at The Comedy Store, and on the BBC show Blouse and Skirt (think Politically Incorrect meets BET). In The Netherlands, she was a guest on the popular late night talk show Raymann is Late! and The Comedy Factory. A festival favorite, Leighann has been featured in the Trinidad, Montreal, Winnipeg, Halifax, Boston, Detroit and NYC Underground Comedy Festivals. She also entertained U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia during Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as troops helping the Haitian earthquake relief effort (Operation Unified Response).
MORE THAN STAND-UP
As a comedic commentator Leighann has pulled pundit duty on VH1, Fox News, and MSNBC giving her informed and funny take on politics, world news and current events. Her popular weekly humor blog, The Urban Erma, is the longest running featured column on StageTimeMag.com and is available as a free podcast on iTunes. Leighann has also contributed various blogs on online magazines including FoxNew.com’s Team Washington, The Huffington Post, and she wrote for the pilot of The Chris Rock Show.
AUTHOR
Leighann is the author of several books including Dict Jokes: Alternate Definitions for Words You’ve Probably Never Heard of But Will Definitely Never Forget, Volume One, which was nominated for a Wheatley Award. Dict Jokes, Volume Two, is also available on Amazon Kindle. She is most proud of her latest book is Real Women Do It Standing Up For giggles she also penned Leighann Lord's Big Book of Book Titles: When You Don't Have Time to Read a Whole F**king Book. You might also enjoy her essay collections The Great Spanx Experiment, I Wish Facebook Had a Hate Button, and Happy Black Men.
SPEAKER
With a beautiful blend of grace, charm, humor and intellect Leighann Lord has become one of the hottest public speakers working today. One of her most popular topics is Parenting Your Parents: Six Caregiver Survival Tips; When Your Empty Nest Smells Like Bengay And Mothballs. Leighann is the creator of the podcast, People with Parents, where she talks about navigating the role-reversal between adult children and their parents.Her careers as an actress (Radioland Murders), stand-up comedian (HBO, Comedy Central, AspireTV), radio and TV co-host (StarTalk with Neil de Grasse Tyson) and author have made her a intuitive and engaging speaker who leaves her audiences enlightened and entertained.
Her careers as an actress (Radioland Murders), stand-up comedian (HBO, Comedy Central, AspireTV), radio and TV co-host (StarTalk with Neil de Grasse Tyson) and author have made her a intuitive and engaging speaker who leaves her audiences enlightened and entertained.
FUNNY FREETHINKER
Leighann was the NYC face of the African Americans for Humanism Outreach Campaign sponsored by the Center For Inquiry. She was featured in The Atheist Book: A Better Life by Chris Johnson and is a contributor to Laughing Liberally: Letters to the American Voter. (The ebook is available on Amazon.) Leighann can be heard on StarTalk Radio with Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson.
COMING TO THE STAGE
Leighann’s stand-up is frequently heard on XM-Sirius Satellite Radio and appeared on many stand-up comedy shows including Girls Night Out (Lifetime), The Original Def Comedy All Star Jam (HBO), Premium Blend (Comedy Central), The World Stands Up (Comedy Central), Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, VH1's 40 Most Shocking Celebrity Hair Moments, The View (ABC), Comic Quickies (SiTV), HA! Comedy (Gospel Music Channel) and We Got Next! (ASPIRE TV). Named one of New York’s 10 Hot Comics by Improper Magazine her web site, VeryFunnyLady.com, says it all!
Smart, sexy, savvy, and funny, Leighann Lord’s “heads up humor” is stand-up comedy at its finest. Inspired by the brilliance of George Carlin, the smooth jazz style of Franklyn Ajaye, and the elegance of Rita Rudner, Leighann has crafted her own unique brand of Thinking Cap Comedy. It’s no wonder she received the NYC Black Comedy Award for “The Most Thought Provoking Black Female Comic.” And for two consecutive years, Leighann was Harlem Week’s official comedian. (The only other comedian in Harlem Week’s history to earn that distinction was Richard Pryor.)
WORLD TRAVELED
Leighann has performed around the world. In London she appeared at The Comedy Store, and on the BBC show Blouse and Skirt (think Politically Incorrect meets BET). In The Netherlands, she was a guest on the popular late night talk show Raymann is Late! and The Comedy Factory. A festival favorite, Leighann has been featured in the Trinidad, Montreal, Winnipeg, Halifax, Boston, Detroit and NYC Underground Comedy Festivals. She also entertained U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia during Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as troops helping the Haitian earthquake relief effort (Operation Unified Response).
MORE THAN STAND-UP
As a comedic commentator Leighann has pulled pundit duty on VH1, Fox News, and MSNBC giving her informed and funny take on politics, world news and current events. Her popular weekly humor blog, The Urban Erma, is the longest running featured column on StageTimeMag.com and is available as a free podcast on iTunes. Leighann has also contributed various blogs on online magazines including FoxNew.com’s Team Washington, The Huffington Post, and she wrote for the pilot of The Chris Rock Show.
AUTHOR
Leighann is the author of several books including Dict Jokes: Alternate Definitions for Words You’ve Probably Never Heard of But Will Definitely Never Forget, Volume One, which was nominated for a Wheatley Award. Dict Jokes, Volume Two, is also available on Amazon Kindle. She is most proud of her latest book is Real Women Do It Standing Up For giggles she also penned Leighann Lord's Big Book of Book Titles: When You Don't Have Time to Read a Whole F**king Book. You might also enjoy her essay collections The Great Spanx Experiment, I Wish Facebook Had a Hate Button, and Happy Black Men.
SPEAKER
With a beautiful blend of grace, charm, humor and intellect Leighann Lord has become one of the hottest public speakers working today. One of her most popular topics is Parenting Your Parents: Six Caregiver Survival Tips; When Your Empty Nest Smells Like Bengay And Mothballs. Leighann is the creator of the podcast, People with Parents, where she talks about navigating the role-reversal between adult children and their parents.Her careers as an actress (Radioland Murders), stand-up comedian (HBO, Comedy Central, AspireTV), radio and TV co-host (StarTalk with Neil de Grasse Tyson) and author have made her a intuitive and engaging speaker who leaves her audiences enlightened and entertained.
Her careers as an actress (Radioland Murders), stand-up comedian (HBO, Comedy Central, AspireTV), radio and TV co-host (StarTalk with Neil de Grasse Tyson) and author have made her a intuitive and engaging speaker who leaves her audiences enlightened and entertained.
FUNNY FREETHINKER
Leighann was the NYC face of the African Americans for Humanism Outreach Campaign sponsored by the Center For Inquiry. She was featured in The Atheist Book: A Better Life by Chris Johnson and is a contributor to Laughing Liberally: Letters to the American Voter. (The ebook is available on Amazon.) Leighann can be heard on StarTalk Radio with Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson.
COMING TO THE STAGE
Leighann’s stand-up is frequently heard on XM-Sirius Satellite Radio and appeared on many stand-up comedy shows including Girls Night Out (Lifetime), The Original Def Comedy All Star Jam (HBO), Premium Blend (Comedy Central), The World Stands Up (Comedy Central), Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, VH1's 40 Most Shocking Celebrity Hair Moments, The View (ABC), Comic Quickies (SiTV), HA! Comedy (Gospel Music Channel) and We Got Next! (ASPIRE TV). Named one of New York’s 10 Hot Comics by Improper Magazine her web site, VeryFunnyLady.com, says it all!
LEIGHANN LORD'S SHORT SPEAKER BIO
Since 2011, Leighann has done humorous and motivational keynote speeches for women’s organizations, businesses, associations, foundations, colleges, universities and civic groups.
Leighann is the author of Dict Jokes: Alternate Definitions for Words You’ve Probably Never Heard of But Will Definitely Never Forget, Volumes 1 & 2. Readers have said, “If you like words, this is a funny book!” and “Leighann Lord's comedy is as smart as it is funny, and this book is a great representation of that. It's worth much more than the cost!” Leighann’s latest book, Real Women Do It Standing Up: Stories From the Career of a Very Funny Lady, has been called “Witty and unexpectedly vulnerable. Guaranteed laughs and wistful smiles. Perfection.”
She is the creator of the blog and podcast, People with Parents, where she writes and talks about suddenly being the caretaker of two elderly parents, which is severely cutting into her regularly scheduled midlife crisis.
Leighann has been seen on ABC, AspireTV, BBC, CBC, Comedy Comedy, Gospel Music Channel, HBO, Lifetime TV, NBC, SiTV and VH1. She has been a co-host on NiteShift (WBAI Radio, NYC) and the Emmy-nominated StarTalk (Radio & NatGeo) with astrophysicist, Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson.
Leighann has been featured in numerous media outlets including Time Out New York, The New York Daily News and Mel Watkins’ book On the Real Side: A History of African-American Comedy. She received the NYC Black Comedy Award for “The Most Thought Provoking Black Female Comic.” Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., named her one of the Northeast Region’s Significant Seven for her contribution in the field of entertainment. And for two consecutive years, Leighann was Harlem Week’s official comedian. (The only other comedian in Harlem Week’s history to earn that distinction was Richard Pryor.)
Leighann is the author of Dict Jokes: Alternate Definitions for Words You’ve Probably Never Heard of But Will Definitely Never Forget, Volumes 1 & 2. Readers have said, “If you like words, this is a funny book!” and “Leighann Lord's comedy is as smart as it is funny, and this book is a great representation of that. It's worth much more than the cost!” Leighann’s latest book, Real Women Do It Standing Up: Stories From the Career of a Very Funny Lady, has been called “Witty and unexpectedly vulnerable. Guaranteed laughs and wistful smiles. Perfection.”
She is the creator of the blog and podcast, People with Parents, where she writes and talks about suddenly being the caretaker of two elderly parents, which is severely cutting into her regularly scheduled midlife crisis.
Leighann has been seen on ABC, AspireTV, BBC, CBC, Comedy Comedy, Gospel Music Channel, HBO, Lifetime TV, NBC, SiTV and VH1. She has been a co-host on NiteShift (WBAI Radio, NYC) and the Emmy-nominated StarTalk (Radio & NatGeo) with astrophysicist, Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson.
Leighann has been featured in numerous media outlets including Time Out New York, The New York Daily News and Mel Watkins’ book On the Real Side: A History of African-American Comedy. She received the NYC Black Comedy Award for “The Most Thought Provoking Black Female Comic.” Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., named her one of the Northeast Region’s Significant Seven for her contribution in the field of entertainment. And for two consecutive years, Leighann was Harlem Week’s official comedian. (The only other comedian in Harlem Week’s history to earn that distinction was Richard Pryor.)
