Wanda Sykes
Wanda Sykes has been called “one of the funniest stand up comics” by her peers and ranks among Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Funniest People in America.
Comic, producer, writer, stunt double, wife, mother, and know-it-all.
Wanda Sykes is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on The Chris Rock Show, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America. She is also known for her recurring roles on CBS’ The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–10), and HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm (2001–). She received Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series nominations for her roles in ABC’s Black-ish (2015–2022), and Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2020). She currently stars in the Netflix original series The Upshaws (2021–), the HBO Max comedy series The Other Two (2019–2023), and The Good Fight (2021).
Wanda Sykes was born in Virginia. Her family moved to Maryland when she was in the third grade. Sykes’ family history was researched for an episode of the 2012 PBS genealogy program ‘Finding Your Roots’ with Henry Louis Gates Jr. Her ancestry was traced back to a 1683 court case involving her ancestor, Elizabeth Banks, a free white woman and indentured servant, who gave birth to a biracial child, Mary Banks, fathered by a slave, who inherited her mother’s free status. According to historian Ira Berlin, a specialist in the history of American slavery, the Sykes family history is, “the only such case that I know of in which it is possible to trace a black family rooted in freedom from the late 17th century to the present.” (wiki)
Coming to a city near you…maybe. Check the website for tour dates.
