Early life and education

Kathleen Madigan is one of seven children in the large Irish Catholic family of Jack and Vicki Madigan, a lawyer and a nurse respectively. She grew up mostly in the St. Louis suburb of Florissant, although the family also lived for periods of time in House Springs, Missouri and in the Lake of the Ozarks region of central Missouri. Madigan received the first eight years of her education largely in private Catholic schools, although also did attend the public School of the Osage. It was there she excelled as a student athlete, participating in volleyball, track, and basketball. In the latter, she set a record by winning the Mid-Missouri Hoops Shoot Championship. At the time just five-feet two-inches tall, she is the shortest person to ever win the event.

Madigan attended McCluer North High School, graduating in 1983. She admitted in a 2012 interview with St. Louis Magazine however that she participated in few activities like float decorating or Prom, choosing instead to work at a steakhouse where she could make up to $200 per night. Madigan's first attempt at attending college was less than successful. She attended University of Missouri-St. Louis for two years but according to Madigan all she managed to do was accumulate $7,000 in campus parking tickets. Her second try at higher education, at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, was more fruitful and she earned a B.A. in Journalism in 1988. While at SIUE she was in charge of the student newspaper and also served an internship with the St. Louis Blues professional ice hockey team.

Professional career

After college Madigan first took a job in print journalism, working for the St. Louis-area Suburban Journals newspapers as well as the publications department of the Missouri Athletic Club. At the same time she would perform stand-up during "open mic" nights at St. Louis area comedy clubs. She credits her father Jack with the encouragement to give a comedy career a try. Her growing popularity at these soon led to the offer of a paying job in stand up from The Funny Bone, a nationwide chain of comedy clubs. With a thirty week booking of guaranteed dates, Madigan gave up her jobs in Missouri and set out to try the world of comedy full-time. She cites Ron White, Richard Jeni and Lewis Black among her influences in those early comedy club days.

Among the TV shows and specials Madigan has appeared on are Last Comic Standing, I Love the 90s: Part Deux, I Love the '80s 3-D, and Celebrity Poker Showdown. She has also starred in her own HBO Half-Hour Comedy Special and a Comedy Central Presents special. She is a veteran of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Show with David Letterman, and The Bob and Tom Show. She also hosts a radio program, Blue Collar Comedy, on Sirius XM Radio. Madigan has twice participated in USO shows in support of American troops, touring both Iraq and Afghanistan along with fellow comedians like friend Lewis Black. She sometimes writes material for other comedians, as was the case in 2004 and 2005 when she was a writer for Garry Shandling when he hosted the Emmy Awards telecast. In 2016, she made an appearance on Jerry Seinfeld's web series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee."

Honors

In 1996, Madigan won "Funniest Female Stand-Up Comic" at the American Comedy Awards.

Personal life

Madigan is single and lives in Los Angeles most of the time when not on tour. However she also owns a farm in the Midwest and according to her "spends inordinate amounts of time" with her family there. Madigan has four brothers and two sisters. She has often drawn on her father, Jack Madigan, as both a source of comic material and work ethic. A self-made man, he worked full-time as a pipefitter while attending college, becoming an attorney and later a Judge.

Media

CDs

• Kathleen Madigan (1998), later reissued as Live (2000)
• Shallow Happy Thoughts for the Soul (2002)
• In Other Words (2006)
• Gone Madigan (2011)
• Madigan Again (2013)

DVDs

• In Other Words (2005)
• Gone Madigan (2011)
• Madigan Again (2013)

Television appearances

• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (14 appearances)
• Late Show with David Letterman (5 appearances)
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
• Lewis Black's Root of All Evil - (Performer, Consulting Producer and Writer)
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien
• Last Comic Standing - (2 seasons and a talent scout)
• One Night Stand HBO
• Comedy Central Presents
• The Best Damn Sports Show Period - (4 appearances)
• ESPN2 - Segment host of "Off Beat Sports" (4 appearances)
• Truly Funny Women" Lifetime
• The Dennis Miller Show - Political commentator (5 appearances)
• Politically Incorrect
• The Bonnie Hunt Show
• Dr.Phil - Guest commentator, "Are You A Modern Woman?", April 9, 2010

[ Source: Wikipedia ]