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Chelsea Handler

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Chelsea Handler is a prominent American comedian, actress, writer, and television host.

Chelsea Handler adjusted
Chelsea Handler adjusted

She is also a prolific producer who manages various entertainment projects. Her work spans multiple mediums, including stand-up comedy, late-night talk shows, and documentary series. In 2012, her impact on culture was recognized when Time magazine included her on its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Handler has built a career by blending humor with personal storytelling and social commentary.

Handler's journey into professional comedy began with a specific moment of connection. At age 21, she shared a story about being arrested for driving under the influence with a class of other offenders. The group found her story funny, which inspired her to pursue stand-up comedy. Before this, she had moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles at age 19. During her early years in Los Angeles, she lived in her aunt's home in Bel Air. She worked as a waitress to support herself while she pursued acting.

Her family background provided a complex religious upbringing. She was the youngest of six children born in Livingston, New Jersey. Her father was an Ashkenazi Jew and her mother was a German immigrant who was Mormon. Handler was raised in Reform Judaism and completed a Bat Mitzvah. She has noted that she felt a connection to the religious conflict between her parents. Her childhood also included significant personal loss. Her eldest brother, Chet, died in a hiking accident in Grand Teton National Park when she was nine. Her mother battled breast cancer for over 15 years before passing away in 2006.

Handler became a major figure in television through several key roles. She hosted the late-night talk show Chelsea Lately on the E! network from 2007 to 2014. This show was a significant success, airing more than 1,000 episodes. It reached viewers in many countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, and New Zealand. The show averaged more than half a million viewers per episode.

29th Critics Choice Awards Chelsea Handler (cropped)
29th Critics Choice Awards Chelsea Handler (cropped)

In 2010, she achieved another milestone by hosting the MTV Video Music Awards. She was only the second woman in history to serve as the sole host of the ceremony.

Beyond hosting, Handler has expanded into documentary filmmaking and serious journalism. In 2016, she released the Netflix documentary series Chelsea Does. This series consisted of four episodes covering topics like marriage, Silicon Valley, racism, and drugs. She later hosted a new Netflix talk show called Chelsea, which ran for two seasons. She eventually decided to end that show to focus more on activism. In 2019, she released a documentary titled Hello, Privilege. It, Me, Chelsea, which examined the concept of white privilege and its impact on her life.

As an executive producer, Handler manages the creation of content for many different networks. Through her company, Borderline Amazing Productions, she has worked on various reality and talk shows. She has served as an executive producer for shows like Love You, Mean It With Whitney Cummings and Hello Ross. Her production interests have included developing dramas based on books and even animated series for Marvel Television. While some projects, like the Tigra & Dazzler Show, were eventually scrapped by studios, she continues to develop new ideas for platforms like HBO Max and Peacock.

Handler is also a highly successful author. She has written six books that reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. One of her most notable works is the 2008 collection of humorous essays, Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. This book was so popular that it was adapted into an NBC sitcom titled Are You There, Chelsea? In the show, Handler played a conservative character named Sloane, while actress Laura Prepon played the lead. Her writing often mirrors the honest and direct style found in her comedy and television work.

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