Born in Oak Park, IL, and raised in the Chicago area, to an electronics store manager father and a hospital administrator mother, Griffin reportedly wanted to become an actress from the age of five and frequently improvised elaborate stage and comedy acts for her family. Griffin attended Oak Park High School, and -- after graduation -- studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Southern California. In 1988, the then-28-year-old joined the now-infamous sketch comedy troupe the Groundlings, alongside such stars-to-be as Lisa_Kudrow, Will_Ferrell, and Julia_Sweeney, where she evinced an extraordinary gift for improvisatory work. After the Groundlings, Griffin developed and honed a solo standup act, which -- as she later recalled -- opened numerous doors for her as an actress, including a turn as Lucy in the Bobcat_Goldthwait vehicle Shakes the Clown (1992), a brief cameo in Pulp_Fiction, and a small multi-episode role on Seinfeld. Griffin was particularly memorable in the latter, as Sally Weaver, the standup comedian whose act consists of trashing Jerry Seinfeld by revealing embarrassing details from his personal life. A cameo as herself in the SNL big-screen vehicle It's_Pat (1994) reunited Griffin with fellow Groundling Sweeney. Beginning in 1996, Griffin parlayed her comic flair and small-screen experience into a standing role in the hit NBC sitcom Suddenly_Susan, starring Brooke_Shields; that program cast Griffin as Vicki Groener, magazine columnist Shields' not-so-subtly envious, über-saucy colleague. The program scored with viewers and ran for three seasons. Meanwhile,
Griffin continued her big-screen roles, with turns in the 1995 omnibus picture Four_Rooms (as Betty), the 1996 Ben_Stiller-directed The_Cable_Guy (as Jim_Carrey's mother), and Muppets from Space (1999), as an armed guard. Additional guest contributions on a myriad of sitcoms during the '90s and 2000s gave an added charge to the respective series casts.Griffin also starred in the aforementioned cable series Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List, which began airing on the Bravo network in 2004. The comically charged reality show cast Griffin as herself, battling through the experiences of everyday life -- such as training a new puppy and teaching a class as The Learning Annex. The program allegedly began with a prime-time slot on NBC, but was ankled by the network following production of the pilot, and then picked up by Bravo. Off camera, Griffin reportedly harbors a jet-black sense of humor and an ongoing fascination with true crime, particularly serial killers.
Famous Works
* CREDITS
* Television Appearances
* Series
* Various characters, Saturday Night Special, Fox, 1996
* Vicki Groener Rubenstein, Suddenly Susan, NBC, 1996-2000
* Host, Premium Blend (also known as Comedy Central's Premium Blend), Comedy Central, 1997
* Herself, Instant Comedy with the Groundlings, FX Network, 1998-2000
* (Uncredited) Voice of Alice, Dilbert (animated), UPN, 1999-2000
* Host, Kathy's So-Called Reality, MTV, 2001
* Host, Average Joe, NBC, 2003
* Host, Average Joe: Hawaii (also known as Average Joe 2: Hawaii), NBC, 2003
* Herself, Celebrity Mole: Hawaii, ABC, 2003
* Host, Average Joe: Adam Returns, NBC, 2004
* Host, Average Jane, NBC, c. 2004
* Miniseries
* I Love the '80s, VH1, 2002
* Herself, "Reasons the '90s Ruled," E!'s 101, E! Entertainment Television, 2004
* Movies
* Taffy, Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful (also known as Dare to Be Truthful), 1992
* Big News, 1995
* Mary, "The New Barefoot Executive," The Wonderful World of Disney,ABC, c. 1997
* Sally, The Big Fall, HBO, 1997
* Herself, Jackie's Back (also known as Jackie's Back: Portrait of a Diva), Lifetime, 1999
* Ghost of Christmas past, A Diva's Christmas Carol, VH1, 2000
* Voice of Caroline, Lion of Oz (animated; also known as Le liond'Oz and Lion of Oz and the Badge of Courage), The Disney Channel,2000
* Specials
* HBO Comedy Half-Hour: Kathy Griffin, HBO, 1996
* Un-Cabaret, Comedy Central, 1997
* Herself, Comic Relief VIII, HBO, 1998
* Herself, Kathy Griffin: Hot Cup of Talk, HBO, 1998
* MTV 2 Large New Year's Eve Party, MTV, 1999
* Host, Behind the Music Anniversary Special, VH1, 2000
* Host, Sci-Fi Presents New York's Halloween Parade, Sci-Fi Channeland USA Network, 2000
* Herself, MTV's New Year's Eve Uncensored, MTV, 2000
* Herself, Laugh Track: 20 Years of Comedy on MTV, MTV, 2001
* Herself, Weddings of a Lifetime: Brides of All Ages (documentary),Lifetime, 2001
* Herself, The Anna Nicole Show Holiday Special, E! Entertainment Television, 2002
* The View: His & Her Body Test, ABC, 2003
* Herself, American Idol: The Phenomenon, Fox, 2004
* Herself, Kathy Griffin: The D-List, Bravo, 2004
* VH1 Divas, VH1, 2004
* Awards Presentations
* "Jane Black," The VH1 Fashion Awards, VH1, 1996
* American Comedy Honors, 1997
* The 1997 Billboard Music Awards, 1997
* The 19th Annual CableACE Awards, 1997
* Host, The 1998 Billboard Music Awards, 1998
* Host, The 1999 Billboard Music Awards, Fox, 1999
* Host, The 2000 Billboard Music Awards, Fox, 2000
* The Teen Choice Awards 2000, Fox, 2000
* Presenter, The VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, VH1, 2001
* Presenter, VH1 Big in '03, VH1, 2003
* Comedy Central Presents: The Commies (also known as The Commies), Comedy Central, 2003
* The 30th Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 2003
* The 2003 Billboard Music Awards, Fox, 2003
* Episodic
* Susan Klein, "Not with My Pig, You Don't," The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, NBC, 1990
* Susan Klein, "Geoffrey Cleans Up," The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, NBC, 1992
* Dawn, "The French Conception," Dream On, HBO and Fox, 1993
* Yvonne, "Watt, Me Worry?," Civil Wars, ABC, 1993
* Brenda (wallet salesperson), "New Year's Eve," Mad about You (alsoknown as Loved by You), NBC, 1995
* Department of Motor Vehicles clerk, "Caroline and the Movie," Carolinein the City (also known as Caroline), NBC, 1995
* Dolores Minky, "Motherhood," ER (also known as Emergency Room), NBC, 1995
* Jeanne, "Accountus Interruptus," Ned and Stacy, Fox, 1995