Kathleen Madigan

Kathleen Madigan was born on September 30, 1965, in Florissant, Missouri, one of seven children in an Irish Catholic family. Her early education included private Catholic schools and the public School of the Osage. She was a notable student athlete, excelling in volleyball, track, and basketball. In 1978, at 4′ 5″ tall, she set a record by winning the Mid-Missouri Hoops Shoot Championship, sinking 14 of 15 attempts under-handed. She graduated from McCluer North High School in 1983. Madigan attended the University of Missouri–St. Louis for two years before earning a B.A. in journalism from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 1988. During her time at SIUE, she managed the student newspaper and completed an internship with the St. Louis Blues professional ice hockey team. Her father, Jack, a lawyer, along with her mother, Vicki, a nurse, raised Madigan in Florissant, with periods spent in House Springs and the Lake of the Ozarks region of Missouri.

Madigan started her professional career in print journalism, working for the St. Louis-area Suburban Journals newspapers and the Missouri Athletic Club’s publications department. Concurrently, she began performing stand-up comedy during open mic nights at St. Louis clubs. Her father’s encouragement played a role in her pursuing comedy. Her growing popularity led to a paying offer from The Funny Bone, a national comedy club chain, which included a thirty-week guaranteed booking. This allowed Madigan to leave her journalism jobs and fully commit to stand-up comedy. She has cited comedians like Ron White, Richard Jeni, and Lewis Black as early influences in her career.

Over her career, Madigan has made numerous television appearances, including “Last Comic Standing,” “I Love the 90s: Part Deux,” “I Love the ’80s 3-D,” and “Celebrity Poker Showdown.” She has had her own HBO Half-Hour Comedy Special and a “Comedy Central Presents” special. Her late-night television credits include “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” Madigan also hosted “Blue Collar Comedy” on Sirius XM Radio. In 2016, she appeared on Jerry Seinfeld’s web series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” She toured Iraq and Afghanistan twice with the USO to entertain American troops. Madigan has also worked as a writer, contributing to Garry Shandling’s Emmy Awards telecasts in 2004 and 2005. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she launched her podcast, “Madigan’s Pubcast,” in August 2020. Her specials include “Kathleen Madigan: Bothering Jesus” (Netflix) and “Kathleen Madigan: Hunting Bigfoot” (Amazon Prime Video).