Paula Poundstone

Paula Poundstone was born on December 29, 1959, in Huntsville, Alabama. Her family relocated to Sudbury, Massachusetts, shortly after her birth. She initiated her stand-up comedy career in Boston in 1979 at open-mic nights. In the early 1980s, she traveled across the United States, performing at various comedy clubs, notably in San Francisco at Holy City Zoo and The Other Café. Her unique improvisational style and spontaneous crowd interactions became a hallmark of her performances. A significant turning point in her early career occurred in 1984 when Robin Williams witnessed her act and encouraged her to move to Los Angeles. That same year, she appeared in the film “Gremloids” (also known as “Hyperspace”), marking her entry into film. Her career progressed with numerous television appearances, including a performance on “Saturday Night Live” when Robin Williams hosted.

Throughout her career, Poundstone has achieved several notable milestones. She won the American Comedy Award for “Best Female Stand-Up Comic” in 1989. In 1990, her HBO special, “Cats, Cops and Stuff,” earned her a CableACE Award, making her the first woman to receive this award for best Standup Comedy Special. She followed this with another HBO special, “Paula Poundstone Goes to Harvard,” filmed at Sanders Theatre. She served as a political correspondent for “The Tonight Show” during the 1992 US presidential campaign and had her own variety show, “The Paula Poundstone Show,” on ABC in 1993, for which she also won a CableACE Award for “Best Program Interviewer.” Poundstone has also contributed her voice talents to animated series, including Judge Stone in “Science Court” (1997-1999) and Paula Small in “Home Movies” (1999) for its initial episodes. Her voice work continued with “Foretter Paula” in the Academy Award-winning film “Inside Out” (2015) and its sequel “Inside Out 2” (2024). She is a frequent panelist on NPR’s popular news quiz show, “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!,” and hosts the podcast “Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone.” She has authored two books, “There Is Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say” (2006) and “The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness” (2017), and has released several comedy albums. Poundstone was recognized as No. 88 on Comedy Central’s 2004 list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.