Natasha Leggero

Natasha Leggero
Natasha Leggero at ComicCon.
Born	(1974-03-26) March 26, 1974 Rockford, Illinois, U.S
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Alma mater	Stella Adler Conservatory Hunter College
Years active	2000–present
Genres	Observational comedy, blue comedy, insult comedy, satire
Subject(s)	Social class, celebrity culture
Spouse	Moshe Kasher (m. 2015)
Children	1
Website	natashaleggero.com

Natasha Leggero (born March 26, 1974) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She rose to fame after appearing as the host of MTV's The 70s House (2005), and for her tenure as a regular roundtable panelist on Chelsea Handler's late-night talk show Chelsea Lately.^[1] Her comedy, characterized as observational, has been noted by critics for its use of satire as commentary on such themes as celebrity culture and class.

Her stand-up television appearances include performances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Last Call with Carson Daly, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and she has appeared on multiple Comedy Central stand-up programs as well as their animated show Ugly Americans, wherein she voiced Callie Maggotbone.

In 2015, she co-created the period sitcom Another Period for Comedy Central, in which she stars alongside co-creator Riki Lindhome.

Early life

Leggero was born March 26, 1974^{[lower-alpha 1]} in Rockford, Illinois^[5] and is of Italian^[6] and Swedish^[7] descent. She has stated that a DNA test revealed 6% Sub-Saharan African ancestry.^[8] Leggero was raised Roman Catholic^[9] but converted to Judaism as an adult.^[10]

Commenting on her childhood, she stated: "I would say [we were] lower-middle-class, but I feel like my mom would start crying if she heard that. But my dad was a used car dealer and my mother worked in a locksmith shop as the bookkeeper, and then they got divorced, and I do remember, like, nuns bringing us food—like big canned goods. And then, you know, we didn't really go on vacation–ever... I had so many jobs growing up: I mowed lawns; I worked at a grocery store; I had two newspaper routes; I worked at a catering place... I definitely hustled."^[2]

She began performing at age 10, in plays in Chicago.^[11] Leggero attended Rockford East High School,^[12] and worked at a grocery store as a teenager.^[11]

After graduating from high school, Leggero attended Illinois State University, where she studied for two years and spent a semester studying abroad in England.^[11] While at Illinois State, Leggero auditioned for the Stella Adler Conservatory in Chicago, and was accepted into the theater program.^[11] She then relocated to New York City to attend the conservatory, spending two years studying.^[11] In 1996, she moved to Sydney, Australia with her then-boyfriend, and lived there for a year before returning to New York^[13] to attend Hunter College, where she graduated in 2000 with a B.A. in Theater criticism. She relocated to Los Angeles shortly before the September 11 attacks.^[11]

Career

Leggero shot an unaired pilot called The Strip for NBC, with Tom Lennon and Ben Garant from Reno 911!. Alongside Andy Kindler and Greg Giraldo, she was a judge on the 2010 season of NBC's Last Comic Standing, hosted by Craig Robinson.^[14] Leggero played Emma in NBC's 2011 sitcom Free Agents. From 2010 to January 2012, Leggero co-hosted The Lavender Hour podcast with comedian Duncan Trussell.

From 2010 to 2012, she voiced the role of Callie Maggotbone on the animated series Ugly Americans.^[15] In 2012, she also appeared in six episodes of NBC's Are You There, Chelsea? as Nikki, who was Rick's (the bar manager's) ex-girlfriend. Leggero was featured in every first-season episode starting with the second episode, "Sloane's Ex."^[16]

She also played the sex-obsessed Haley in the web series Burning Love, a spoof of the TV series The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. In 2013, Leggero appeared in an episode of the Drunk History television series on Comedy Central.

On September 2, 2013, Leggero participated in the Comedy Central Roast of James Franco as one of the Roasters; the following day, Brickleberry premiered in its second season. Leggero voiced the busty ranger Ethel in place of Kaitlin Olson, who was in the first season only.

Tubbin' with Tash debuted on October 2, 2013 on Leggero's YouTube channel. The premise of the show is Leggero interviewing guests while in a hot tub.^[17] In August 2015, she debuted her Comedy Central standup special, Live at Bimbo's (originally entitled Diamond Pussy), which she filmed in San Francisco.^[18]

In 2015, Leggero and Riki Lindhome created the Comedy Central series Another Period, which they also star in together; the series premiered June 23, 2015, and was renewed for a second season, which premiered June 15, 2016. On May 23, 2016, it was renewed for a third season^[19], which will air in 2018.^[20] In 2016 and 2017, Leggero and husband Moshe Kasher embarked on The Honeymoon Tour, in which they performed standup shows and provided humorous relationship advice throughout the United States.^[21]

Comedic style

Leggero's comedy has been characterized as observational,^[25] with frequent commentary on celebrity culture and class.^[25] Her approach to standup has been noted for its heavy use of persona, which largely relies on costumes and "an air of mock-refinement and elitism."^[2] Journalist John Wenzel wrote that Leggero's use of persona "[allows her to] indict the most bloated, superficial aspects of our culture."^[26] Maggie Lange of GQ noted:

All performers have a character to some extent, but Leggero is one of the few with a costume. She’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but like a seasoned comedian in socialite’s clothing. She’s always been this way. Who is the most formally dressed being at every Roast? Natasha Leggero. Who is perhaps the only person to have ever worn long white gloves to the Laugh Factory? Natasha Leggero. It’s always like she’s going to another party. While other comedians are trying to out-casual each other, she’s sitting with impeccable posture, dripping diamonds, dripping disdain.^[27]

Personal life

Between 2011 and 2012, Leggero dated comedian Duncan Trussell, with whom she co-hosted the podcast, The Lavender Hour.^[28] She married comedian Moshe Kasher in 2015.^[29][30] During an October 3, 2017 interview with Stephen Colbert, Leggero announced that she and Kasher were expecting their first child.^[31] On February 24, 2018, Leggero announced the birth of their child, a girl, via Instagram.^[32] She resides in Los Angeles, California.^[33]

Filmography

Discography

• Coke Money (2011)
• Live at Bimbo's (2015)

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natasha Leggero.

• Official website
• Natasha Leggero on IMDb