Wanda Sykes is an Emmy winning stand-up comic, writer, actress and producer who has been entertaining audiences for over twenty years. She has ranked among Entertainment Weekly‘s “25 Funniest People in America”, and her peers have called her “one of the funniest stand-up comics” in the field.
In 2023 Wanda was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Nominations; two for her Netflix special Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer (her sixth stand-up special ) and another for her role as Gladys Murphy in Crank Yankers, a role she originated in 2004. Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer was also nominated for her first Grammy Award and Golden Globe Award, a Critics’ Choice Award and a People’s Choice Award. In 2020, she received Emmy nominations for both her role as real-life comic Moms Mabley in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and for her voice work as Gladys Murphy in Crank Yankers. Wanda’s guest-starring role on ABC’s Black-ish also brought her two back-to-back Emmy nominations for “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series” in 2017 and 2018. Her fifth standup special, Wanda Sykes: Not Normal, is streaming on Netflix and was nominated for two 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards; “Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special” and “Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special”. The special also received a Broadcast Critic Award nomination.
Wanda can currently be seen in season 4 of the Netflix’s comedy The Upshaws, which she is writing, co-showruning and starring in. The Upshaws centers on a working-class African American family in Indiana struggling to make it work and make it right without any blueprints. Season one was nominated for a People’s Choice Award and a 2022 NAACP Image Award. Sykes was also nominated for an NAACP Image award for supporting actress in 2024. She also is currently on her Please and Thank You Tour with tour dates in the U.S., Canada, UK and Europe.
In 2022, she was seen starring in the Hulu / Mel Brooks series History of the World, Part II, which she also wrote and produced with Nick Kroll and Ike Barinholtz and was nominated for a WGA Award. She recently produced and was a part of the Apple TV+ 5-part documentary series Visible: Out on Television, about how the LGBTQ movement has shaped the history of the medium. Each hour-long episode explores themes of homophobia, the evolution of the LGBTQ character, and coming out in the television industry.
Wanda spent five years on the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine co-starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as well as HBO’s critically acclaimed The Chris Rock Show (the latter of which earned her two Emmy nominations and one win). She has appeared in Broad City, House of Lies, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and many more hit television shows. Other TV credits include Fox’s Wanda at Large — which she wrote, produced and starred in — Wanda Does It on Comedy Central, and Crank Yankers. Wanda even starred on her own late-night talk show on Fox, The Wanda Sykes Show.
In 2017, Wanda was seen in the feature comedy Snatched, opposite Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn. She was also seen in Evan Almighty (sequel to Bruce Almighty), in which she co-starred with Steve Carell, the cult hit Monster-In-Law with Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Pootie Tang, Nutty Professor 2; The Klumps, Down to Earth and many more.
Wanda has had four comedy specials prior to Not Normal; 2016’s What Happened…Ms. Sykes? which premiered on Epix, 2009’s Wanda Sykes: I’ma Be Me on HBO (nominated for two Emmys), HBO’s 2006 comedy special Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired (nominated for a 2007 Emmy for “Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special”), and her first, 2003’s Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied, which premiered on Comedy Central. Her stand-up has tackled everything from politics and marriage to racial profiling and parenting.
Wanda can be heard in many animated feature films and television shows, such as Fox’s Ice Ace: Collision Course (reprising her role as Granny from Ice Age: Continental Drift), Dreamworks’ Over the Hedge and Paramount’s The Barnyard, as well as children’s shows Vampirina and Doc McStuffins.
Wanda’s first book, Yeah, I Said It, published by Simon and Schuster, hit bookstores in September 2004. Yeah, I Said It is a hilarious collection of essays touching on life, family and the current events of the time.
Wanda was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and raised in Maryland. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampton University. Her stand-up career began at a Coors Light Super talent Showcase in Washington, D.C. where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience.
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Note: This event will be a phone-free experience. Use of phones, smart watches, and accessories will not be permitted in the performance space. Upon arrival at the venue, all phones, smart watches and accessories will be secured in individual Yondr pouches that will be opened at the end of the event. Guests maintain possession of their devices at all times, and can access them throughout the event only in designated Phone Use Areas within the venue. All devices will be re-secured in Yondr pouches before returning to the performance space. Anyone seen using a device (phone, smart watch or accessories) during the performance will be escorted out of the venue.
Wanda Sykes owns all rights in the content and materials delivered during her performance (the “Materials”). Any use of the Materials without the express prior written consent of Wanda Sykes is strictly prohibited and is punishable to the full extent of the law.
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Tickets are on sale as of October 3.