The 30 funniest (mostly white) women in Hollywood history according to some magazine
The world of comedy has always been dominated by dudes, and even the most prolific comedy writers have been silenced because of gender. The stories of sexism on Saturday Night Live are as a part of its legend as the camaraderie between castmates. Even a comedy hero like John Belushi was guilty of it. Writers like Anne Beatts, an SNL writer who admitted that Belushi would purposefully perform female-written sketches poorly so they'd never make it past rehearsal, and Irma Kalish, who created more than 300 scripts for TV on shows like All in the Family and Maude, are the unsung heroes of comedy. Television executives and film producers clung stubbornly to the idea that no one would watch something starring, or written by, a woman.
For years, women weren't the leads on sitcom, let alone feature films. And, if a woman did find herself in a starring role, it was because of her her romantic relationship with a man. Now, we have heroes like Melissa McCarthy and Amy Poehler taking the baton that was passed to them from Gilda Radner and Mary Tyler Moore.
In honor of Kristen Wiig's birthday, click through our list of the funniest women ever to grace the screen.
5. Kristen Wiig (no)
Notable role: Annie Walker in Bridesmaids (2011)
While she hasn't been on the scene as long as some of her SNL colleagues, Wiig is quickly being regarded as one of the funniest people in Hollywood for her prolific work on the late-night sketch comedy show and her hit Bridesmaids. In fact, we haven't seen such a domination of sketches since Eddie Murphy resurrected the show from the dead in the early '80s. Her departure from the show, along with her memorable characters like Gilly, the Target Lady, and her sister from the Fingerlakes, Dooneese, left a noticeable gap in the lineup that the feature players are still trying to fill.
Now, Wiig is box office gold, as evident from the now-classic movie she penned along with Annie Mumolo, Bridesmaids. Top that off with hilarious voice work for Despicable Me, How To Train Your Dragon, and smaller appearance in movies like Friends with Kids and you have a comedy titan in the making.
4. Tina Fey
Notable role: Liz Lemon in 30 Rock (2006-2013)
For many of us, we witnessed history without even realizing it. SNL has always had the reputation of being a Boys' Club, as horror stories for female writers are etched into the history of the sketch show. But then Fey was made headwriter in 1999, the first woman to hold the title. And, actually, even before she graced the desk of Weekend Update, she was most likely the one behind all of your favorite sketches. After that, she quickly took over the comedy world.
Each bit of Fey's career has been a success, from her first feature movie, "Mean Girls", to her own sitcom (which has won numerous awards) 30 Rock, to her first book, Bossypants. Fey is comedy personified in glasses and a sarcastic smile.
3. Carol Burnett (yesss)
Notable role: Carol Burnett in The Carol Burnett Show (1967-1978)
A lot of comedians give all the credit to Carol Burnett and her hour-long variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, for inspiring them to make people laugh in the first place. With her groundbreaking program, she not only proved that a sketch comedy show could be successful without a man running it, she proved that it could thrive. Just check out the shows 23 Emmy awards.
2. Gilda Radner (QUEEN)
Notable role: Roseanne Roseannadanna on Saturday Night Live (1975-1980)
To say that Radner paved the way for women at studio 6H (and for that matter, the world of comedy) would be a gross understatement. Gilda Radner, one of the OG Not Ready for Primetime Players, stole the hearts of a nation and seemingly everyone else she met, too, during her time at SNL. Can you blame people for falling for her charms? Her smiles were as boundless as her hilarious characters, like the kind of disgusting Roseanne Roseannadanna and the endearing Emily Litella (based on her own nanny growing up who would comically mishear just about everything). Hell, Radner basically invented the "dork" with Lisa Loopner. Honestly, if you want to see some comedy history at its finest we recommend a viewing of her "Best Of Gilda Radner" DVD and picking up her heartbreaking funny book It's Always Something.
1. Lucille Ball (legend)
Notable role: Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy (1951-1957)
Between all her floundering, her missteps, and faux pas, we worry that people write off Lucille Ball as a ditz. That she's denied her genius status because of how harebrained her most famous character was. Of course, we know she's funny. Her sitcom, I Love Lucy, still runs in syndication, people still quote her iconic lines and if we close our eyes we can still see the chocolate factory and grape-stomping scenes.
Ball was a legit boss, beyond her ability to turn a phrase and topple over. She co-owned Desilu Productions, a company responsible for popular TV shows like Star Trek. If equality looks like ownership and power, Ball ran the world for a time.
Flawless top 3, but Poehler should be higher and Tina and Kristen should be lower. Who are your fave lady comedians, ONTD?
the rest @ the source