 In 1988, Kathleen Madigan was working as a waitress and
journalist in St. Louis, Missouri. Now less than ten years later, Madigan has
been voted The Best Female Stand-Up Comedian at the American Comedy Awards,
appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman", made numerous appearances on
The Tonight Show, starred on Bob Hope's NBC Special "Ladies of Laughter," was a
featured performer on HBO's "Women of the Night" and appeared on just about
every comedy show on cable television. With no intention of becoming a stand-up
comedian, Madigan graduated from Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville in
1987 with a degree in Journalism.
She worked in St. Louis, her hometown, editing in-house
corporate publications and writing freelance feature stories. Almost one year
later, Madigan stumbled upon amateur night at the St. Louis Funny Bone Comedy
Club. She gave stand-up comedy a try and continued to pound the local pavement
looking for stage time. In 1989, after building confidence and enough of an act
to emcee, the 24-year-old quit her journalism jobs and hit the road, booking
gigs throughout the Midwest and South. Mixing an even amount of talent and good
luck, Madigan's career caught the eye of major media publications. After a
recent gig at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, Michael Paskevich of the Las
Vegas Review Journal observed, "She's focused and more important, a very
talented young woman who, at age 30, is poised for big time success as one of
the brightest new lights on the contemporary comedy scene.
She's got an instantly likable stage demeanor, strong
road-honed timing and excellent and original material." Los Angeles times
profiled her three times in less than a year, noting, "She has a refreshingly
polished delivery and clever, well-written material with an engaging
girl-next-door quality." Working mainly in the United States, Madigan has also
performed internationally. She landed a spot at the highly acclaimed "Montreal
Comedy Festival," she performed at "The Comedy Store" in London, and recently
entertained British, American and Canadian audiences in Hong Kong. She's also
branched out from just stand-up comedy appearances. Madigan starred in a
national TV commercial for US West and has covered numerous off-beat sporting
events for ESPN 2's "Sports Night." As for her future, the Las Vegas Review
quipped, "Catch her now and you'll be able to tell your friends you saw her on
the way up." And Madigan's personal goals seem quite certain, "I'd like to make
a million dollars, retire, move to Ireland and drink as much Guinness as humanly
possible."
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