Natasha Leggero

Natasha Leggero
Natasha Leggero at ComicCon.
Born	(1974-03-26) March 26, 1974[1] Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	Stella Adler Conservatory Hunter College
Occupation	Actress, comedian
Years active	2000–present
Spouse(s)	Moshe Kasher (m. 2015)
Website	natashaleggero.com

Natasha Leggero (born March 26, 1974) is an American actress, comedian and former frequent roundtable panelist on friend Chelsea Handler's late-night talk show Chelsea Lately.^[2]

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. She currently stars alongside Riki Lindhome in the Comedy Central series Another Period.

She has performed at such festivals as SXSW, Bonnaroo, the Sasquatch Music Festival, and the Montreal Comedy Festival.

Early life

Leggero was born in Rockford, Illinois and is of mainly Italian descent.^[3] She has stated that a DNA test revealed 6% Sub-Saharan African ancestry.^[4] Leggero was raised Roman Catholic^[5] but converted to Judaism as an adult.^[6] She began performing at age 10, in plays in Chicago. Leggero attended Rockford East High School,^[7] and worked at a grocery store as a teenager.^[8]

After graduating from high school, Leggero attended Illinois State University, where she studied for two years and spent a semester studying abroad in England.^[8] While at Illinois State, Leggero auditioned for the Stella Adler Conservatory in Chicago, and was accepted into the theater program.^[8] She then relocated to New York City to attend the conservatory, spending two years studying.^[8] In 1996, she moved to Sydney, Australia with her then-boyfriend, and lived there for a year before returning to New York^[9] to attend Hunter College, where she graduated in 2000 with a B.A. in Theater criticism. She then moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduation.

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.^[10] 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.

On February 17, 2012, she appeared on The Adam Carolla Show.

In 2012, Leggero 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."^[11] In 2012, 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.

On September 3, 2013 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 Natasha Leggero interviewing guests while in a hot tub.^[12]

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.

New Year's Eve incident

On December 31, 2013, Leggero was criticized for a joke she made during NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly, when, in response to a controversial tweet posted by SpaghettiOs on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, she quipped: "It sucks that the only survivors of Pearl Harbor are being mocked by the only food they can still chew." Her remarks were met with a backlash over social media; in response, Leggero posted in a blog entry that she did not feel that "the amazing courage of American veterans and specifically those who survived Pearl Harbor is in any way diminished by a comedian making a joke about dentures on television. Do we really believe that the people who fought and defended our freedom against Nazis and the Axis powers will find a joke about Spaghetti O's too much to bear? Sorry, I have more respect for Veterans than to think their honor can be impugned by a glamorous, charming comedian in a fur hat." She also called on those offended by the remarks to donate to Disabled American Veterans.^[13][14][15]

Personal life

Leggero is married to comedian Moshe Kasher.^[16][17]

Filmography

Discography

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

References

External links

• Official website
• Natasha Leggero at the Internet Movie Database
• Natasha Leggero on Facebook
• Natasha Leggero on Twitter
  
• Natasha Leggero's channel on YouTube