Jacqueline Laura Hoffman (born November 29, 1960), known as Jackie Hoffman, is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actress and stand-up comedian known for her facially-contorting expressions, and one-woman shows of Jewish-themed original songs and monologues. She is a veteran of Chicago's famed The Second City

The Second City

The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...

 comedy improv group.

Stage work

Hoffman won the Joseph Jefferson Award, Chicago's venerable theatre award, during her eight-year tenure with the Second City troupe.

Hoffman has starred in the following solo comedy performances: "If You Call This Living," "The Kvetching Continues," "Jackie Hoffman's Hanukkah," "Jackie's Kosher Khristmas" and "Jackie's Valentine's Day Massacre," among others. Hoffman also joined the three woman comic team behind "The J.A.P. Show, Jewish American Princesses of Comedy," at the Actors' Temple in April 2007.

She performed numerous roles in David

David Sedaris

David Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist, writer, comedian, bestselling author, and radio contributor....

 and Amy Sedaris

Amy Sedaris

Amy Louise Sedaris is an American actress, author, and comedian. She is known for playing the character Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy. Sedaris regularly collaborates with her older brother, humorist and author David Sedaris...

' 2001 comic play, The Book of Liz, winning an Obie Award

Obie Award

The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...

. Her other theatrical credits include The Sisters Rosensweig

The Sisters Rosensweig

The Sisters Rosensweig is a play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play focuses on three Jewish- American sisters and their lives. It "broke theatrical ground by concentrating on a non-traditional cast of three middle-aged women." Wasserstein received the William Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in...

, Straightjacket, Incident at Cobbler's Knob, and One Woman Shoe, for which she won a Jeff Award. In addition, she regularly performs at Joe's Pub

Joe's Pub

Joe's Pub at Public Theater is a nightclub that hosts live performances regularly. The venue, which is a non-profit operation, is located at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan, New York City...

 in one-woman concerts.

In 2002, Hoffman was cast in the musical Hairspray

Hairspray (musical)

Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...

on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

, playing the roles of Prudy Pingleton, Gym Teacher, Matron and Denizen of Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

. She won the 2003 Theatre World Award

Theatre World Award

The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...

 for her performance. She co-starred as Calliope

Calliope

In Greek mythology, Calliope was the muse of epic poetry, daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, and is now best known as Homer's muse, the inspiration for the Odyssey and the Iliad....

, muse of epic poetry, in the rock musical

Rock musical

A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept albums become rock musicals...

 Xanadu

Xanadu (musical)

Xanadu is a musical comedy with a book by Douglas Carter Beane, music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 cult classic film of the same name which was, in turn, inspired by the 1947 Rita Hayworth film Down to Earth. The title is a reference to the poem, Kubla Khan, or A...

on Broadway, from July 2007 to September 2008. Hoffman is currently starring as Grandmama in the new Broadway musical The Addams Family

The Addams Family (musical)

The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for...

, which opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 205 West 46th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings, it was built by producer Charles Dillingham and opened as the Globe Theatre, in honor of London's Shakespearean playhouse, on...

 on April 8, 2010.

TV/film career

She has acted in the movies, Kissing Jessica Stein

Kissing Jessica Stein

Kissing Jessica Stein is a 2001 independent romantic comedy film, written and co-produced by the film's stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film also stars Tovah Feldshuh and is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld...

, Mo' Money

Mo' Money

Mo' Money is a 1992 romantic-crime-dramedy film, starring Damon Wayans, Marlon Wayans and Stacey Dash, and directed by Peter MacDonald. The screenplay was also written by Damon Wayans.-Synopsis:...

, Garden State

Garden State (film)

Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...

, Down

Down (film)

Down is a 2001 horror film about a killer elevator, starring James Marshall and Naomi Watts. The film is also known as The Shaft, which is the name used for the United States DVD release...

, Queer Duck: The Movie, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde

-External links:*...

, and A Dirty Shame

A Dirty Shame

A Dirty Shame is a 2004 satirical sex comedy written and directed by John Waters, and starring Tracey Ullman, Selma Blair, Johnny Knoxville, Chris Isaak, Suzanne Shepherd, and Mink Stole.-Plot:...

and was the voice of the Water Cooler in Robots

Robots (film)

Robots is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and was released theatrically on March 11, 2005. The story was created by Chris Wedge and William Joyce, a children's book author/illustrator. The two were trying to create a film version of...

.

In addition to cameoing on the television show Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...

, she has appeared in many series, including Strangers with Candy

Strangers with Candy

Strangers with Candy is a television series produced by Comedy Central. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10 p.m....

, Hope and Faith, Ed, Starved, Cosby

Cosby

Cosby is a situation comedy television series broadcast on CBS from September 16, 1996 to April 28, 2000, loosely based on the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The program starred Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashād...

, 30 Rock

30 Rock

30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...

, One Life to Live

One Life to Live

One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...

and was the voice of Dilmom on Dilbert

Dilbert

Dilbert is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. First published on April 16, 1989, Dilbert is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office featuring the engineer Dilbert as the title character...

.

Hoffman provided the voice of "Mary Phillips, the Talk Radio host", in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...

. Despite her frequent stage banter on her dislike of children, Hoffman did a surprising turn as the voices of the Gate to Fairy-tale Land and the Witch's Magic Wand in the Dora the Explorer

Dora the Explorer

Dora the Explorer is an American animated television series created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner. Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. The show is carried on the Nickelodeon cable television network, including the associated Nick Jr. channel. It aired on CBS until...

movie Dora's Fairytale Adventure. She has also been a frequent guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...

.

Recordings

Jackie Hoffman can be heard on the original Broadway cast recordings of Hairspray

Hairspray (musical)

Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...

, Xanadu

Xanadu (musical)

Xanadu is a musical comedy with a book by Douglas Carter Beane, music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 cult classic film of the same name which was, in turn, inspired by the 1947 Rita Hayworth film Down to Earth. The title is a reference to the poem, Kubla Khan, or A...

, and The Addams Family

The Addams Family (musical)

The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for...

, and the PS Classics

PS Classics

PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals. Founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin, their releases have been critically acclaimed for their meticulous sonic detail and high-quality packaging and...

' recording of Jackie Hoffman: Live at Joe's Pub released Fall 2008. She also appears on Scott Alan's CD, Dreaming Wide Awake, in a duet with Carly Jibson.

Personal life

At age 46, during the run of her show Regrets Only, Hoffman had to go into the hospital for a hysterectomy

Hysterectomy

A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus, usually performed by a gynecologist. Hysterectomy may be total or partial...

 to remove a benign tumor. She was back in three weeks, with a cot backstage for whenever she wasn't singing or talking.

External links

• Jackie Hoffman at the Internet Broadway Database
  Internet Broadway Database
  The Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....