Biography for
Janeane Garofalo

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Mini Biography

Janeane, the petite woman with the acerbic wit, was born in Newton, New Jersey, in 1964, and had many jobs before breaking into show biz. She worked as a bike messenger, a shoe salesperson (no doubt with Al Bundy's disposition), waitress and temp secretary. Watching David Letterman on TV inspired her to write comedy, and by 1985 she was doing stand up comedy. As such, Janeane has become a cult figure, giving a voice to a generation, venting her frustration at TV, dating, relationships, life in general and anything that ticks her off in particular. Janeane did sketches on "The Ben Stiller Show" (1992) (an Emmy winning, but canceled show). She would continue to collaborate with Ben Stiller in future projects. Janeane received 2 Emmy nominations for her work on "The Larry Sanders Show" (1992), developing her signature character: a smart, cynical woman with a razor wit. She was not happy with her "Saturday Night Live" (1975) stint in 1994, and was vocal about it (of course). Transferring her persona from TV to the big screen, she moved on to movies, basically playing the character she had defined for herself. In Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) she portrayed a smart, cynical, successful businesswomen with a razor wit, and this time with swear words (in the movie she had developed a brand of cigarettes with fast-burning paper, for the gal on the go; in real life it is alleged she smokes Marlboros). Janeane continues to work in TV and movies, often collaborating with Ben Stiller in a number of movies like Mystery Men (1999), his easygoing style being a counterpoint to her caustic nature.

Spouse

Trade Mark

Deadpan cynicism.

Trivia

She is a vegetarian.

Was offered the role of Gale Weathers in the movie Scream (1996/I), but turned it down to do the movie Sweethearts (1996). Courteney Cox then got the role and Scream (1996/I) which went on to gross more than $100 million, whereas Sweethearts (1996) went straight to video.

She has 15 tattoos.

Her production company is: I Hate Myself Productions.

Attended Madison High School in Madison, New Jersey.

Wrote a book with Ben Stiller: Feel This Book : An Essential Guide to Self-Empowerment, Spiritual Supremacy, and Sexual Satisfaction (1999).

Has a tattoo on her arm which reads "think".

Studied History at Providence College, a Catholic college in Rhode Island.

Garofalo, barely five feet tall, sometimes had to stand on a box just to be in the same frame with 6-foot co-star Uma Thurman in The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996).

Briefly lived in Minnesota at the beginning of her stand-up career.

Is of Italian and Irish descent.

Admitted in 2003 interviews that she had overcome a sobriety problem with alcohol.

Married boyfriend Robert Cohen in 1992 at a Las Vegas drive-in chapel as a joke. They had gone to Vegas with the rest of the cast of "The Ben Stiller Show" (1990) and decided to get married along with some of the other crew members. After their relationship ended they never officially got divorced.

In March 2003, she made an appearance on CNN's "Crossfire" (1982) to discuss the international situation involving Iraq.

At one point or another, has worked with every member of the Kids in the Hall.

In 1984, she had breast reduction surgery. The surgery reduced her measurement from a 36D cup to a B cup.

Auditioned for the role of Marla Singer in Fight Club (1999).

Guest-starred in two "Law & Order" (1990) episodes, the first one called "D-Girl" and in a "The Sopranos" (1999) called "D-Girl". The "D" stands for "development". In the film industry, a D-girl is a low-level executive who considers scripts for further development.

She has referred to "Saturday Night Live" (1975) as the worst experience in her professional life.

Graduated from James E. Taylor High School in Katy, Texas class of '82 after being transferred her senior year.

It is said that Daria Morgendorfer, self-titled character of, "Daria" (1997), the spin-off of "Beavis and Butt-Head" (1993) , was modeled after her. While the Daria character did exist long before the creators chose to model the character after Garafolo (as a character in the original "Beavis and Butt-Head" (1993) show), she was a background character (with a line of dialog every once in a while) and was therefore not developed.

Daughter of Carmine Garofalo.

Hosted the 1996 MTV Movie Awards (1996) (TV) along with Ben Stiller.

Traveled widely with Margaret Cho on the comedy club circuit. They blamed each other for their bad smoking habits.

Is very good friends with Ben Stiller. Both had short lived tenures on "Saturday Night Live" (1975), both starred on "The Ben Stiller Show" (1992), they have collaborated on movies together, and have written and created other comedy shows together. Garofalo has said that she works well with Stiller because they are complete opposite personalities, hers being caustic and political while Stiller is more go with the flow and silly, and they are able to fill in the gaps the other person misses.

Was the original choice to play Monica on "Friends" (1994), but turned down the role.

Laura San Giacomo's role (Maya Gallo) in "Just Shoot Me!" (1997) is based on Garofalo.

Was offered the Dorothy Boyd role in Jerry Maguire (1996) by Cameron Crowe, if she could lose weight, but after trimming down, she learned that Renée Zellweger had won the part instead in what was to become a career-launching smash hit.

In his DVD commentary for Dogma (1999), director Kevin Smith said that in retrospect he wished he offered the role of Bethany to Garofalo instead of Linda Fiorentino, whom he found very difficult to work with and on some days, she in fact wasn't even speaking to him. Garofalo appeared in Dogma (1999) as Liz at the abortion clinic.

Turned down two roles later given to Courtney Cox-Arquette: Gale Weathers in Scream, and Monica Geller in "Friends". Both very successful parts.

Personal Quotes

"I guess I just prefer to see the dark side of things. The glass is always half-empty. And cracked. And I just cut my lip on it. And chipped a tooth."

"Many people feel that mass acceptance and smooth socialization are desirable life paths for a young adult... Many people are often wrong... Don't bother being nice. Being popular and well liked is not in your best interest. Let me be more clear; if you behave in a manner pleasing to most, then you are probably doing something wrong. The masses have never been arbiters of the sublime, and they often fail to recognize the truly great individual. Taking into account the public's regrettable lack of taste, it is incumbent upon you not to fit in." (From her book "Feel This Book," co-written with Ben Stiller)

After 9/11 disaster from article in Commentary magazine, November 2001: "Who would have thought that I'd be angry on behalf of my country? I'm used to being angry at my country."

"The world would be better off with multiple superpowers. When Communist USSR was a superpower, the world was better off."

"Our country is founded on a sham: our forefathers were slave-owning rich white guys who wanted it their way. So when I see the American flag, I go, 'Oh my God, you're insulting me.' That you can have a gay parade on Christopher Street in New York, with naked men and women on a float cheering, 'We're here, we're queer!' -- that's what makes my heart swell. Not the flag, but a gay naked man or woman burning the flag. I get choked up with pride."

"You know what is good about these Dixie Chicks burnings or bashings? It's a wonderful, wonderful way for really stupid people to hook up. They meet, they throw some things on the fire, they talk about Vin Diesel, they tell stories about who their favorite Fox anchor is, they exchange phone numbers and in some cases has led to marriages."

"A lot of the hate mail I get is clearly misogynist. I am a proud liberal, feminist woman, and the hate mail I get about those three things is not about me. It's about those signifers, and about what the right in this country has managed to do to perpetuate anger over what they mean."

"We're (women) our own worst enemies a lot of the time, but I still blame men."

"I was a 36C or D, and at 5' 1", I knew that being a small person with big boobs standing in front of an audience was not going to be easy. It would be really hard to get people to pay attention to me without mocking me. Getting a breast reduction to prepare for my career was no different from people who work to get good grades to get into a good college to get into a good graduate school to get a good job. I went down to a B cup, and it was the best thing in the whole world."

Where Are They Now

(March 2005) Host of Air America Radio's "The Majority Report" with Sam Seder.

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