Sandra Bernhard

Sandra Bernhard is an American performer whose career spans comedy, film, television, and live performance. Since the late 1980s, Bernhard has bridged and critiqued popular entertainment, celebrity culture, religion, sexuality, and politics as a solo live performer and across a variety of media. A pioneer of the one-woman show, Bernhard brings a distinctive mix of cabaret, stand-up, rock-n-roll, and social commentary to her stage performances. She is number 96 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.

Bernhard first gained recognition on the comedy circuit as a staple at The Comedy Store in Hollywood, which led to her being cast as a supporting player on "The Richard Pryor Show." Her breakthrough role came when Martin Scorsese cast her as Masha in the film "The King of Comedy," for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. Bernhard became a frequent guest on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman, making 28 appearances. She then launched the off-Broadway one-woman show "Without You, I'm Nothing, With You, I'm Not Much Better" at the Orpheum Theatre, which was later adapted into both a film and a double album. Bernhard was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for that work.

Bernhard played Nancy Bartlett on the sitcom "Roseanne," appearing in 33 episodes and becoming one of the first actresses to portray an openly bisexual recurring character on American television. Her stage work continued with her Broadway debut in "I'm Still Here... Damn It!" Notable live stage shows, performed both on and off-Broadway, include "Without You I'm Nothing," "I'm Still Here, Dammit," "Everything Bad and Beautiful," and "#blessed." Bernhard has also written three books: "May I Kiss You on the Lips, Miss Sandra?", "Confessions of a Pretty Lady," and "Love, Love and Love."

Bernhard played Nurse Judy on FX's "Pose," a show based on queer and trans ball culture in Manhattan inspired by the documentary "Paris Is Burning." She has also appeared on Ryan Murphy's "American Horror Story: Apocalypse," highlighting a decades-long television career. Bernhard hosts a live radio program, "Sandyland," on SiriusXM, for which she has won a Gracie Award, featuring an opening monologue on current events and interviews with high-profile figures.

Bernhard appears in the Oscar-nominated A24 feature "Marty Supreme" opposite Timothée Chalamet, directed by Josh Safdie, and joins Season Four of HBO's "The White Lotus." She has been featured on the cover of Town & Country. Television highlights include Apple TV+'s "Severance," a guest judge appearance on "RuPaul's Drag Race," Netflix's "Survival of the Thickest" opposite Michelle Buteau, and Disney+'s "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," where she starred as one of the Gray Sisters alongside Margaret Cho and Kristen Schaal. With a live show, "Shapes & Forms," touring nationally, Bernhard continues to contribute to American entertainment through comedy, acting, and live performance.