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Retta BiographyMarietta Sangai Sirleaf, better known as Retta, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She is best known for her role as Donna Meagle on NBC's Parks and Recreation. She has appeared in several films and television shows, and has performed stand-up on Comedy Central's Premium Blend. She stars as Ruby Hill in NBC's Good Girls.
After graduating from Duke, Retta worked as a chemist. In her spare time, she did stand-up at Charlie Goodnights Comedy Club in Raleigh, North Carolina. Eventually she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. Retta started performing stand-up comedy in 1996, although she said she did not start "earning money" until 1998, when she began touring on the college circuit. Retta has said her stand-up material tends to be slightly embellished stories from her regular everyday life, family, and friends. Retta has stated she would give up stand-up comedy for a full-time acting career if possible: "I'm not married to stand-up, just because it's a road thing. It's very lonely with all the traveling."
Retta has served as the opening act for such comedians as Shirley Hemphill and Bobby Collins. She has made television appearances on Bravo's Welcome to the Parker, E! Entertainment Television's The Soup, Freddie, Moesha, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the "Comedy Divas Showcase" segment of The Jenny Jones Show.
In 2009, Retta started making regular guest appearances on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation as Donna Meagle, an employee in the Parks Department of the fictional town, Pawnee, Indiana. During a stand-up performance at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Retta said the acting job on the show was stressful because it was unclear how long the show would stay on the air, due to the poor reviews it received during the first season. Alan Sepinwall, a television columnist with The Star-Ledger, said season 2 episodes of Parks and Recreation afforded more personality and funnier jokes to Donna and other minor characters. She was upgraded to a full-time regular cast member in the third season.
Retta also hosted the 3rd Critics' Choice Television Awards in 2013. In 2014, she appeared on Hollywood Game Night as a contestant along with the other celebrities Paget Brewster, Michael Chiklis, Mario Lopez, Thomas Lennon, and Alyssa Milano.
In 2015, Retta was one of the audiobook narrators for Welcome to Night Vale, a novel tie-in to the eponymous podcast series in which she is the voice of Old Woman Josie. The same year she appeared in season 2 of Bravo's Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.
In 2018, Retta co-starred in the NBC series, Good Girls, opposite Christina Hendricks and Mae Whitman, and published a series of essays in a book called So Close to Being the ShT, Y'all Don't Even Know*.
Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Retta and other top speakers and celebrities.
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So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y'all Don't Even Know
You can take the girl out of fictional local government, but you can't take the fictional local government out of the girl. Retta—who co-starred on all seven seasons ...
So, you want to be as amazing at social media as Retta is? Lucky for you, we spoke with Retta while she was in town for Bravo's Girlfriend's Guide To Divorce ...
Elizabeth Banks, Retta and Dascha Polanco came together to tell real abortion stories as part of the Center for Reproductive Rights' Draw The Line campaign.
Parks and Recreation alumna Retta has been promoted to series regular for seasons 3, 4 and 5 of Bravo's Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce.
Users also viewed these speakers:This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.
All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.
If you are the talent, and wish to request removal from this catalog or report an issue with your profile, please click here.
Marietta Sangai Sirleaf, better known as Retta, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She is best known for her role as Donna Meagle on NBC's Parks and Recreation. She has appeared in several films and television shows, and has performed stand-up on Comedy Central's Premium Blend. She stars as Ruby Hill in NBC's Good Girls.
After graduating from Duke, Retta worked as a chemist. In her spare time, she did stand-up at Charlie Goodnights Comedy Club in Raleigh, North Carolina. Eventually she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. Retta started performing stand-up comedy in 1996, although she said she did not start "earning money" until 1998, when she began touring on the college circuit. Retta has said her stand-up material tends to be slightly embellished stories from her regular everyday life, family, and friends. Retta has stated she would give up stand-up comedy for a full-time acting career if possible: "I'm not married to stand-up, just because it's a road thing. It's very lonely with all the traveling."
Retta has served as the opening act for such comedians as Shirley Hemphill and Bobby Collins. She has made television appearances on Bravo's Welcome to the Parker, E! Entertainment Television's The Soup, Freddie, Moesha, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the "Comedy Divas Showcase" segment of The Jenny Jones Show.
In 2009, Retta started making regular guest appearances on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation as Donna Meagle, an employee in the Parks Department of the fictional town, Pawnee, Indiana. During a stand-up performance at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Retta said the acting job on the show was stressful because it was unclear how long the show would stay on the air, due to the poor reviews it received during the first season. Alan Sepinwall, a television columnist with The Star-Ledger, said season 2 episodes of Parks and Recreation afforded more personality and funnier jokes to Donna and other minor characters. She was upgraded to a full-time regular cast member in the third season.
Retta also hosted the 3rd Critics' Choice Television Awards in 2013. In 2014, she appeared on Hollywood Game Night as a contestant along with the other celebrities Paget Brewster, Michael Chiklis, Mario Lopez, Thomas Lennon, and Alyssa Milano.
In 2015, Retta was one of the audiobook narrators for Welcome to Night Vale, a novel tie-in to the eponymous podcast series in which she is the voice of Old Woman Josie. The same year she appeared in season 2 of Bravo's Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.
In 2018, Retta co-starred in the NBC series, Good Girls, opposite Christina Hendricks and Mae Whitman, and published a series of essays in a book called So Close to Being the ShT, Y'all Don't Even Know*.
Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Retta and other top speakers and celebrities.
Retta is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Retta for your event is $30,000 - $50,000. Retta generally travels from Los Angeles, CA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Vanessa Bayer, Nicole Byer, Nikki Glaser, Chelsea Peretti and Jay Pharoah. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Retta for an upcoming event.
You can take the girl out of fictional local government, but you can't take the fictional local government out of the girl. Retta—who co-starred on all seven seasons ...
So, you want to be as amazing at social media as Retta is? Lucky for you, we spoke with Retta while she was in town for Bravo's Girlfriend's Guide To Divorce ...
Elizabeth Banks, Retta and Dascha Polanco came together to tell real abortion stories as part of the Center for Reproductive Rights' Draw The Line campaign.
Parks and Recreation alumna Retta has been promoted to series regular for seasons 3, 4 and 5 of Bravo's Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce.
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This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.
All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.
If you are the talent, and wish to request removal from this catalog or report an issue with your profile, please click here.
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