Joan Rivers: Actress and Comedian

Joan Rivers, an American comedian, actress, talk show host and businesswoman, was born on June 8, 1933 as Joan Alexandra Molinsky. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and is the daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants Beatrice and Meyer C. Molinsky who was a doctor.

Her family later moved to Larchmont which is located in Westchester County, New York. Between 1950 and 1952 she attended Connecticut Collegefor Women and then graduated from Barnard Collegein New York, New York in 1954 with a Bachelors of Arts in English literature and anthropology.

A friend took her to see Lenny Bruce do stand-up comedy and that's when she realized comedy was what she wanted to do. Early in her comedy career, she performed as half a comedy team of "Joanie and Bill". "Bill" was William Perry a former actor who was born in 1936 and died in 2006.

She worked at various jobs like at Rockefeller center, then as a writer and proofreader at an advertising agency. She also worked as a fashion consultant at Bond Clothing Stores. It was during this time, that an agent named Tony Rivers told her to change her name. He suggested "Joan Rivers" and the name stuck.

In 1953, she was a writer for television's "Candid Camera".

Joan's first marriage was to James Sanger in 1955. James was the son of a Bond merchandise manager. The marriage only lasted six months and was annulled because Sanger didn't want children but did not tell Joan before the wedding. Joan's second marriage was to Edgar Rosenberg on July 15, 1965. Edgar ended up committing suicide. Their only child was a daughter Melissa Warburg Rosenburg, better known as Melissa Rivers, who was born on January 20, 1968.

Joan suffered struggles of her own such as bulimia and contemplating suicide. She talks about these in her book Bouncing Back: I've Survived Everything...and I Mean Everything...and You Can Too!. She also talks about how she recovered with counseling and with the support of her family.

She is the author of several other books such as: Enter Talking, Still Talking, Don't Count the Candles: Just Keep the Fire Lit!, Having a Baby Can Be a Scream, and The Life and Times of Heidi Abromowitz.

Before getting into show business, she was as show buyer for Lord & Taylor department store in New York. One of her quirks is that she likes to collect Faberge eggs, which are jeweled eggs made by Peter Carl Faberge and his assistants between the years 1885-1917.

Joan is a supporter of animal rights and is an active member of PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She is also the national spokesperson for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Come about 1982, she was the first permanent guest hostess on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson". Johnny was upset with her when she left to host her own show "The Late Show" on the rival Fox Network. It is said that Johnny never spoke to her again. In 1985 she was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording.

In 1990, she won a Daytime Emmy for best talk show host and was also nominated for a Tony Award for the play "Donna Marr and her Escorts" in 1994.

In 1997-2002, she was the host of a daily talk show on WOR-AM radio in New York City, which syndicated to about fifty stations. She was one of the final guests to appear on "The Wayne Brady Show" in 2002.

She is most known for brash manner, raspy voice and metropolitan New York accent. She is also known for her several cosmetic surgeries. Her comedic style is poking fun at herself and other celebrities. She is also a vegetarian.

RESOURCES:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001672/bio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PETA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faberge_eggs

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joan_Rivers&printable=yes