Laura Hayes
She brings the unvarnished authority of an aunt holding court.
3 specials · 1992–2001
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Laura Hayes does not chase an audience. She stands at the microphone with the relaxed weight of someone who just poured a drink and decided to tell the truth. Her rhythm relies on letting a silence stretch. When a joke hits, she waits out the roar of the room, sizing up the crowd before delivering a second punchline. She discards artifice entirely, famously pulling off her wig mid-set to make a point.
Specials
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The Queens of Comedy with Mo'Nique, Adele Givens & 1 more
Four working comics share specific takes on sex, dating, and family dysfunction.
Showtime · 79 min
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The Queens of Comedy (Soundtrack) with Mo'Nique, Adele Givens & 1 more
The Grammy-nominated audio companion to the 2001 theater tour.
Eagle Records · Album
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Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam — Season 1, Episode 4 with Bill Bellamy & Ted Carpenter
Martin Lawrence hosts a fast-paced night of uncensored 1990s comedy.
HBO
On stage
She was a central figure in the theater-comedy boom of the early two-thousands. As the emcee for the massive The Queens of Comedy tour, she helped move Black female comics from late-night cable spots to packed arenas. She was the anchor who set the temperature of the room so the other comics could follow.
Her material relies on her family tree, but she refuses to make those stories gentle. She talks about her grandchildren and her aging body with blunt force. A bit might start as a complaint about her sisters and pivot seamlessly into an observation about dating in her later years. She ignores polite expectations to talk about sex and survival on her own terms.
That onstage authority is earned. She frequently mines her pre-comedy life for material, openly discussing her past as a booster and her time in prison. She isn’t playing a character.