SHERRI SHEPHERD

Playing for: March of Dimes Foundation

Whether on stage or screen, Comedienne/Actress Sherri Shepherd never fails to delight audiences with her magnetic personality and hilarious sense of humor, which is showcased when she often co-hosts The View .The Chicago native co-starred for four seasons with Sara Rue and Andy Dick on the ABC workplace comedy, Less Than Perfect. She costarred opposite Queen Latifah in the March 2005 release of MGM’s Beauty Shop, performed a cameo in New Line’s Cellular with Kim Basinger and appeared with Bernie Mac in Guess Who. Shepherd enjoyed her recurring role as Brad Garrett’s partner ‘Sgt. Judy Potter’ on CBS’ Everybody Loves Raymond.  She is the voice of twin toucans Cheryl and Meryl in the Disney Channel’s comedy series Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, about a poodle and a rabbit stuck in the rain forest. She released a collection of her ‘gospel’ stand-up comedy CD entitled ‘No Refund, No Exchange’.  A favorite on the talk show circuit, Shepherd has regularly appeared on Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Sherri starred in the Miramax Pictures release Who’s Your Caddy as Lady G. Sherri says “I play Big Boi’s (Outkast) right hand “man”. I’m his enforcer, his sounding board… the sane one in his posse.” She will next be seen reprising her hysterical role as Angie Jordan wife to Tracey Morgan’s character on the Emmy Nominated 30 Rock.

A groundbreaking performance on the hit NBC series Friends earned Shepherd the reputation of being one of Hollywood’s most reliable sources for brilliant comedic delivery.

Shepherd continues to defy industry boundaries and has appeared on every major network. She appeared as “God” on Joan of Arcadia for CBS, co-starred opposite Brooke Shields on NBC’s Suddenly Susan, recurred on the WB’s Jamie Foxx Show, and guest-starred on Fox’s Living Single. She played stage manager ‘Melva’ on chef Emeril Lagasse’s show-within-a-show, Emeril, and starred as ‘Joanne Waters’ alongside John Cleese and Ed Begley, Jr. in ABC’s short-lived satirical comedy, Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central). She guest starred several times on another short lived series, David E. Kelley’s Wedding Bells.

A self-described “class clown,” Shepherd always wanted to pursue a performing career. She relocated to Los Angeles during high school and considered being a mortician, but opted for a job as a legal secretary instead. In 1990 she came face-to-face with destiny. After witnessing Andrew Dice Clay on stage, Sherri was egged on by her friends to put her own act together. Her love for performing was instantaneous; success, however, was not. For five years, Sherri toiled as a secretary by day and hopped on the bus at night to do her standup. She finally got her first real break with the comedy Cleghorne! starring former “Saturday Night Live” alum Ellen Cleghorne.

She’s been fortunate enough to work steadily while fine tuning her craft through comedy, scene-study and improvisational workshops. As an accomplished standup comic, she has performed at The Comedy Store, The Improv and Laugh Factory in Hollywood. Sherri also has her own comedy DVD titled No Refund, No Exchange.

Shepherd attributes her success to her faith in God, her grandmother, and her father’s constant encouragement to become anything she wished through hard work and humor. She also has a tremendous amount of respect for other performers and mentions Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Bassett, Janet Jackson and Michael Jordan among her professional role models.

Mother to two year old Jeffrey Jr and two perfectly behaved retrievers, Angel and Shatzi, Shepherd is hilarious at giving off-center perspectives on almost any subject. Away from the set, she enjoys karaoke, skating, church activities and a good game of Taboo.