Lea DeLaria

Lea DeLaria (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. She portrayed Carrie "Big Boo" Black on the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019) and Psychic Madame Delphina on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live from 1999 to 2011. She also starred in the Broadway productions POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive in 2022 and the 2000 revival of The Rocky Horror Show. She was the first openly gay comic to appear on American television in a 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show.<ref name="EW 1993-12-10">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Early life

DeLaria was born in Belleville, Illinois,<ref name="Hollywood.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="FilmRef">Template:Cite web</ref> the daughter of Jerry Jean (née Cox), a homemaker, and Robert George DeLaria, a jazz pianist and social worker.<ref name="FilmRef" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her paternal grandparents were Italian.<ref name="Breakupgirl.net">Template:Cite web</ref> She attended kindergarten through eighth grade at St. Mary's Elementary School in Belleville<ref name= tohide/> and has referenced her Catholic upbringing in her performances.

Career

File:Orange Is the New Black cast.jpg

From left to right: Uzo Aduba, Dascha Polanco, Samira Wiley, DeLaria, and Alysia Reiner from Orange Is the New Black in 2015

DeLaria's stand-up career began in 1982 when she moved to San Francisco and performed raunchy stand-up comedy in the Mission District.<ref name= atlanticcity>"Lesbian Comic Delaria Is So Out That She's In", The Press of Atlantic City, March 7, 1994.</ref><ref>Guthmann, Edward. "'The Parker Posey of Queer Cinema': Stand-up comic Lea DeLaria is all over the lesbian and gay film festival", The San Francisco Chronicle, June 14, 1998.</ref> Discussing her stand-up, Delaria says, "This is who I am, when I'm up there. This is it. I'm a big butch dyke. That's who I am. And I'm a friendly one. I'm a big butch dyke with a smile on my face."<ref name= atlanticcity/>

In 1986, DeLaria directed Ten Percent Revue, a musical revue written by Tom Wilson Weinberg that celebrates gay and lesbian culture.<ref>Keating, Douglas J. "Musical Revue Looks at Gay Life". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 17, 1986.</ref> Ten Percent Revue was performed in Boston, San Francisco, Provincetown, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.<ref name= atlanta>Crouch, Paula. "It's a pickle's life in puppet comedy". The Atlanta Journal. November 14, 1986.</ref> Many shows were sold out.<ref name= atlanta/>

From 1987 to 1989, DeLaria starred in Dos Lesbos, a musical comedy about two lesbians dealing with the issues of living together.<ref>Hicks, Bob. "Dos Lesbos". The Oregonian. January 8, 1988.</ref> The show received very favorable reviews nationwide.<ref>Hicks, Bob. "Talented Comedians Slightly Offbeat", The Oregonian, January 7, 1989.</ref>

DeLaria conceived, wrote, directed and starred in Girl Friday: We're Funny That Way, a musical comedy, in 1989.<ref>Valdespino, Anne. "A Latin American original brings her steps to OC". The Orange County Register, January 25, 1989.</ref><ref>Hunt, Phil. "'Girl Friday' Provides a Gay Time for All", The Oregonian, January 12, 1990.</ref> The show won the 1989 Golden Gull for Best Comedy Group in Provincetown, Massachusetts.<ref name="AMG">Template:Cite web</ref>

When DeLaria appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1993, she was the first openly gay comic to appear on a late-night talk show. While appearing on the show, DeLaria said, "Hello everybody, my name is Lea DeLaria, and it's great to be here, because it's the 1990s! It's hip to be queer! I'm a big dyke."<ref>Holden, Stephen. "Left-leaning Singing Comic Caught a Ride on Rising Star". The Times Union (Albany, New York).</ref> DeLaria later said she had been told that she should not have used the term dyke on the air.<ref name= tohide>Richmond, Dick. "Lea Delaria: She's Got Nothing to Hide". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 25, 1993.</ref> Hall later defended her, saying, "If she wants to call herself a dyke, that's her business."<ref name= tohide/>

In December 1993, DeLaria hosted Comedy Central's Out There, the first all-gay stand-up comedy special.<ref name="EW 1993-12-10" />

DeLaria has released two CD recordings of her comedy, Bulldyke in a China Shop (1994) and Box Lunch (1997). She has also written a humorous book entitled Lea's Book of Rules for the World.

DeLaria appeared as Jane in the 1998 Off Broadway production of Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, "a gay retelling of the Bible."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Entertainment Weekly said "a star is born with Lea DeLaria" of her "showstopping" performance as Hildy Esterhazy in the 1998 Broadway revival of On the Town.<ref name="NYT 1998">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="EW 1998-12-4">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="EW 1999-06-04">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

DeLaria subsequently played Eddie and Dr. Scott in the 2000 Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show, and can be heard on the cast recording.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> DeLaria appeared in a number of films, including Edge of Seventeen and The First Wives Club.

DeLaria integrates musical performance into her stand-up comedy, focusing on traditional and modern be-bop jazz. In 2001 she released a CD of jazz standards called Play It Cool. This was followed by the album Double Standards in 2003,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and by The Very Best of Lea DeLaria in 2008.

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DeLaria in 2017

In 2001, DeLaria was the voice of Helga Phugly on the short-lived animated sitcom The Oblongs. In 1996 DeLaria played the part of a woman friend of Carol and Susan in the Friends episode The One with the Lesbian Wedding. In 1999 DeLaria played the recurring role of Madame Delphina on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, returning in 2008 as both Delphina and Professor Delbert Fina. She continued to portray Delphina on a recurring basis until 2011.<ref name="SOAPnet.com 2008-07">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2008, Warner Records released The Live Smoke Sessions, DeLaria's first recording focused on "timeless pop standards" such as "Down With Love", "Night and Day", "Love Me or Leave Me" and "Come Rain or Come Shine." She noted, "I styled this CD on the old school live recordings ... It is my hope that this CD will take you back to 1948 and the Village Vanguard. So please let me invite you to mix a cocktail and enjoy a smoke while you sit back and soak up the swing."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2008, DeLaria completed a tour of Australia, playing Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. She also frequently collaborates with comedian Maggie Cassella, most notably on an annual Christmas cabaret show in Toronto which also sometimes tours to several other North American cities. In July 2010, her version of "All That Jazz" was used on So You Think You Can Dance. DeLaria performed in Prometheus Bound at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 2013, she has appeared in the Netflix Original Orange Is the New Black as the recurring character prison inmate Carrie 'Big Boo' Black.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In December 2014, DeLaria voiced EJ Randell, the lesbian mother of Jeff in the Cartoon Network animated series Clarence.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On February 14, 2015, DeLaria received the Equality Illinois Freedom Award for her work as "a cutting-edge performer who has used her talent to entertain and enlighten millions of Americans," said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois. On receiving the award at the 2015 Equality Illinois Gala in Chicago, DeLaria said, "As an out performer for over 33 years who has made it her life's work to change peoples perception of butch, queer and LGBT, it is an honor for me to receive such recognition from my home state. I feel I'm doing Belleville proud. Go Maroons!".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed

In 2021, DeLaria starred in Wes Hurley's autobiographical dramedy Potato Dreams of America earning rave reviews, praise from John Waters and the Outstanding Supporting Performance Award from Tallgrass Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2022, DeLaria returned to Broadway in the comic play POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive where she received positive acclaim from critics.

The U-Haul Joke

DeLaria is the originator of the U-Haul Joke<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (see also U-Haul lesbian) which she began performing at comedy shows in 1989.

Question: "What does a lesbian bring on a second date?"

Answer: "A U-Haul."

She performs the joke on her album Box Lunch (1997).<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Personal life

In January 2015, DeLaria became engaged to fashion editor Chelsea Fairless after two and a half years of dating. The two met through Fairless's friend, actress Emma Myles, who plays Leanne in Orange is the New Black.<ref>Corriston, Michele. "Orange Is the New Black Star Lea DeLaria Is Engaged". People. February 6, 2015.</ref> In January 2017, DeLaria confirmed she and Fairless had separated.<ref>Webber, Stephanie. "Orange Is the New Black's Lea DeLaria, Fiancee Chelsea Fairless Split, Call Off Engagement", Us Weekly, January 12, 2017.</ref>

Discography

Comedy albums

• 1992: Bulldyke in a Chinashop
• 1997: Box Lunch (Rising Star)

Jazz albums

• 2001: Play It Cool (Warner/WEA)
• 2005: Double Standards (Telarc)
• 2006: The Very Best of Lea DeLaria (Rhino/WEA UK)
• 2008: Lea DeLaria – The Live Smoke Sessions (Ghostlight Records)
• 2015: House of David (Ghostlight Records)

Guest vocalist

• 2005: Din and Tonic – Janette Mason (Fireball Records)
• 2006: Drawn to All Things – Ian Shaw Sings the Songs of Joni Mitchell – Ian Shaw (Linn Records)
• 2009: Alien Left Hand – Janette Mason (Fireball Records)

Theatre and film

• 1998: On the Town – Broadway Revival Cast
• 1999: Edge of Seventeen – Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack – Blue Skies (Razor and Tie)
• 2001: The Rocky Horror Show – 2000 Broadway Revival Cast (RCA Victor Broadway)
• 2005: Hair – Actors' Fund of America Benefit Recording (Ghostlight)
• 2017: Cars 3 – "Freeway of Love"

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Rescuing Desire	Sadie
	The First Wives Club	Elise's fan	National Board of Review Award: Best Acting by an Ensemble
1997	Plump Fiction	Mr. Purple
1998	Homo Heights	Clementine
	Edge of Seventeen	Angie
2006	Fat Rose and Squeaky	Fat Rose	Co-starring Cicely Tyson as "Squeaky"
2013	Ass Backwards	Deb
2016	Bear with Us	Chief Ranger Stewart (voice)
2017	Cars 3	Miss Fritter (voice)
2018	Support the Girls	Bobo
2020	Ahead of the Curve	Herself	Documentary
2021	Potato Dreams of America	Tamara
2025	Tow	Jocelyn
	Outerlands	Denise
TBA	C-Side	Template:TableTBA	Filming<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Out There	Herself	TV film
	Camp Christmas	Herself	TV film
	In the Life	Herself/Guest host	1 episode
1994	Matlock	Det. Pat Jordan	2 episodes
1994–95	The John Larroquette Show	Lorelei	2 episodes
1995	Tom Clancy's Op Center	Capt. White	TV film
	Saved by the Bell: The New Class	Miss Hearst	Episode: "Ryan's Worst Nightmare"
	Out There in Hollywood	Herself	Sequel to the 1993 TV movie Out There
1996	Friends	Woman	Episode: "The One with the Lesbian Wedding"
1997	The Drew Carey Show	Jewel	Episode: "Drewstock"
1998	In Thru the Out Door	Various characters (also writer)	TV film
	We're Funny That Way!	Herself	Documentary
1999	Great Performances	Herself/Performer	TV series
1999–2011	One Life to Live	Madame Delphina	31 episodes
2000	The Beat	Kathy	Unknown episodes
2001	Further Tales of the City	Willie Omiak	TV mini-series
	The Oblongs	Helga Phugly, Grammy Oblong (voices)	Recurring role
	Cabaret Live!	Herself/Performer
2002	The Job	Kiki	Episode: "Gina"
	Just for Laughs	Herself/Performer	TV movie
2003	Will & Grace	Nurse Carver	Episode: "Swimming from Cambodia"
	The Award Show Awards Show	Herself	TV special
2004	Mercury in Retrograde	Betsy Brick	TV short
2006	Outlaugh!	Herself/Performer	TV special
2009	Ptown Diaries	DeLaria	TV movie
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Frankie	Episode: "Transitions"
2012	Californication	Debbie	Episode: "Raw"
	Submissions Only	Auditioner #4	Episode: "Another Interruption"
2013	Dear Dumb Diary	Ms. Bruntford	TV film
2013–2019	Orange Is the New Black	Carrie "Big Boo" Black	Recurring season 1–3, regular season 4–5, guest season 6-7 (63 episodes)
2014	Awkward	Tattooist	Episode: "After Hours"
2014–2017	Clarence	EJ / various characters (voice)	9 episodes
2014	Tellement Gay! Homosexualité et pop culture	Herself	Documentary
2015	The Jim Gaffigan Show	Herself	Episode: "The Bible Story"
2017	Broad City	Deb	Episode: "Bedbugs"
	Shameless	Barb	Episode: "Frank's Northern Southern Express"
2017–2018	Baroness von Sketch Show	Brina / Butch Shaman	2 episodes
2019	The Code	Marti Dimonte	Episode: "1st Civ Div"
	Reprisal	Queenie	9 episodes
2020	Close Enough	(voice)	Episode: "Prank War/Cool Moms"
	Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts	Molly Yarnchopper (voice)	5 episodes
2021	Physical	Professor Mendelson	Episode: "Let's Get Political"
2022	The Blacklist	Nurse Binstock	Episode: "Eva Mason (No. 181)"
2023	East New York	Fire Marshal Nicky Greenville	Episode: "We Didn't Start the Fire"
	Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens	Alfur the Elf	2 episodes
2024	Girls5eva	Bev	Episode: "New York"

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue
1998	On the Town	Hildy Esterhazy	Gershwin Theatre, Broadway
2000	The Rocky Horror Show	Eddie/Dr. Everett V. Scott	Circle in the Square, Broadway
2005	Alley Cats: The Musical	Hilda Heckarott	Vogue Theatre, Vancouver
2017	Mamma Mia!	Rosie	Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles
2022	POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive	Bernadette	Shubert Theatre, Broadway

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2017	Cars 3: Driven to Win	Miss Fritter	Voice

Podcasts

Year	Title	Role
2015	Theater People	Guest
2017	The Naked American Songbook	Guest
2017	Vulture Fest Live: Lea DeLaria	Guest
2018	Ways to Change the World	Guest
2018	Woman's Hour	Guest
2019	The Horrors of Dolores Roach	Cleats
2021	Marvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye	Raven/Mystique
2025	Lea DeLaria Paved The Way	Guest

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1998	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical	On The Town	Template:Nom
	Obie Awards			Template:Won<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Theatre World Award			Template:Won
2014	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Orange Is the New Black	Template:Won
2015				Template:Won
2016				Template:Won
2017				Template:Nom
2021	Tallgrass Film Festival	Outstanding Supporting Performance	Potato Dreams of America	Template:Won

External links

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