• Wanda Sykes is an American actress, comedienne and author. She plays Barb on the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine.

  Sykes came out of the closet as a lesbian in 2008 and married her girlfriend Alexandra. The couple welcomed a pair of twins on April 27, 2009. Alexandra gave birth to a girl and a boy: Olivia Lou (6 lbs., 7 oz.) and Lucas Claude (7 lbs., 9 oz.).People: Wanda Sykes Becomes Mom of Twins! (May 13, 2009) The news went unreported by Sykes' publicist until May 13, four days after Sykes' roasting of President Obama at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

• Fast Facts

  1. Also known as Wanda Sykes-Hall
  2. Born: March 7, 1964
  3. Birthplace: Portsmouth, Virginia
  4. Years active: 1987-present
  5. Divorced from David Hall in 1998
  6. Announced that she was gay in 2008
  7. Married her girlfriend Alexandra (last name unknown) on October 25, 2008People: Wanda Sykes Becomes Mom of Twins! (May 13, 2009)
  8. Book: Yeah, I Said It
  9. Worked as a procurement officer for the National Security Agency after college graduation
  10. Appeared in the films Monster in Law, Evan Almighty and Zack and Miri Make a Porno
  11. Hosted the 2009 White House Correspondents' Dinner

• Wanda Sykes at the White House

  Sykes served as host for President Barack Obama's first White House Correspondents' Dinner on May 9, 2009.MTV: White House Correspondents' Dinner (May 6, 2009) During the roast, Sykes took jabs at conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Obama himself, joking that the press "never caught you smoking, but they somehow always catch you with your shirt off. I know you're into this whole transparency thing, but I don't need to see your nipples...there was never a nipple portrait of Lincoln!"Daily News: President Barack Obama gets laughs...

• Corespondents Dinner Flap

  On May 11, 2009, conservative pundits assailed Sykes for remarking at White House Correspondents' Association dinner that Rush Limbaugh was probably the 20th hijacker in the 9-11 attacks, and "I hope his liver fails." Asked about the controversy, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that topic—9-11—was "better left for serious reflection than comedy."San Francisco Chronicle: White House not laughing about Sept. 11 joke (May 11, 2009)

• Late Night Talk Show Host

  Perez Hilton reported on April 1, 2009, that Sykes is getting her own talk show titled The Sykes Show on the Fox network, tentatively scheduled to air Saturday nights.PerezHilton: Sykes To Get Her Own Show (April 1, 2009)

• Early Career

  After graduating college from Hampton University, Sykes discovered her standup abilities when she entered a contest in Washington DC in 1987. She soon began performing at local venues. From there she decided to move to New York City, where she landed her first big break, opening for Chris Rock at Caroline's Comedy Club. By 1997, she joined The Chris Rock Show as a writer and has since acted on Curb Your Enthusiasm as well as her own show, Wanda at Large. In 2004, she wrote the book Yeah, I Said It about her outlook on various topics.

• Proud to be Gay

  While at a Proposition 8 rally in Las Vegas, on November 15, 2008, Sykes announced to a crowd of people that she was gay and had gotten married on October 25, 2008.Gawker: Wanda Sykes Gay As The Day Is Long (November 16, 2008)

• Wanda Sykes Quotes

  "I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th [Sept. 11th] hijacker, but he was so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight."—Hosting the White House Correspondents' Dinner on May 9, 2009Dinner Dish (Politico): Obama laughs at Rush "Oxycontin" jab (May 9, 2009)

  "Somebody should tell her that's not really how you practice abstinence."—On former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's decision to "pull out" of attending the dinner at the last minuteDaily News: President Barack Obama gets laughs...

  ''You know, I don't really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn't feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life...Everybody that knows me personally they know I'm gay. But that's the way people should be able to live their lives...Now, I gotta get in their face. I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be a black woman, and I'm proud to be gay."Gawker: Wanda Sykes Gay As The Day Is Long (November 16, 2008)

• Related Mahalo Pages

  David Hall | CBS | The New Adventures of Old Christine | Down to Earth Movie | The Drew Carey Show | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Over the Hedge | Evan Almighty | White House Correspondents Dinner | Alex Sykes | Christine Marinoni | Proposition 8 California

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