Profile of the Day: Joan Rivers

Joan Rivers

Today we remember pioneering comedian Joan Rivers, who died September 4 at the age of 81. Never one to shy away from speaking her mind, no subject was off limits to the always self-depreciating and sharply-tongued comic.

She was born Joan Alexandra Molinsky in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrants Beatrice Grushman and Meyer C. Molinsky. During the 1950s, Rivers began doing stand-up routines in nightclubs. Her career took off after her appearance on the The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1965. Over the next two decades, she made regular appearances on the show and even served as the official permanent guest host during Carson’s absences. However, after leaving to star in her own show on the newly formed Fox network, Carson never spoke to her again, seeing her exit as a sign of disloyalty.

For years, she made her mark on the red carpet asking celebrities, “Who are you wearing?” No star was safe from her ridicule and critique of their fashion choices.

Described as one of the hardest working women in the business, Rivers paved the way for women in comedy and found joy in making people laugh.

RIP Joan Rivers.
 

View Joan Rivers’s Geni Profile

Image: David Shankbone, Wikimedia Commons