Biography
American comedian Michelle Buteau found her voice on the stand-up stage before adding her unique personality to a variety of film and television projects. A New Jersey native, she started her career as a news editor in New York. She initially turned to performing comedy as a way of dealing with the overpowering emotions of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, something that she was unable to escape as a member of the news media. Buteau was a steady presence in comedy clubs from then on, gradually building a reputation for her sassy, outspoken routines. Her rise up the comedy ranks began to pay off with television appearances on shows like "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (CBS, 2005-2014). She gained further notice with her commentary on a revival of the cable show "Best Week Ever" (VH1, 2013). Additionally, she co-hosted "Big Morning Buzz Live" (VH1, 2011-15), with Nick Lachey, and was the host's sidekick on "The Jenny McCarthy Show" (VH1, 2013). She mixed in occasional acting appearances, guesting on "Whitney" (NBC, 2011-12) and "Key and Peele" (Comedy Central, 2012-15). That led to her being cast as a series regular on the short-lived sitcom "Enlisted" (Fox, 2014). She kept up a full slate of stand-up appearances while also adding the podcast "Late Night Whenever!" to her resume. She continued acting as well, with noteworthy appearances on "Broad City" (Comedy Central, 2014-19) and "The Tick" (Amazon, 2017-19). Her screen career picked up steam in earnest beginning in 2019. After small roles in Rebel Wilson's "Isn't It Romantic" (2019) and "Russian Doll" (Netflix, 2019- ), she starred in Tracy Oliver's reimagining of "First Wives Club" (BET, 2019- ), playing a surgeon bonding with her friends over marital problems. She also joined fellow comedians Ali Wong and Randall Park in the romantic-comedy "Always Be My Maybe" (Netflix, 2019). Stretching beyond broad comedies, she appeared with Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis in the continuation of Armistead Maupin's San Francisco chronicle, "Tales From the City" (Netflix, 2019- ).
