What is Lisa Lampanelli's Net Worth?
Lisa Lampanelli is an American comedian who has a net worth of $6 million. Often dubbed the "Queen of Mean" due to her crude, biting style, she was known for her frequent participation in roasts, including of such celebrities as Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, David Hasselhoff, and Artie Lange. Lampanelli also released a number of comedy specials, and appeared as a contestant on the reality television game show "The Celebrity Apprentice" in 2012.
During the 1990s, she began pursuing a stand-up comedy career, participating in a 2002 Chevy Chase roast. That led to invitations to roast celebrities such as Jeff Foxworthy, Denis Leary, Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, Larry the Cable Guy, Flava Flav and Donald Trump. She continues to roast celebrities on "The Howard Stern Show". She has released several comedy specials, including "Take it Like a Man" in 2005, "Dirty Girl" in 2006, an HBO special "Lisa Lampanelli: Long Live the Queen" in 2009, and "Tough Love" in 2010.
Lampanelli has appeared in numerous movies, including "Delta Farce", "Drillbit Taylor", and "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector". Lampanelli is the author of her 2009 memoir "Chocolate, Please: My Adventures in Food, Fat, and Freaks". She was a contestant on the fifth season of "The Celebrity Apprentice", competing for Gay Men's Health Crisis.
Early Life and Education
Lisa Lampanelli was born as Lisa Marie Lampugnale on July 19, 1961 in Trumbull, Connecticut to Gloria, a typist for the local police department, and Leonard, who worked for the aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. She is of Italian and Polish ancestry. Growing up, Lampanelli went to Roman Catholic schools. As a young adult, she attended Boston College and Syracuse University as a journalism major.
Career Beginnings
Lampanelli began her career as a copy editor for Popular Mechanics magazine, and then as an assistant at Rolling Stone. Additionally, she worked as a fact checker for Spy magazine, where she was also the publication's inaugural chief of research.
Comedy Career
In the early 90s, Lampanelli ventured into stand-up comedy in New York. Her big break, however, came in 2002, when she participated in a roast of Chevy Chase at the Friars Club. Having gained a reputation for her cutting, acerbic style, Lampanelli went on to participate in numerous other roasts over the ensuing years. She roasted such celebrities as Jeff Foxworthy, Pamela Anderson, Denis Leary, William Shatner, David Hasseloff, Flavor Flav, and Donald Trump. Lampanelli also often presided over roasts for "The Howard Stern Show," roasting celebrities including Artie Lange, Andy Dick, and Gary Dell'Abate.
Lampanelli released various comedy specials throughout the 00s, including "Take it Like a Man," "Dirty Girl," and "Lisa Lampanelli: Long Live the Queen," which aired on HBO in early 2009. The director of that special, Dave Higby, went on to direct Lampanelli's 2011 Comedy Central special "Tough Love." The year after that, Lampanelli debuted her one-woman Broadway show "Bring Back the Fat Chick." Among her other notable projects, she released the album "Back to the Drawing Board," which earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Comedy Album in 2016. A couple of years following that, Lampanelli announced her retirement from stand-up comedy on "The Howard Stern Show."
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Film Career
Lampanelli has made some appearances in comedy films over the years. In 2006, she appeared in "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector" alongside Iris Bahr, Megyn Price, and the titular stand-up comedian. Lampanelli reunited with Larry the Cable Guy the next year in "Delta Farce," which also featured Bill Engvall, DJ Qualls, Keith David, and Danny Trejo, among others. She subsequently had a cameo appearance in the 2008 coming-of-age comedy "Drillbit Taylor," starring Owen Wilson.
The Celebrity Apprentice
In early 2012, Lampanelli competed in the fifth season of the reality television game show "The Celebrity Apprentice." Her teammates included Aubrey O'Day, Teresa Giudice, Debbie Gibson, and Cheryl Tiegs. On the show, Lampanelli had a number of emotional outbursts and major clashes with her competitors, including Arsenio Hall and Lou Ferrigno. She also made racist remarks that drew strong ire. In the end, Lampanelli raised $130,000 for her charity of choice, the Gay Men's Health Crisis.
Memoir
Lampanelli's memoir, "Chocolate, Please: My Adventures in Food, Fat, and Freaks," was published by HarperCollins in 2009. The book features the comedian's typically scabrous sense of humor as it tackles a wide range of topics, from dieting to Christianity.
Personal Life
Lampanelli married her first husband in 1991 and got divorced not long after. Later, in 2010, she wed Jimmy Cannizzaro at the Friars Club. They eventually got divorced in the spring of 2014.
On the philanthropic side of things, Lampanelli is known for her support of the LGBTQ community. She has donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Gay Men's Health Crisis, in one case donating $1,000 for every Westboro Baptist Church protestor who protested against her show in Topeka, Kansas in 2011.
