Maria Bamford
Bamford in 2008
Born	(1970-09-03)September 3, 1970 (age 55) Duluth, Minnesota
Education	Bates College University of Edinburgh University of Minnesota (BA)
Occupations	Actress comedian
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Scott Marvel Cassidy ​ ​ (m. 2015)​
Comedy career
Medium	Stand-up television film
Genres	Observational comedy character comedy surreal humor alternative comedy black comedy
Subjects	Pop culture personal life mental health
Website	mariabamford.com

Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970)^[1] is an American actress andstand-up comedian. Her work often usesself-deprecating and dark topics, including herdysfunctional family,depression,anxiety, suicide, and mental illness.

Her firstcomedy album and tour wasThe Burning Bridges Tour (2003), followed by eight more albums and specials. One of her first feature films isLucky Numbers (2000), and she voiced characters on many animated shows, including Scorpi onMixels, Shriek onCatDog, and many more onAmerican Dad!,Ugly Americans,Adventure Time, andBoJack Horseman. Her film work includesStuart Little 2 (2002),Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure (2003),Barnyard (2006),Heckler (2007), andHell and Back (2015). She voiced Talking Ginger and Talking Becca in theTalking Tom & Friends web series. Her live action television work began inLouie (2012),Arrested Development (2013–2019),WordGirl (2007–2015),Big Mouth (2017–2025),Flatbush Misdemeanors (2021–2022), andHuman Resources (2022–2023). In 2014, she won theAmerican Comedy Award for Best Club Comic.^[2]

The 2016Netflix original seriesLady Dynamite, in which she plays the lead role, is based on her life. She voiced Tito, the Anxiety Mosquito, inBig Mouth and its spinoff,Human Resources.

In 2023, she released a memoir, titledSure, I'll Join Your Cult.^[3]

Bamford's father, Joel Bamford, served as a Navy doctor. She grew up inDuluth, Minnesota, attending Chester Park Elementary andDuluth Marshall School. She has stated that when she was younger, she was often troubled with her anxiety, depression, and what she has called "Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome", a subset ofobsessive–compulsive disorder.^[4]

Upon graduating from high school, she attendedBates College inLewiston, Maine. In 1992, she transferred to theUniversity of Edinburgh inScotland at the start of her junior year. She became the first female member of the college's improvised comedy group,The Improverts. After a year in Scotland, she transferred back to her home state and enrolled at theUniversity of Minnesota, where she earned aBachelor of Arts degree inEnglish. She beganstand-up comedy inMinneapolis, Minnesota, at age 19, at Stevie Ray's Comedy Cabaret.^{[citation needed]}

Bamford has been in many movies and television shows, including cartoon voices. She was the voice of Shriek DuBois inNickelodeon'sCatDog, a wide selection of secondary characters inCartoon Network'sAdventure Time, and Mrs. Botsford, Violet, and Leslie on thePBS educational seriesWordGirl. She does impersonations, including her mother and her agent. Her stand-up comedy often takes the form ofvignettes rather than the standard setup-and-punchline format.^{[citation needed]}

Bamford was featured in the documentary seriesThe Comedians of Comedy onComedy Central andShowtime, and appears in short skits titledThe Maria Bamford Show, broadcast on the websiteSuper Deluxe. She appears on the comedy compilation CDComedy Death-Ray.^{[citation needed]}

Her albumUnwanted Thoughts Syndrome, produced byComedy Central Records, was released in April 2009 and includes a DVD containingThe Maria Bamford Show episodes. During the Christmas 2009–2010 shopping seasons, she was featured in a series ofTarget commercials, portraying an over eager shopper determined to be first in line.^[5] For Christmas 2009, she released a free stand-up special online as a gift to her fans.

While working in voice-over shows and advertisements inLos Angeles, she was hospitalized three times over the course of 18 months for nervous breakdowns. She commented on the hospital visits by saying "it was the responsible thing to do" after she felt "suicidal" and "dispirited".^[4]

In 2012, she releasedThe Special Special Special for download through Chill.com. The special was recorded at her own home in Los Angeles with only her parents present as the audience.^[6][4]

In 2013, she created and starred in a web series calledAsk My Mom. She plays both herself and her mother, who answers questions sent in by fans.^[7] Also in 2013, she appeared as herself in one episode of the interview web seriesAll Growz Up with Melinda Hill.^[8] She voiced Pema in theNickelodeon cartoonThe Legend of Korra.

In 2013, she appeared in season four ofArrested Development as Debrie Bardeaux,Tobias Fünke's love interest.^[9] The series creator noted her as a comical "genius" and said that "real artists [like Maria] talk about things that nobody else talks about, and talk about them candidly."^[4] She remained on the series until it concluded in 2019.

She appeared in the third season ofLouis C.K.'sLouie.^[10] In 2014, she co-created, wrote, and starred inThe Program with Melinda Hill, produced byFunny or Die.^[11][12] In 2014, she won theAmerican Comedy Award for Best Club Comic.^[2] In January 2016, she was a guest onThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where hostStephen Colbert called her his "favorite comedian on planet Earth".^[13]

In early 2016,Netflix announced an original series based on her life, calledLady Dynamite, starring her,^[14][15] released in May 2016. She was invited to the writing process. She did not write any episodes, but was often in the writers' room, discussing ideas and "hanging out". The writers had freedom to modify her experiences for creative purposes.^[16]

In May 2017, she was the commencement speaker for theUniversity of Minnesota's College of Liberal Arts.^[17] During the speech, she gave a check made out toSallie Mae for $5,000, her net speaking fee, to a graduate in the audience who had student loans.^[18]

In April 2018, she appeared on season 13 ofWorst Cooks in America.^[19] She was eliminated in the fourth episode.

On September 5, 2023, her book,Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere, was released byGallery Books.^[20] On September 24, 2023, the book entered theNew York Times Combined Print & E-Book Nonfictionbest seller list at #11.^[21]

Bamford's uniquecomedic style has drawn praise from many in the comedy world. She is best known for her portrayal of herdysfunctional family andself-deprecating comedy involving jokes aboutdepression andanxiety.^[4] Her comedy style issurreal and incorporatesvoice impressions of various character types. Zach Freeman of theChicago Tribune has noted her content and comedic style as "comically erratic" with "seemingly unrelated tangents and constantly varying vocal inflections".^[22] David Sims ofThe Atlantic noted her roles and voice work as having themes of "serial passivity" stemming from her "polite upbringing and own internal anxieties".^[23] Film producerJudd Apatow has described her comedic style as "complex" and "bizarre", later calling her "the funniest woman in the world".^[4][24]Variety described Bamford's performance inLady Dynamite, saying that "the actress and comedian, whose presence has rarely been used as well as it is here, manages the neat trick of being both believably guileless and winningly sharp."^[25] A 2014New York Times profile of Bamford noted her comedic style by saying:

Much of Bamford's work examines the relationship between "people" — generally well-intentioned friends and family — and those who grapple with depression or anxiety or any other challenge to thepsyche. Her act is a series of monologues and mini skits performed rapid fire and often without regard for transition. Deploying a range ofdeadpan voices, she mimics the faux enlightened who hover around the afflicted, offering toothless platitudes, bootstrapping pep talks, or concern warped by self-interest. The humor of any given moment relies not so much on punch lines as it does on the impeccably timed swerves of her tone, the interplay between Bamford's persona and those of all the people who don't get her.^[4]

Bamford stated in an interview withThe Salt Lake Tribune that she has been diagnosed withbipolar II disorder,^[26] andobsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD).^[23] In stand-up, she describes bipolar as "the new gladiator sandal".^[4]

On December 11, 2014, during her show at the Neptune Theater inSeattle, she announced that she was engaged to artist Scott Marvel Cassidy.^[27] They were married at a private ceremony in 2015.^[28][29][30] In March 2025, Bamford and Cassidy separated, and as of January 2026 they are in the process of finalizing their divorce.^[31] She has one sister, Sarah Seidelmann, who is a physician, life coach andShamanic healer.^[32] She has a private residence inLos Angeles, California,^[4] and a home inAltadena, California. She lovespugs, and typically owns at least one senior pug at any given time.^[33]

• The Burning Bridges Tour (2003) [CD]
• How to WIN! (2007) [CD]
• Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome (2009) [CD]
• Plan B (2010) [DVD]
• The Special Special Special! (2012) [video download]
• Ask Me About My New God! (2013) [CD]
• 20% (2016) [CD]
• Maria Bamford: Old Baby (2017) [Netflix]
• Weakness Is the Brand (2020) [album/video]
• CROWD-PLEASER! (2023) [album]
• Local Act (2023) [video download]

• Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere (2023)^[36]

• Bonanas for Bonanza (2020)
• Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend (2023)
• Planet Money - Maria Bamford gets personal (about) finance (Oct 13, 2023)

• Lutkin, Aimée (February 24, 2017)."Here's How Much Comedian Maria Bamford Makes".Jezebel.com. Gizmodo Media Group. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2019.

• Official website
• Maria Bamford atIMDb
• Maria BamfordArchived 2008-09-10 at theWayback Machine atComedy Central
• Radio interview with Bamford on NPR'sFresh Air (38 min., 2013)

• Living people
• 1970 births
• Actresses from Los Angeles
• Actresses from Duluth, Minnesota
• American film actresses
• American stand-up comedians
• American television actresses
• American voice actresses
• American women comedians
• American women television writers
• Television writers from California
• Comedians from Los Angeles
• Comedians from Minnesota
• People with bipolar disorder
• People with obsessive–compulsive disorder
• Screenwriters from Minnesota
• Stand Up! Records artists
• University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• 20th-century American comedians
• 21st-century American comedians
• American actors with disabilities
• American writers with disabilities

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