This page needs some cleaning up to be presentable. This article is heavily slanted to the political right and needs to be rewritten for a more neutral approach.

Born September 28, 1964, American comedienne, actress, andthe quintessentialGen X chick. Often cited as the real-lifeDaria.^[1]

Astand up comic by trade, she was first discovered during a comedy talent search byShowtime. Her TV debut was onThe Ben Stiller Show (the second one), which resulted in Garofalo andBen Stillergetting cozy for a while. A lucky break landed her the role of Paula onThe Larry Sanders Show, netting her two Emmy nominations.

Garofalo joinedSNL during the 1994-95 season, where she incurred much the same fate asSarah Silverman (typecast asBit Characters and rocking the boat too much) and quit mid-season.

Her other notable 90's roles include Jerry'sDistaff Counterpart onSeinfeld, a snarky Gap manager inReality Bites, and starring alongsideUma Thurman inThe Truth About Cats and Dogs. She continues to act on television.

In the 2000s, her acting has largely taken a backseat to her current^[when?] work as a liberal political pundit, most prominently as host of her own show on the short-lived Air America Radio. Not that this was actually her choice... shortly after September 11, 2001, she went on Bill Maher's show and declared that in her opinion, the suicide bombers that had just killed over 3,000 innocent people had been "freedom fighters", and that Americans were the actual terrorists. The ensuing outrage resulted in the cancellation of a television show made for and starring her before it ever went to air, and put such a huge dent in her career that liberal talk radio is one of the only places shecan find reliable work.

• Ambiguously Jewish:Except she's not.
• Asexuality: Self-proclaimed.
• Better as Friends: Came to this conclusion with regards to herself + Ben Stiller.
• Brainy Brunette
• Deadpan Snarker
• Demoted to Extra: Her role inSouthland Tales was cut down to a single second in a crowd shot, with no dialogue.
• It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY": Has been known to wonder out loud in the presence of interviewers how people can mispronounce her name, in particular how they come up with "Jane-Anne" instead of "Ja-neen".
• Meganekko
• Nerds Are Sexy:At least that's what the film industry tells us is the case with her.
• Old Shame: Her brief tenure onSNL certainly qualifies.
  • Her highest-grossing film, ironically enough. Garofalo likedThe Truth About Cats and Dogs better when it was still a small indie production, in which her characterended up loveless and alone at the end.
• One-Scene Wonder: Often appears in Cameos or tiny roles. See:Dogma andThe Cable Guy below.
• Overly Narrow Superlative: Has considered her being dubbed Funniest Person in Rhode Island in her early standup days a case of this.
• Raised Catholic
• Rebellious Spirit: The daughter of an oil executive, she attended school inTexas and was raised as a Catholic conservative. Flash-forward to her today, a poster child for every left-wing atheist on the east coast.
• The Snark Knight
• Soapbox Sadie: And not very good at it, either. She can really only manage when she's ranting unopposed. Her father has called into her shows several times to debate her on the "evils" of the oil industry. On at least one such occasion, Garofalo became so flustered and outraged that she was losing the debate that she stormed out of the studio.

• Vicky Milner inReality Bites (1994)
• "Serving Wench" inThe Cable Guy (1996)

[deadpan] "There were no utensils in medieval times, hence there are no utensilsat Medieval Times™.Would you like a refill of that Pepsi?"

• Heather Mooney inRomy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)
• Deputy Cindy Betts inCop Land (1997)
• Liz inDogma (1997)
• The Bowler inMystery Men (1999)
• Paloma Fineman inThe Independent (2000)
• Stith (voice) inTitan A.E. (2000)
• Beth inWet Hot American Summer (2001)
• Officer Monica Romero inBig Trouble (2002)
• Colette Tatou (voice) inRatatouille (2007)

• Paula onThe Larry Sanders Show (1992-96)
• The Ben Stiller Show (1992-93)
• Saturday Night Live (1994-95)
• Jeannie onSeinfeld (2 episodes, 1996)
• Adult Mabel onMad About You (series finale, 1999)
• Sheila (voice) onKing of the Hill ("Cheap Saks", 2003)
• Louise Thornton onThe West Wing (2005-06)
• Janis Gold on24 (2009)
• Tilly onIdeal (2011)
• Beth Griffith onCriminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011)

• Creator
• Pages Needing Cleanup
• Pages with Examples That Are Not Timeless
• Cult Actor
• Recorded and Stand Up Comedy
• Actors
• Janeane Garofalo
• Names to Know in Comedy