"I’m having a career renaissance,” comedian Sandra Bernhard on why people are more interested in hearing her now
Sandra Bernhard is one of the most prolific female figures in comedy and has been killing the game ever since she arrived in Los Angeles and started doing stand up in the mid 70s. While she might not necessarily be a household name, she’s the kind of performer that once you see her face or hear her voice, you know exactly who she is.
After doing stand-up comedy for a few years, Bernhard was cast on ‘The Richard Pryor Show’, which catapulted her career. She then started getting cast in smaller, character roles in several big films. This then led her to land the part of Nancy in ‘Roseanne’, which truly changed her career forever.
Being bi-sexual herself, Bernhard made history on the hit sitcom with the first ever lesbian kiss on network television. This in turn got Bernhard to open up to audiences both on stage and screen, showing them bits of who she was in her personal life.
“I have intimated things about my sexuality and layered it into my work for years in interesting, compelling and creative ways that revealed that part of my personal life. Just to make statements doesn’t have much power but if you are infusing your work all the time with integrity and nuance, it creates a much more consistent way of inspiring people. I manage to keep outwitting people and breaking the mold of preconceptions.”
