| Laura Kightlinger | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 13, 1969 Jamestown, New York, USA |
| Occupation | Actress, comedian, writer |
| Years active | 1991— |
Laura Kightlinger (born June 13, 1969) is an American actress, comedian and writer. She may be best known for her role as Nurse Sheila on Will & Grace.
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Kightlinger was born and raised in Jamestown, New York. She graduated from Southwestern High School in 1986 and attended Emerson College between 1986 and 1989.
After touring as a stand-up comic, Kightlinger got her break writing for the television sitcom Roseanne. She later wrote for Dennis Miller Live and for the 20th season (1994–1995) of Saturday Night Live, on which she was also a featured performer and cast member. Among the celebrities she impersonated were Brooke Shields, Marcia Clark, Paula Poundstone, Mary Hart, and Connie Chung.
Kightlinger worked as a writer and consulting producer on the sitcom Will & Grace. She performed a recurring guest role on the series as Sheila, a nurse at a fertility clinic.
Kightlinger was a correspondent on The Daily Show in 1998. She appeared regularly on the HBO sitcom Lucky Louie. She was a writer and cast member on Roseanne’s short-lived sketch comedy series Saturday Night Special on Fox.
In 2006, she created, wrote, executive produced and starred in The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman, a comedy series about two best friends maneuvering through the not-so-glamorous side of Hollywood. The series aired on IFC from August 4 of that year through September 23, 2007.[1] When asked how much of the series was based on her personal experience, Kightlinger responded:
I think like 85% and then the other 15 is the experience of a woman. We usually cull a lot of stories from what happened to us and our friends, so I’d say a lot of it is. I always feel like rejection is my petrol. That’s what keeps me going.[2]
Kightlinger has had her own stand-up comedy specials on HBO and Comedy Central. Another hour-long special is reportedly being developed.
Kightlinger appeared in Shallow Hal.[3] in 2004. That same year, she made a short film, "Dependable People",[4] which won both the Black Maria Director's Citation and the IFCT Best Director Award in 2002.
In 2003, she directed her first documentary, 60 Spins Around the Sun, which chronicles the New York City street movement to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws. It focuses on political satirist turned activist Randy Credico and his fight to repeal the laws. The film follows Credico to Tulia, Texas during a racially motivated drug bust, which is the subject of an upcoming film starring Halle Berry. Included in this documentary are stand-up comics Larry David, Colin Quinn, Don Gavin, Vanessa Hollingshead and Nick DiPaolo. It won Best Documentary at the 2008 Empire State, Beverly Hills and Boston Film Festivals.
Kightlinger's book Quick Shots of False Hope was published in 1999. The New York Times Book Review described it as "memorable, disturbing and darkly comic." The book is being adapted for film.
Kightlinger has written several shorts for Funnyordie and Atom.com, including “Roy Fabcock: Legendary Lover,” and “American Heroine,” in which she also starred.
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