# Amy Sedaris
**Amy Sedaris** (Amy Louise Sedaris, born 1961 in Endicott, New York) is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known for creating and starring as Jerri Blank in the cult [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central) sitcom *Strangers with Candy* and for the surreal truTV homemaking parody *At Home with Amy Sedaris*.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sedaris-amy-1961-0) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781238/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961, Endicott, New York; grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sedaris-amy-1961-0) • [3](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/at-home-with-amy-sedaris-is-a-homemakers-talk-show-as-dadaist-carnival) |
| Signature role | Jerri Blank, a 46-year-old ex-junkie and prostitute who returns to high school, in *Strangers with Candy* (1999–2000)[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-04-07/strangers-with-candy-comedy) |
| Co-creators | Paul Dinello, Mitch Rouse, and Stephen Colbert; the show was Comedy Central's first live-action sitcom[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/strangers-with-candy-amy-sedaris-paul-dinello-interview-25th-anniversary) |
| Character source | Jerri Blank was based on Florrie Fisher, a former addict and prostitute featured in the documentary *The Trip Back*[6](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/feb/19/amy-sedaris-at-home-season-two) |
| Books | *Wigfield* (2003, with Dinello and Colbert), *I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence* (2006), *Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People* (2010)[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sedaris-amy-1961-0) • [7](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/amy-sedaris-at-home-tv-show-trutv) |
| Later series | *At Home with Amy Sedaris* (truTV, 2017–2020), which earned two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781238/) |
| Voice work | Princess Carolyn on Netflix's *BoJack Horseman* (2014–2020)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781238/) |
## Early life and Second City
Sedaris was born in Endicott, New York, the daughter of Lou Sedaris, an IBM employee, and Sharon Sedaris, a homemaker, and was raised in [Raleigh, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/raleigh-north-carolina), among six children.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sedaris-amy-1961-0) • [8](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/amy-sedaris-became-deranged-domestic-goddess) Her older brother is the humorist [David Sedaris](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-sedaris); the two have written and performed plays together under the billing "the Talent Family," including *One Woman Shoe* (1995) and *The Book of Liz* (2001).[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sedaris-amy-1961-0)
She moved to Chicago and joined the Second City improv troupe, where in 1988 she met [Paul Dinello](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-dinello) and [Stephen Colbert](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-colbert), her longtime collaborators.[8](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/amy-sedaris-became-deranged-domestic-goddess) • [9](https://www.gq.com/story/strangers-with-candy-mini-oral-history) In 1995 the three brought Colbert to New York to create the sketch comedy series *Exit 57* for Comedy Central.[9](https://www.gq.com/story/strangers-with-candy-mini-oral-history) • [10](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/breaking-the-rules-with-amy-sedaris-67302/)
## Strangers with Candy
*Strangers with Candy* premiered on Comedy Central on April 9, 1999, created by Sedaris, Dinello, Mitch Rouse, and Colbert. It was the network's first live-action sitcom and a key milestone in the young cable channel's development.[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/strangers-with-candy-amy-sedaris-paul-dinello-interview-25th-anniversary) Sedaris proposed the premise of doing ABC Afterschool Specials straight; Colbert contributed the idea that Jerri should always learn the wrong lesson, and Dinello supplied the older central character.[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/strangers-with-candy-amy-sedaris-paul-dinello-interview-25th-anniversary)
**The character.** Jerri Blank is a 46-year-old high school freshman, a self-described "boozer, a user and a loser" who returns to her hometown after decades on the lam.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/feb/19/amy-sedaris-at-home-season-two) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-04-07/strangers-with-candy-comedy) Dinello based her on Florrie Fisher, a four-foot-eight motivational speaker in her 50s who lectured high school students about her years as a prostitute and drug addict in the documentary *The Trip Back*; he watched it and told Sedaris, "You should do this as a character."[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/strangers-with-candy-amy-sedaris-paul-dinello-interview-25th-anniversary) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/feb/19/amy-sedaris-at-home-season-two) Colbert and Dinello also played teachers, Chuck Noblet and Geoffrey Jellineck, secretly having an affair.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-04-07/strangers-with-candy-comedy)
The show ran three seasons and never found a large original audience; it won no awards, and critics were often baffled or offended. It nonetheless became a durable cult favorite.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-04-07/strangers-with-candy-comedy) Comedy Central gave the creators broad creative leeway, asking for script changes only occasionally despite Jerri's profane dialogue.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-04-07/strangers-with-candy-comedy) Sedaris and Dinello reprised Jerri in a 2005 prequel film, which Sedaris also wrote.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781238/)
## Books and the hospitality persona
Sedaris's comic persona extends to hospitality and crafting. With Dinello and Colbert she wrote the novel *Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not* (2003), and she authored the humor books *I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence* (2006) and *Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People* (2010).[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sedaris-amy-1961-0) • [7](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/amy-sedaris-at-home-tv-show-trutv) She has described her performing style as physical and clownish rather than joke-driven: "I'm not a joke person... I just think I find humor in the mundane and day-to-day things."[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/amy-sedaris-at-home-tv-show-trutv)
## At Home with Amy Sedaris
*At Home with Amy Sedaris* premiered on truTV on October 24, 2017, created by Sedaris and Dinello. It is a takeoff of the local craft and cooking shows Sedaris grew up watching in North Carolina, with each episode built around themes such as grieving, lovemaking, and entertaining.[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/amy-sedaris-at-home-tv-show-trutv) • [11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/at_home_with_amy_sedaris/s01) Sedaris plays a version of herself plus recurring characters including the fussy neighbor Patty Hogg, the regional wine lady Ronnie Vino, and the local hobo Nutmeg, with guest stars such as [Rachel Dratch](https://www.edgepedia.org/rachel-dratch), Nick Kroll, Stephen Colbert, Rose Byrne, and [Paul Giamatti](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-giamatti).[10](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/breaking-the-rules-with-amy-sedaris-67302/) • [7](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/amy-sedaris-at-home-tv-show-trutv) • [11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/at_home_with_amy_sedaris/s01)
The series ran through 2020 and earned Sedaris two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781238/) Critics received it well; its first season holds a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and [The New Yorker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-yorker) described it as "a homemaker's talk show elaborated as a Dadaist carnival."[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/at_home_with_amy_sedaris/s01) • [3](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/at-home-with-amy-sedaris-is-a-homemakers-talk-show-as-dadaist-carnival)
## Other screen work
Sedaris's television credits include *Sex and the City*, *Monk*, *[My Name Is Earl](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-name-is-earl)*, *Rescue Me*, *The Good Wife*, and *Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt*, where she played Mimi Kanasis (2015–2020).[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sedaris-amy-1961-0) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781238/) • [10](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/breaking-the-rules-with-amy-sedaris-67302/) Her voice roles include Princess Carolyn on *BoJack Horseman* (2014–2020), a role written with a sad arc of infertility and miscarriage, plus credits on *American Dad!* and *SpongeBob SquarePants*.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781238/) • [7](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/amy-sedaris-at-home-tv-show-trutv) • [10](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/breaking-the-rules-with-amy-sedaris-67302/) In the [Star Wars](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-wars) series *The Mandalorian* and *The Book of Boba Fett* she plays the mechanic Peli Motto.[12](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621217973)
Her film appearances include *Maid in Manhattan* (2002), *School of Rock* (2003), *Elf* (2003), *Chicken Little* (2005), *Shrek the Third* (2007), *Chef* (2014), and *Ghosted* (2023).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781238/) In the 2023 mockumentary *Theater Camp*, she plays the founder of the AdirondACTS camp, who falls into a coma in the opening minutes and sets the plot in motion.[13](https://apnews.com/article/ed167ee354764e8ec382d699e1093b87)
## References
1. [Sedaris, Amy 1961–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sedaris-amy-1961-0)
2. [Amy Sedaris, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781238/)
3. ["At Home with Amy Sedaris" Is a Homemaker's Talk Show as Dadaist Carnival, The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/at-home-with-amy-sedaris-is-a-homemakers-talk-show-as-dadaist-carnival)
4. [An oral history of 'Strangers With Candy,' Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-04-07/strangers-with-candy-comedy)
5. [Strangers with Candy's Amy Sedaris Reflects on the Cult Sitcom's 25th Anniversary, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/strangers-with-candy-amy-sedaris-paul-dinello-interview-25th-anniversary)
6. [How Amy Sedaris and her distinctive comedy finally found a home, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/feb/19/amy-sedaris-at-home-season-two)
7. [How Amy Sedaris Learned to Play Her Trickiest Character Yet, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/amy-sedaris-at-home-tv-show-trutv)
8. [How Amy Sedaris became a deranged domestic goddess, Interview Magazine](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/amy-sedaris-became-deranged-domestic-goddess)
9. ['Strangers with Candy': A Mini Oral History, GQ](https://www.gq.com/story/strangers-with-candy-mini-oral-history)
10. [Breaking the Rules With Amy Sedaris, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/breaking-the-rules-with-amy-sedaris-67302/)
11. [At Home With Amy Sedaris: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/at_home_with_amy_sedaris/s01)
12. [Amy Sedaris, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621217973)
13. [Friendship lies behind Sundance comedy 'Theater Camp,' AP News](https://apnews.com/article/ed167ee354764e8ec382d699e1093b87)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Sc to Sl*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license