# Laura Kightlinger
**Laura Kightlinger** is an American stand-up comedian, writer, and actor known for a deadpan stage style, for writing on *Roseanne* and writing and producing on *Will & Grace*, and for creating, writing, and starring in the IFC series *The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman* (2006–07)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1964 (some sources give 1969); birthplace reported as Jamestown, New York by one profile and Erie, Pennsylvania by others[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/) |
| Education | Emerson College, Boston, bachelor's degree 1986; performed stand-up in Boston and joined the campus sketch troupe This is Pathetic[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) |
| Signature series | Created, wrote, executive-produced, and starred in *The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman* (IFC, 2006–07), playing a writer at an obscure film magazine who wants to be a screenwriter[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [3](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/LauraKightlinger) |
| Sitcom writing | Writer for *Roseanne* until 1997; writer and producer on *Will & Grace* for eight seasons, with a recurring guest role as Nurse Sheila[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) |
| Book | *Quick Shots of False Hope* (1999, Spike/Avon), 17 autobiographical essays about being raised by her single mother and the humiliations of her adolescence[4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) |
| Documentary | *60 Spins Around the Sun*, about political satirist Randy Credico's fight to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws; won Best Documentary at the Empire State, Beverly Hills, and Boston Film Festivals (2006)[3](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/LauraKightlinger) |
| Later roles | Deb Taylor, a self-obsessed mom, in *[PEN15](https://www.edgepedia.org/pen15)* on Hulu; Albert Brooks' girlfriend on *Curb Your Enthusiasm*; voice roles in *The LEGO Batman Movie* and *The LEGO Ninjago Movie*[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/) • [5](https://improv.com/hollywood/comic/laura%20kightlinger/) |
## Stand-up beginnings
Kightlinger began performing stand-up around Boston while attending [Emerson College](https://www.edgepedia.org/emerson-college) and graduated in 1986[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger). In 1992 she hosted *Stand-Up Stand-Up* for the then-new cable network [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central)[4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger). Her stand-up has been characterized by a deadpan delivery; at the [Just for Laughs](https://www.edgepedia.org/just-for-laughs) (JFL) Comedy Festival, the *Montreal Gazette* called her "a femme fatale deadpan who took risks leading the audience into hilariously unexpected territory"[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/). She has had half-hour specials on Comedy Central and HBO, including a *Comedy Central Presents* special in 2003, and has appeared on *Conan*[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/) • [4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger) • [5](https://improv.com/hollywood/comic/laura%20kightlinger/). She has continued performing stand-up, often at Los Angeles venues such as Largo[4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger).
## Television writing
**Saturday Night Live.** In 1994 her stand-up attracted the attention of *SNL* producers, and she joined the show as a featured player and writer[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger). Her tenure lasted one year. She later recalled it as a sexist, spirit-crushing atmosphere; the 1994–95 season has been described as one of the low points in the show's history[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger).
**Roseanne and Will & Grace.** After moving to Los Angeles, Kightlinger wrote for *Roseanne* until 1997, also appearing on the show[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger). In 1998 she moved to NBC, working as a writer and producer on *Will & Grace* for eight seasons and its 2017 revival, during which she played a recurring guest role as a fertility clinic nurse, Nurse Sheila[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger). IMDb lists her as a consulting producer on *Will & Grace* since its inception[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/).
Her other writing credits include *Dennis Miller Live*, episodes of *2 Broke Girls* (2013–2015, where she also appeared as Veronica), the sketch show *Pretend Time*, the animated series *Daria*, and one episode of *[Extended Family](https://www.edgepedia.org/extended-family-tv-series)* (2024)[3](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/LauraKightlinger) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/). In 2012 she created the short pilot *Drunk & Disorderly* with [Mary Lynn Rajskub](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-lynn-rajskub) and [Patton Oswalt](https://www.edgepedia.org/patton-oswalt)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/) • [3](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/LauraKightlinger).
## Jackie Woodman and Lucky Louie
In 2006, [Louis C.K.](https://www.edgepedia.org/louis-c-k) cast her as Tina, a series regular, on his HBO sitcom *Lucky Louie*[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/). The same year, she created, wrote, executive-produced, and starred in *The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman*, an IFC comedy in which her character, a cynical writer at a Hollywood magazine, schemes to become a screenwriter alongside her friend Tara ([Nicholle Tom](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicholle-tom))[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [3](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/LauraKightlinger). The show ran two seasons and was a critical success; Kightlinger received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actress for the role[3](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/LauraKightlinger) • [4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger).
## Book and documentary work
In 1999 she published *Quick Shots of False Hope*, a collection of 17 autobiographical essays about being raised by her single mother in a working-class Boston neighborhood and the humiliations of her adolescence, including being gonged at her high school talent show and fired from a waitressing job at a Ponderosa Steakhouse[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/) • [4](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger). The *New York Times Book Review* described it as a "memorable, disturbing, and darkly comic debut", and it has been adapted for film and television[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/).
**60 Spins Around the Sun** is her documentary about Randy Credico, a political satirist turned activist, and his campaign to repeal New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws, following Credico to Tulia, Texas, during a racially motivated drug bust; it features the comedians [Larry David](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-david), Colin Quinn, Vanessa Hollingshead, and Nick DiPaolo[3](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/LauraKightlinger). [Jack Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-black) acted as producer on the film[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/). It won Best Documentary at the 2006 Empire State, Beverly Hills, and Boston Film Festivals[3](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/LauraKightlinger). Her short film *Dependable People* won the Black Maria Directors' Citation and the IFCT Best Director Award in 2002[3](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/LauraKightlinger). Other shorts she has written and directed include *Cat Demon: Re-Exhumed*, *American Heroine*, *Roy Fabcock: Legendary Lover*, *Exposition 7*, and the stop-motion *The Scrap County Murders* (2019)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/).
## Acting credits
Beyond *Will & Grace* and *Lucky Louie*, her screen roles include Jen in *Shallow Hal* (2001), an anchor woman in *Pootie Tang* (2001), a role in *Kicking & Screaming* (2005) with [Will Ferrell](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-ferrell), and a prostitute in *The Black Dahlia* (2006)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/). She played [Albert Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-brooks)' girlfriend on *Curb Your Enthusiasm* and the narcissist mom Deb Taylor on Hulu's *PEN15*[5](https://improv.com/hollywood/comic/laura%20kightlinger/). She has voiced characters in *The LEGO Batman Movie* (2017) and *The LEGO Ninjago Movie* (2017)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/).
## Personal life
Kightlinger was in a relationship with actor and comedian Jack Black from 1997 to 2005; IMDb reports the two were engaged[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/). She appeared in Black's *Shallow Hal* during that period[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/). One profile from 2016 states that she appeared to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 U.S. presidential election[6](https://nytimespost.com/left-leaning-comedian-labeled-childish-by-conservative-jeff-dye-after-insult-scrawled-on-tesla/).
## References
1. [Laura Kightlinger – Actress, Comedian, Writer, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/laura-kightlinger/)
2. [Laura Kightlinger, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452716/)
3. [Laura Kightlinger, Laugh Factory comedian bio](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/LauraKightlinger)
4. [Laura Kightlinger, Stand-Up Comedy Database, Dead-Frog](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/laura-kightlinger)
5. [Laura Kightlinger at Hollywood Improv](https://improv.com/hollywood/comic/laura%20kightlinger/)
6. [Left-leaning comedian labeled 'childish' by conservative Jeff Dye after insult scrawled on Tesla, New York Times Post](https://nytimespost.com/left-leaning-comedian-labeled-childish-by-conservative-jeff-dye-after-insult-scrawled-on-tesla/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › American stand-up comedians, contemporary › Stand-up comedians born 1960–1969*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 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