Lea DeLaria
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Born Name:
Lea DeLaria
Born Date: May 23, 1958
Born Place: Belleville, Illinois
Died Date:
Died Place:
Occupations: Comedian, actress, jazz singer
Brief Biography: Lea DeLaria is known for her trailblazing role as Carrie "Big Boo" Black on Netflix's Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). As the first openly gay comic to appear on American television (1993), she has a long career in stand-up, Broadway, and jazz.
Early Life and Career:
Beginnings: Started her career in the early 1980s as a stand-up comedian in San Francisco's Mission District, often focusing on her sexuality and Catholic upbringing.
"Firsts": She was the first openly gay comic to appear on American television on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1993.
Entertainment Career:
Acting: Best known as "Big Boo" on Orange Is the New Black, for which she won three Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. Other TV roles include One Life to Live (1999–2011) and guest appearances on Friends and Law & Order: SVU.
Broadway: Starred in the 2000 revival of The Rocky Horror Show as Eddie/Dr. Scott and the 2022 production of POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.
Music: A talented jazz musician, she has released several albums on the Warner Jazz and Classics label, including a tribute to David Bowie, House of David (2015).
Born Date: May 23, 1958
Born Place: Belleville, Illinois
Died Date:
Died Place:
Occupations: Comedian, actress, jazz singer
Brief Biography: Lea DeLaria is known for her trailblazing role as Carrie "Big Boo" Black on Netflix's Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). As the first openly gay comic to appear on American television (1993), she has a long career in stand-up, Broadway, and jazz.
Early Life and Career:
Beginnings: Started her career in the early 1980s as a stand-up comedian in San Francisco's Mission District, often focusing on her sexuality and Catholic upbringing.
"Firsts": She was the first openly gay comic to appear on American television on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1993.
Entertainment Career:
Acting: Best known as "Big Boo" on Orange Is the New Black, for which she won three Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. Other TV roles include One Life to Live (1999–2011) and guest appearances on Friends and Law & Order: SVU.
Broadway: Starred in the 2000 revival of The Rocky Horror Show as Eddie/Dr. Scott and the 2022 production of POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.
Music: A talented jazz musician, she has released several albums on the Warner Jazz and Classics label, including a tribute to David Bowie, House of David (2015).