Samantha Bee
Encyclopedia
Samantha Bee is a Canadian comedic actress and author best known as a cast member on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
.
, Ontario
into an unconventional family. Bee said, "Dating from well before the turn of the 20th century, if there has ever been a successful, happy marriage in my family lineage, I've yet to hear about it."
, McGill University
in Montreal
and George Brown Theatre School
in Toronto
. She was one of the four founding members of Toronto-based sketch comedy
troupe The Atomic Fireballs, with whom she performed before being hired by the Daily Show in 2003.
executives claiming to be environmentalist
s; "They So Horny" on the dearth of Asian
men in U.S. pornography
; "Tropical Repression," on Ed Heeney, a Florida
politician running his campaign based on opposition to gay rights; "The Undecided", an over-the-top look at the infamous undecided voters leading up to the 2004 U.S. presidential elections
; and "Samantha Bee's So You Want To Bee A..." report series, which humorously caricatures the way in which one can easily obtain a certain job, like becoming a 527 group
. Her segment on "NILFs" ("News I'd Like to F#@k"), discussing the sexiness of news anchors is one of her most memorable: "CNN
has the wholesome girl-next-door NILFs, the kind you can bring home to meet your mother. MSNBC
has the dirty-over-30 NILFs. Fox has the filthy NILFs who will report anything. They're the Hustler
of NILFs."
Bee played the title role in a live action production of Sailor Moon
at the Canadian National Exhibition
and has had guest appearances on several television shows. She had her first starring role in a feature film in 2004 with the Canadian independent film
Ham & Cheese, alongside veteran Canadian comics Scott Thompson
and Dave Foley
.
In December 2005, on The O'Reilly Factor
, Bill O'Reilly
used a clip of Bee from The Daily Show as an example of "The War on Christmas", presenting it as having aired recently. The clip (a parody community events calendar) featured Bee mentioning how Christmas
was the only religious holiday that's also a federal holiday in the United States, with O'Reilly talking about "Secular
Central...excuse me, Comedy Central". Jon Stewart
discussed this on the air, claiming he could not recall doing that piece. Stewart invited Bee out, and unlike in the clip that aired on Factor, Bee was visibly eight months pregnant. Though the two were coy insofar as explicitly mentioning her pregnancy, Bee joked it was obvious that the footage O'Reilly showed was a year old (it originally aired in 2004) because she had slightly different highlights in her hair, before stating that her water had just broken.
Bee was the sole female correspondent on The Daily Show from 2006 until the debut of Kristen Schaal
in March 2008. She was The Daily Shows first non-U.S. citizen correspondent. Bee was recognized with a 2005 Canadian Comedy Award for Best Female TV Performance for her work on The Daily Show. In 2007, she made a guest appearance on the hit CBC
sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie
, portraying a Canadian Security Intelligence Service
(CSIS) agent in town on a 'fishing trip'. In 2009, she appeared in the original cast of Love, Loss, and What I Wore
.
Bee authored the book I Know I Am, But What Are You?, which was published in 2010. She is currently developing a sitcom about a celebrity chef with her husband Jason Jones
.
game show Test The Nation
. She finished as the highest scoring celebrity on the show. She made a guest appearance on the Canadian comedy series Little Mosque on the Prairie
playing a CSIS
agent ("Spy Something or Get Out", episode 15).
Bee also appeared in the 12th episode of Season 20 of Law & Order
("Blackmail", episode 445), which aired on January 15, 2010. She played a minor role on an episode of the HBO series Bored to Death
.
Bee appeared as herself on the "Madame President" episode of The Electric Company
in which she moderated a debate between two candidates Lisa Heffenbacher and Francine Carruthers running for president of a book club. Later in the show, she appeared as a newscaster announcing the election results finally choosing Lisa to be the winner.
since 2001, Bee lives in Manhattan
. In late 2005, Jones became a freelance Daily Show correspondent while Bee reduced her workload due to her pregnancy
. In January 2006, the couple welcomed their first child, Piper Bee-Jones. Bee returned to The Daily Show in March 2006.
On January 24, 2008, Bee announced a second pregnancy on air during a bit about the media's coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign.
On June 20, 2008, their second child, Fletcher Bee-Jones was born.
In an interview with Kate Fillion in Maclean's
magazine (June 7, 2010), Samantha said, "I'm pregnant with my third child." She had previously told the Globe and Mail on May 14, 2010, that she and Jones were, "...just procreating like we're farmers". This was then referenced on the June 3, 2010 episode of the Daily Show, where they made a point of humorously pointing out Bee's third pregnancy in two years. During the report, Bee was referred to as the "always pregnant lady" and Bee and Jones joked about attempting to conceive a fourth child even before the third was born. Their third child, a daughter named Ripley, was born in late 2010 and Bee was scheduled to return to television in November.
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
.
Early life
Bee was born in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
into an unconventional family. Bee said, "Dating from well before the turn of the 20th century, if there has ever been a successful, happy marriage in my family lineage, I've yet to hear about it."
Education and Early Career
She studied theatre at the University of OttawaUniversity of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
, McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and George Brown Theatre School
George Brown Theatre School
George Brown Theatre School is a drama school and department of George Brown College in Toronto. Both schools are named after the Canadian politician and journalist George Brown....
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. She was one of the four founding members of Toronto-based sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
troupe The Atomic Fireballs, with whom she performed before being hired by the Daily Show in 2003.
Career
Bee has been a correspondent for The Daily Show since July 10, 2003. On that program, Bee has demonstrated an ability to coax people into caricaturing themselves—particularly in segments like "Kill Drill", on hunters and fossil fuelFossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
executives claiming to be environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
s; "They So Horny" on the dearth of Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
men in U.S. pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
; "Tropical Repression," on Ed Heeney, a Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
politician running his campaign based on opposition to gay rights; "The Undecided", an over-the-top look at the infamous undecided voters leading up to the 2004 U.S. presidential elections
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
; and "Samantha Bee's So You Want To Bee A..." report series, which humorously caricatures the way in which one can easily obtain a certain job, like becoming a 527 group
527 group
A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after "Section 527" of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code...
. Her segment on "NILFs" ("News I'd Like to F#@k"), discussing the sexiness of news anchors is one of her most memorable: "CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
has the wholesome girl-next-door NILFs, the kind you can bring home to meet your mother. MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
has the dirty-over-30 NILFs. Fox has the filthy NILFs who will report anything. They're the Hustler
Hustler
Hustler is a monthly pornographic magazine aimed at men and published in the United States. It was first published in 1974 by Larry Flynt. It was a step forward from the Hustler Newsletter which was cheap advertising for his strip club businesses at the time. The magazine grew from a shaky start to...
of NILFs."
Bee played the title role in a live action production of Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
at the Canadian National Exhibition
Canadian National Exhibition
Canadian National Exhibition , also known as The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 18 days leading up to and including Labour Day Monday. With an attendance of approximately 1.3 million visitors each season, it is Canada’s largest...
and has had guest appearances on several television shows. She had her first starring role in a feature film in 2004 with the Canadian independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
Ham & Cheese, alongside veteran Canadian comics Scott Thompson
Scott Thompson
Scott Thompson is a Canadian television actor and comedian, best known for his time as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall.-Personal life:...
and Dave Foley
Dave Foley
David Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
.
In December 2005, on The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
, Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
used a clip of Bee from The Daily Show as an example of "The War on Christmas", presenting it as having aired recently. The clip (a parody community events calendar) featured Bee mentioning how Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
was the only religious holiday that's also a federal holiday in the United States, with O'Reilly talking about "Secular
Secularity
Secularity is the state of being separate from religion.For instance, eating and bathing may be regarded as examples of secular activities, because there may not be anything inherently religious about them...
Central...excuse me, Comedy Central". Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
discussed this on the air, claiming he could not recall doing that piece. Stewart invited Bee out, and unlike in the clip that aired on Factor, Bee was visibly eight months pregnant. Though the two were coy insofar as explicitly mentioning her pregnancy, Bee joked it was obvious that the footage O'Reilly showed was a year old (it originally aired in 2004) because she had slightly different highlights in her hair, before stating that her water had just broken.
Bee was the sole female correspondent on The Daily Show from 2006 until the debut of Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal is an American actress, writer and comedienne, best known for her role as Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, as Louise in Bob's Burgers and as a contributor on The Daily Show.-Early life:...
in March 2008. She was The Daily Shows first non-U.S. citizen correspondent. Bee was recognized with a 2005 Canadian Comedy Award for Best Female TV Performance for her work on The Daily Show. In 2007, she made a guest appearance on the hit CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures. It is filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Indian Head, Saskatchewan...
, portraying a Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
(CSIS) agent in town on a 'fishing trip'. In 2009, she appeared in the original cast of Love, Loss, and What I Wore
Love, Loss, and What I Wore
Love, Loss, and What I Wore is a play written by Nora and Delia Ephron based on the 1995 book of the same name by Ilene Beckerman. It is organized as a series of monologues and uses a rotating cast of five principal women...
.
Bee authored the book I Know I Am, But What Are You?, which was published in 2010. She is currently developing a sitcom about a celebrity chef with her husband Jason Jones
Jason Jones (actor)
Jason Jones is a Canadian actor and comedian who is a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.-Life and career:Jones was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He attended Ryerson Theatre School in Toronto...
.
Guest appearances
On January 20, 2008, Bee participated in the CBCCBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
game show Test The Nation
Test the Nation
Test the Nation is a television programme, first broadcast in 2001 by BNN in the Netherlands where the concept is owned by Eyeworks Holding who license it to TV production companies around the world.-Show format:...
. She finished as the highest scoring celebrity on the show. She made a guest appearance on the Canadian comedy series Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures. It is filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Indian Head, Saskatchewan...
playing a CSIS
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
agent ("Spy Something or Get Out", episode 15).
Bee also appeared in the 12th episode of Season 20 of Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
("Blackmail", episode 445), which aired on January 15, 2010. She played a minor role on an episode of the HBO series Bored to Death
Bored to Death
Bored to Death is an American comedy series, which premiered on HBO on September 20, 2009. , three seasons have aired, each consisting of eight episodes. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames – a writer based in Brooklyn, New York...
.
Bee appeared as herself on the "Madame President" episode of The Electric Company
The Electric Company (2009 TV series)
The Electric Company is an American children's educational series for young children aged 4–8 on PBS, derived from the 1971 series. The series premiered as a four-episode mini-marathon on PBS on January 19, 2009, then became a weekly series with an episode shown each Friday. On September 7, 2009,...
in which she moderated a debate between two candidates Lisa Heffenbacher and Francine Carruthers running for president of a book club. Later in the show, she appeared as a newscaster announcing the election results finally choosing Lisa to be the winner.
Personal life
Married to actor and fellow Daily Show cast member Jason JonesJason Jones (actor)
Jason Jones is a Canadian actor and comedian who is a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.-Life and career:Jones was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He attended Ryerson Theatre School in Toronto...
since 2001, Bee lives in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. In late 2005, Jones became a freelance Daily Show correspondent while Bee reduced her workload due to her pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
. In January 2006, the couple welcomed their first child, Piper Bee-Jones. Bee returned to The Daily Show in March 2006.
On January 24, 2008, Bee announced a second pregnancy on air during a bit about the media's coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign.
On June 20, 2008, their second child, Fletcher Bee-Jones was born.
In an interview with Kate Fillion in Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
magazine (June 7, 2010), Samantha said, "I'm pregnant with my third child." She had previously told the Globe and Mail on May 14, 2010, that she and Jones were, "...just procreating like we're farmers". This was then referenced on the June 3, 2010 episode of the Daily Show, where they made a point of humorously pointing out Bee's third pregnancy in two years. During the report, Bee was referred to as the "always pregnant lady" and Bee and Jones joked about attempting to conceive a fourth child even before the third was born. Their third child, a daughter named Ripley, was born in late 2010 and Bee was scheduled to return to television in November.
External links
- Samantha Bee at Comedy CentralComedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
- Joking for Two – November 13, 2005 New York Times
- "Daily Show" Couple has big plans for new baby - 28 Feb 2008
- What's Up, Samantha Bee? "The Daily Show" Correspondent Finds "Love" Off-B'way - October 2009 - Broadway.com