Jen Kirkman
Jen Kirkman
Jennifer Ann "Jen" Kirkman is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, and actress. She is known for her regular appearances as a round-table panelist on Chelsea Lately, as well as for her appearances on the Funny or Die sketch series Drunk History, and its 2013 continuation television series on Comedy Central. She has released two comedy albums, Self Helpand Hail to the Freaks. Her debut book, I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales From a Happy Life Without Kids, was...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth28 August 1974
CityNeedham, MA
CountryUnited States of America
Eventually I'm going to be too old to be on camera, and I've been doing stand-up a long time.
By the time I started doing stand-up, the club scene had died.
Childfree women are actually great assets to the planet. Our carbon footprint is smaller than a mom's! And we have enough money to write checks to organizations that help kids get vaccinations, vitamins, and educations yet have plenty of free time to advise your daughter that one day she will regret piercing her lip.
Actually, my friendships are changing because my friends have kids, so that's a new aspect to the material. Not just that I don't want to have kids, it's that I'm having a hard time relating to people I know.
I'm very big into just feeling good and doing what I want; I'm not very calculated or thoughtful about my moves.
I'm not a big fan of young people.
Improv requires one thing I lack that I think most mothers need - the basic instinct to put someone else first.
If I write a joke, sometimes people will call it a 'lie,' and I'm fascinated with that.
I'm wildly different than Maria Bamford or Sarah Silverman, and might be more similar to some male comics.
The urge that most people feel to have kids is the exact same as the urge that I have to not have kids. I do not want to raise a child.
Don't overpack your carry-on. You're never going to read that second book or that fourth magazine.
Don't make being a girl or a victim part of your stand-up act. If you encounter sexism in the business, don't bring it on stage; it's not funny.
Couples without kids have each other, their friends, families, and Siri to talk to. It's not like they're quarantining themselves in an underground bunker, never to take a romantic stroll on the beach or attend a Morrissey concert ever again. They're just using birth control.
What they call 'alt-comedy' now is basically what comedy was like in the '80s. People tried different things, and everybody went to the clubs; there was no other place. Then somehow, the clubs became infiltrated by Dice Clay and Carrot Top types.