Meet Tiffany Haddish, our new favorite ghetto superstar.
She is the diamond in the rough. She is the rose that grew from the concrete curbs of South Central Los Angeles. She is the 37-year-old comedic genius who recently became a household name in what almost seems like overnight, and THIS is her moment.
She has a pretty extensive resume when it comes to guest appearances on television shows, but she didn’t have her first real breakout movie role until 2016, when she starred as "Hi-C" in the film Keanu, alongside comedy duo Key and Peele. The first time she really got my attention was when I saw her as "Nikeshia" in The Carmichael Show, a role that she filled seamlessly, and in typical Tiffany Haddish fashion, stole every single scene she was in. I describe it as being similar to when I would see Kevin Hart in little roles such as Scary Movie and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, but no matter how big or small the role, he out shined and outperformed EVERYONE. In addition, I remember saying, "he's about to blow up real soon," and that is exactly how I feel about Tiffany Haddish. THIS is her moment and she's earned every minute of it.
Her story is far from a fairy tale, but if there's anything we've learned about Ms. Haddish so far, it’s that she's one of the best storyteller's we've ever heard. I was recently listening to a podcast in which she was a guest and during her interview, she was very open and honest about her childhood. When Tiffany was about eight years old, her mom was involved in a severe car accident (in which she went through the windshield of the vehicle) and as a result of the accident, she suffered traumatic brain injuries and developed Schizophrenia. Tiffany, being the oldest of her siblings, spent many days caring after her four brothers and sisters, due to her mother’s mental inability to do so.
When Tiffany was around 12 years old, her siblings and herself were split up and put into foster care, until her grandmother was able to eventually gain custody of them from the state. During that time, Tiffany used comedy as her defense mechanism against bullying and coping with the realities of foster care life. She says, when people made fun of her, she began to make fun of herself, not so much because she had low self-esteem, but because comedy was her outlet and her escape from real life, and eventually homelessness as well.
Even now into adulthood, she never forgets where she came from because she always makes sure to designate time to visit a variety of foster centers and group homes, where she helps other kids, who grew up like herself, cope with life through comedy.
Although as a child she was undeniably talented, she was still a fiery teenager who's sometimes over the top personality would get her into trouble. And even though she had difficulty reading, that didn't stop her from winning a Shakespearean drama competition at school. At age 15, her social worker gave her an ultimatum, either you go to psychiatric therapy, or you go to comedy camp. Needless to say, Tiffany chose to attend the Laugh Factory Comedy Camp during the summer of 1997 and that was when she began to take herself seriously and look at comedy as more than something to hide behind. She had her first major television breakthrough as a contestant on Bill Bellamy's Who's Got Jokes in 2006, followed by numerous guest roles on shows such as Chelsea Lately, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and The Real Husbands of Hollywood. But nothing could prepare her for the opportunity of a lifetime when she landed one of four leading roles in the film Girls Trip, a now hit comedy, with an all black female leading cast, that cashed in at $30 million dollars its opening weekend—putting them close to covering the ENTIRE film's budget.
Starring alongside GOATs such as Jada Pinkett, Regina Hall, and THE Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish didn't take the phrase “leading role” lightly. Because LEAD, is exactly what she did. SHE. STOLE. THE. SHOW. Audiences everywhere immediately fell in love with her huge personality, her raw and unfiltered comedy, her honest and unapologetic wit, and her dedication to being nothing more, and nothing less than herself. She sprinkles a little bit of that California gangsta lean on everything she does and suddenly, it all makes sense.
She uses her story as her strength, not her struggle. She laughs in the face of failure and chases her catchy comebacks down with a shot of Hennessy. She shows black women how NOT to apologize for being too sexual, too loud, too funny or too much of yourself for anyone that can't handle it. She is ratchet. She is real. She is undeniably hilarious, and she is black girl magic personified.
This weekend, women of all shades, sizes and walks of life showed up in record breaking numbers and sold out theatres across the country, and they all left asking themselves the same question, "Who is Tiffany Haddish?"
Well, to answer that question: She is ALL of us.
