Sarah Silverman

Nomination:

• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - The Sarah Silverman Program

Born on December 1, 1970, Silverman grew up one of four daughters in a middle-class home in Bedford, New Hampshire. As a young girl, she was always interested in comedy, even writing the phrase "I Love Steve Martin" on her bedroom ceiling instead of posting the requisite Shawn Cassidy or Erik Estrada pictures. Funny, irreverent, fearless, hardcore ... All were used at one time or another to describe Silverman and her unremitting style of humor. In fact, she built a career tackling controversial subjects head-on. While most might have only scratched the surface, Silverman dove right into the murky depths of race, religion and sex. Her blasé, seemingly prejudiced outbursts served to effectively deflate taboos, while her winsome looks excused her "offenses." However, taking on these issues was not without its controversies. Silverman was fired from her regular gig on "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ), and in 2001, while appearing on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" (NBC, 1993- ), Silverman uttered a racial slur against Asians and was immediately castigated for it. But through it all, Silverman rarely checked her sharp tongue or curbed her cutting-edge comedy, making even the most hardcore male comics blush on occasion -- including on-and-off offscreen boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel, to whom she dedicated the YouTube video sensation "I'm F---ing Matt Damon." Sadly, only months later, she and Kimmel parted ways after five years together. Not letting a sentimental thing like a broken heart stop her, Silverman was nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy for her third appearance as Detective Adrian Monk's (Tony Shalhoub) biggest (and scariest) fan, Marci Maven, on the USA Network comedy "Monk" (2002- ). Meanwhile, she received another Emmy nod, this time for her work on "The Sarah Silverman Program," which earned her a nomination in the lead actress – comedy series category in 2009.