Martha Kelly (born February 24, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actress from Los Angeles, California,[2] best known for co-starring in the FX comedy series Baskets.[3] In 2022, Kelly was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as the drug lord Laurie on Euphoria.
Martha Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 24, 1968[1] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1994–present[2] |
Career
editStand-up comedy
editShe has been featured on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's The Half Hour and Premium Blend, NBC's Last Comic Standing, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
At age 25, Kelly experimented with stand-up comedy at the Laugh Factory in her native Los Angeles. Her material and confidence slowly developed over a five-year period.[2]
Kelly first surfaced on comedy stages in Austin, Texas, with HBO's Aspen Comedy Festival auditions in the fall of 1999, followed by winning Capital City Comedy Club's annual "Funniest Person in Austin" contest in April 2000.[2] Kelly was the winner of Comedy Central's 2002 Laugh Riots national comedy competition and was one of the New Faces in the Just for Laughs comedy festival that same year.[4]
Acting
editAfter many years of performing stand-up, Kelly made her acting debut in January 2016 after long-time friend Zach Galifianakis asked her to co-star in his FX comedy series Baskets.[5] She co-stars as Martha, an insurance adjuster and friend of Chip Baskets (played by Galifianakis).[6]
In 2022, Kelly was nominated for an Emmy for her guest role as a drug dealer in the HBO series Euphoria.[7]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Knock Knock, It's Tig Notaro | Self | |
| 2017 | Infinity Baby | Ava | |
| 2017 | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Tour Guide | |
| 2019 | Corporate Animals | Gloria | |
| 2019 | Marriage Story | Nancy Katz | |
| 2023 | Sitting in Bars with Cake | Ruth | |
| N/A | Coyote vs. Acme | TBA |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–2018 | Baskets | Martha Brooks | 40 episodes |
| 2017, 2020 | American Gods | Zorya Utrennyaya | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Will & Grace | Patty | Episode: "Grace's Secret" |
| 2020 | Corporate | Tandry | Episode: "Fuck You Money' |
| 2020 | Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun | Stylist | Episode: "Dinner Party" |
| 2021–2022 | The Great North | Bethany (voice) | 12 episodes |
| 2022 | Euphoria | Laurie | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | American Auto | Barb | Episode: "Employee Morale" |
| 2022 | Grace and Frankie | Patty | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Hacks | Barbara | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | I Love That for You | Pam | Episode: "Daddy's Lil' Cookies" |
| 2022 | Gaslit | Rose Mary Woods | 5 episodes |
| 2023 | What We Do In The Shadows | Martha | Episode: "The Campaign" |
| 2023 | Carol & The End of The World | Carol Kohl (voice) | Main role |
| 2025 | Common Side Effects | Agent Harrington (voice) |
References
edit- ^ a b Martha Kelly’s own statement while performing at Comedy Club on State, 202 State St Madison, WI on 3/31/18
- ^ a b c d Wolfson, Todd (26 May 2000). "Plain Funny: Checking In With Martha Kelly, the Funniest Person in Austin 2000". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
- ^ Egner, Jeremy (14 January 2016). "Martha Kelly in 'Baskets': Funny, if You're O.K. With That". New York Times. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (29 July 2016). "Geoff Stults Jumps Into 'Granite Mountain'; Martha Kelly Joins 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 31 July 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
- ^ "Meet The Breakout Star Of Zach Galifianakis's New FX Comedy "Baskets"". 21 January 2016.
- ^ Sims, David (21 January 2016). "Baskets: Zach Galifianakis Is America's Sad Clown". The Atlantic.
- ^ Moreau, Jordan; Schneider, Michael (2022-07-12). "Emmys 2022: The Complete Nominations List". Variety. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
- ^ Kurpanek, Carsten [@Kurpanek] (February 11, 2024). "Some great BTS stuff here! Love the shot of @lanacondor with a real Wile E. impact-crater. @MarthaKelly3 and @toneBell are hilarious! I have stories about every frame and if the movie gets released, I'll hopefully get to tell them. #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme" (Tweet). Retrieved June 4, 2024 – via Twitter.