Susie Essman is an American stand-up comedian and comic actress in television and films. She is best known for her role as Susie Greene, wife of Larry David's manager on the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Biography

Born in Manhattan to a Jewish family, Essman grew up in the middle-class New York City suburb Mount Vernon. Her father, Leonard Essman, was an internist; he died in 2001. Her mother, Zora, taught Russian at Sarah Lawrence College. Essman received her bachelor's degree from Purchase College, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

Career

Film and Television

Essman is best-known for her role as Susie Greene, wife of Jeff Greene (portrayed by Jeff Garlin), on the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Essman told the New York Times that by the show's third season, she could not "walk down the street anymore without people stopping her and begging her to say" her character's catchphrase: "You fat fuck. Her doorman does not give Essman her mail until she says it to him. In the fall of 2007, Slate named Essman's character one of the best on television, and a reason the publication looked forward to the return of the show.

Essman also provides the voice of Helen Higgins on the Comedy Central series Crank Yankers; she was an occasional correspondent on the first season of the network's The Daily Show. She has brought her distinctive New York voice and style to a number of small parts in movies and television, starting with memorable comic cameos in three 1988 films—Crocodile Dundee II, Baby Boom and Punchline.

Stand-Up

Essman has been among the most successful comedians of her generation, traveling and appearing at clubs throughout the country for more than two decades. Her first half-hour special appeared on Comedy Central in 1992; as much of her comedy draws from her ethnic background, she has been featured in documentaries such as "Heroes of Jewish Comedy" and "A History of Jewish Comedy."

On October 15, 2004, she performed at the Friars Club roast of Donald Trump, in which she lampooned the tycoon with lines like "Donald, did you enjoy your meal? I heard your hair ordered the salmon" and "I'm so not your type. I'm smart, my boobs are real and I speak English".

Essman made her UK standup debut at the Corn Exchange at the Newbury Comedy Festival in July 2007. While in England, she appeared on the British television show 8 Out of 10 Cats.

Personal life

She is best friends with comedian and The View co-host Joy Behar. She does not eat meat or chicken—"Not a moral thing," she explains, but "aesthetic"; chicken "grosses me out"—and "lives on sushi.

References

External links

• Official Website
• Susie Essman at the Internet Movie Database
• New York Times Interview
• Sunday Times Interview
• The Guardian Interview