Clean Comedian Leanne Morgan on Unexpected Fame: ‘Just Getting Started’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Clean comedian Leanne Morgan landed a spot on Forbes’ “50 over 50” list, but the wife and mother of three never expected to rise to fame.
“Born and raised in rural Tennessee, then married at 23, she spent most of her adult life devoted to raising her three children,” MSNBC reported. “In her 20s and 30s, she sold costume jewelry at women’s homes and Tupperware parties to make extra money.”
It was at these parties that she began to realize she had a gift for entertaining others.
“I was supposed to be talking about jewelry, and I would schlep this big jewelry case around. And I didn’t talk about jewelry. I talked about breast-feeding and hemorrhoids, and I developed a shtick, really, an act. And women thought I was funny and started booking me about a year in advance,” Morgan said previously.
She eventually began doing stand-up in comedy clubs after her family moved to San Antonio, Texas.
Her popularity grew, and in 2023, she came out with her own Netflix special, LEANNE MORGAN: I’M EVERY WOMAN.
She’s called her rise to success “a God thing.”
Morgan reflected on her achievement in a recent Instagram post.
The post, which shows a photo of her Forbes “50 over 50” status, reads, “As I was sitting at my kitchen table this morning writing my book, What in the World, I got a notification that truly made me say WHAT IN THE WORLD?”
“Forbes 50 over 50 is always something I would look at and think…look at all these amazing women. Never in a million years did I think I would be one of them!” Morgan said.
“Thank you all for the incredible honor of being one of the 2023 Forbes 50 over 50 alongside these amazing woman I have looked up to for years. They truly set the example that no matter what age in life, you are always just getting started on your next dream,” she concluded.
Movieguide® previously reported on Morgan’s clean comedy approach:
“The thing I really loved about your act is that there’s no underlying political or social message. It really is just about the laughs. It’s about finding the funny moments in family and growing older,” Bennett told Morgan.
“If you go through the 22 years I’ve been doing comedy, it’s always about my children, my husband, my family—you know, going to Weight Watchers, feeling fat in my pants, whatever,” the comedian said. “And I’ve raised three children, and I’ve been married for 30 years. I’ve got a grandbaby and another one on the way. So, you know I’m a storyteller.”
As children of a comedian, Morgan’s kids used to be a little afraid of what their mom might say on stage.
“When they were in middle school, my children said, ‘Do not speak my name.’ And they also said, ‘Don’t come up to the school with yoga pants on,’” Morgan joked.
