On this day in comedy on March 12, 1959 Comedienne, Actress, Luenell Campbell (“Luenell”) was born in Tolette, Arkansas.
Luenell cut her comedy teeth in Oakland, California in clubs like The End Zone and Sweet Jimmies. During the Black Comedy Boom of the early 90s she was seen on local cable station, KSBT on Soul Beat, an interview show and received standup television exposure with hilarious appearances on BET’s Comic View. She toured internationally entertaining troops and domestically cracking up audiences from coast to coast.
National notoriety was gained when Luenell toured twice with Katt Williams, the latter being the third largest comedy tour of 2006 (behind Larry the Cable Guy and Dane Cook). She was also featured in the concert film of that tour, American Hustle. Her breakthrough film role had her mistaken for the real thing and not an actress. That too real for the audience part was as girlfriend to Sacha Baron Cohen in the smash hit, Borat. However, there were other films: So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), The Rock (1996), Never Die Alone (2004), Spring Breakdown (2009), All About Steve (2009), Head Case (2009), Hey Luenell (2009 TV movie), 35 and Ticking (2011) and Budz House (2011).
Luenell has the distinction of being seen in 3 films that made it to #1 at the box office. The year was 2012 and the movies were Think Like A Man, the animated Hotel Transylvania (where she was heard) and Taken 2, with old tough guy, Liam Neeson. That same year she also appeared in That’s My Boy, C’Mon Man and Mac & Devin Go To High School.
Television has also been a friend to Luenell. She had roles in Nash Bridges, The Tracy Morgan Show, The Tony Rock Project, Californication, The Boondocks, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Festival, Funny or Die Presents, the Middle, Breaking In, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Comedy Underground.
Luenell has toured extensively as a top headliner and appeared prominently on Snoop Dog’s Bad Girls of Comedy and Stand up In Stilettos.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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