Chonda Ruth Pierce (née Courtney, born March 4, 1960), is a Christian comedian often billed as "The Queen of Clean."

Background

She was born, Chonda Ruth Courtney, in

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, ...

, on March 4, 1960, while she was raised in South Carolina, by her father who was a preacher and mother, Virginia Whalen. Pierce got her start in comedy during a six-year stint at a theme park in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

called

Opryland USA Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially "Opryland") was a theme park in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally (generally March to October) from 1972 to 1997, and for a special Christmas-themed engagement eve ...

. A Theater Arts

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

from

Austin Peay State University Austin Peay State University () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 and named for then-sitt ...

, Pierce went to the park to pay her college bill. Not knowing how to dance, she had to memorize jokes from Grinders Switch, Tennessee and impersonate Cousin

Minnie Pearl Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 – March 4, 1996), known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the televisio ...

. Having had a troubled childhood, Pierce used entertainment as a needed

catharsis Catharsis (from Greek , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions through dramatic art, or it may be any extreme emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. In its lite ...

, reporting "I was hooked! I loved the sound of an audience laughing. It was just the medicine I needed." Pierce has gone on to appear numerous times on the stage of

The Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM (AM), WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment ...

, write eight books, and become a highly sought after

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

comedian, having five gold-certified comedy albums and two platinum albums to her name. Pierce has an ongoing concert calendar and her comedy segments also frequently appear on

XM Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM, Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable televisi ...

's ''

Laugh USA Laugh USA is a Sirius XM Radio channel featuring family comedy and broadcasts on channel 98. The channel's slogan is "Comedy for Everyone." The comedy aired sometimes contains mild profanities and slightly risqué material, and is only very rare ...

'' and

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...

's ''Blue Collar Comedy 103''. Pierce is a member of the Christian Comedy Association, but outside the comedy, she is a spokesperson for

World Vision In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and works with various other Christian leaders and organizations. She has appeared in several of the

Gaither Homecoming ''Gaither Homecoming'' is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither. To date, the ''Gaither Homecoming'' t ...

recordings and she wrote about her struggle with depression in ''Laughing in the Dark: A Comedian's Journey Through Depression'' ().

References

External links

* Living people 1960 births American women comedians Austin Peay State University alumni 21st-century American women {{US-comedian-stub