Sommore (born Lori Ann Rambough; May 15, 1966) is an American

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. Known as the "Diva of Contemporary Comedy," her comedic style features a biting sarcasm and frank discussions about money, sex, and equality between the sexes. She first gained fame as the first female host of the long-running

Black Entertainment Television (BET) Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

stand-up showcase ''

ComicView ''ComicView'' is an American stand-up comedy show that aired on BET on Tuesdays and Fridays from September 1992 to December 2008. In May 2014, BET announced the return of ''ComicView''. The show has been the launching pad for such comedians as D. ...

'', as well as one of the four female comedians that headlined

The Queens of Comedy ''The Queens of Comedy'' is a 2000 American stand-up comedy film directed by Steve Purcell that is a spin-off film of ''The Original Kings of Comedy'', both of which were produced by Walter Latham. The film follows the performances and behind-t ...

tour. She appeared in the films ''

Friday After Next ''Friday After Next'' is a 2002 American stoner comedy film directed by Marcus Raboy and starring Ice Cube (who also wrote the film), Mike Epps (in a dual role), John Witherspoon, Don "D.C." Curry, Anna Maria Horsford, and Clifton Powell. It ...

,'' ''

Soul Plane ''Soul Plane'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Jessy Terrero (in his feature film directorial debut). The film stars Tom Arnold, Kevin Hart, Method Man and Snoop Dogg. Supporting actors include Mo'Nique, Loni Love, K.D. Aubert, D.L ...

,'' and '' Dirty Laundry'', and has received the Richard Pryor Award for Comic of the Year.

Early life and education

Sommore was raised in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.The Pennington School The Pennington School is a private (independent), coeducational college preparatory school for day and boarding students in sixth through twelfth grades, located in Pennington, New Jersey, a small community in the northeastern United States mid ...

, she graduated from McCorristin Catholic High School (now called Trenton Catholic Academy) in 1985. She graduated from

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Ame ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where she studied

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

. After receiving her degree, Sommore worked various jobs such as retail, employment consulting and an algebra instructor before progressing into her successful comedy career.

Career

Sommore attributes her success as a comedienne to her writing skills. Influenced by her father, a writer and an English teacher, she extensively researched the business of comedy and learned about the art of comedy. She loves gospel music and her idol is Karen Clark Sheard.

Television and film appearances

Sommore has appeared on various shows including HBO's ''

Def Comedy Jam ''Def Comedy Jam'' is an HBO television series produced by Russell Simmons. The series had its original run from March 7, 1992 to May 2, 1997. Simmons was inspired to make Def Comedy Jam by The Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem, New York and Jerry Le ...

'', ''

Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harvey h ...

'', ''

'', and ''BET Live from L.A.'' She has also done guest appearances on television sitcoms ''

The Hughleys ''The Hughleys'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to April 28, 2000 and on UPN from September 11, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D. L. Hughley as the main character, Darryl Hughley, and Elise Neal as Yvon ...

'' and ''

The Parkers ''The Parkers'' is an American television sitcom aired on UPN from August 30, 1999, to May 10, 2004. A Spin-off (media), spin-off of UPN's ''Moesha'', ''The Parkers'' features the mother-daughter team of Nikki (played by Mo'Nique) and Kim Parker ...

'', and she has been featured on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

''. She also appeared on ''

Comedy Central Roast ''Comedy Central Roast'' is a series of celebrity roast specials that air on the American television channel Comedy Central. The first official ''Comedy Central Roast'' premiered on August 10, 2003. On average one or two roasts air every year. T ...

of Flavor Flav.'' In 2008, she appeared as one of the mob members on several episodes of the game show ''

1 vs. 100 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

''. Her film appearances include ''

'', ''A Miami Tail'', ''

'', and '' Something New''. Sommore and fellow

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

female comedians

Mo'Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known professionally as Mo'Nique, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She has received an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. She ...

, Laura Hayes, and

Adele Givens Willadele Givens is an American comedian, actress and writer. Beginning her career during the late–1980s in comedy, Givens television appearances include ''The Hughleys'', '' Moesha'', ''The Parkers'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''Def Comed ...

were the stars on ''

'' tour, which was filmed and subsequently aired on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

and released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

. Sommore launched the worldwide premiere of "The Queen Stands Alone" on September 30, 2008. The release of her stand-up comedy special was a film version of her stand-up act and was written and produced by Sommore as well as her entertainment company One Thousand Kisses, Inc. Sommore was a winning participant on the sixth season of ''

Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed t ...

''. She lost 11 pounds during the show. Her 2015 special ''Sommore: The Reign Continues'' was aired on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in 2018.

Personal life

Aside from her hometown of Trenton, New Jersey, Sommore has lived in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. Currently, her primary residence is in Miami. Her father was the poet Doughtry "Doc" Long and her half sister is actress

Nia Long Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the NBC sit ...

Filmography

Film/Movie

Television

Comedy releases

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1966 births 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Living people Actresses from New Jersey Actors from Trenton, New Jersey African-American stand-up comedians American stand-up comedians American women comedians Participants in American reality television series American film actresses African-American actresses Morris Brown College alumni Comedians from New Jersey Comedians from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people