Thea Vidale

About

Thea R. Vidale (born November 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. Vidale is perhaps best known for her role as Thea Armstrong-Turrell in the ABC sitcom Thea, which originally aired from 1993 until 1994. Vidale is noted as the first African American female comedian to have a television series named after her.

Vidale was born in Washington, D.C. into a military family with three sisters and moved around frequently. Her family moved to Victoria, Texas when she was 12 years old. She graduated from Victoria High School in 1975 or 1976. After high school, Vidale worked as a waitress in Pasadena, Texas before friends encouraged her to be a comedian.

Vidale began her career in 1986 performing at amateur stand-up comedy nights in Houston before quickly progressing to comedy clubs in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Los Angeles. She appeared in the cable comedy special Rodney Dangerfield: Opening Night at Rodney’s Place on HBO in 1989. On the same special were such notables as Tim Allen, Jeff Foxworthy, and Sam Kinison. She performed on Late Night with David Letterman and toured internationally. Vidale’s most prominent featured…