Wanda Sykes

Wanda Sykes was on the “100 Women” list back in 2009. And in 2012. And then again in 2015. That’s because Sykes will always be a woman we love. This year is again shaping up to be a standout for the comedian. Her new comedy special, “Wanda Sykes: Not Normal” is now streaming on Netflix. She starred as Louise Jefferson on ABC’s live version of “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” and reprised her Emmy-nominated role of Daphne Lido on the hit comedy, “Black-ish.” And another Netflix series, “Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready,” which will be hosted by Haddish and feature women, people of color, and LGBTQ comedians, is in the works at Sykes’s Push It Productions. Sykes has always been a voice for progress both on and off stage, whether it be speaking out for marriage rights or walking away from the hit reboot of “Roseanne” after the star’s controversial tweets caused an uproar. She’s also used her stand-up to call out the current White House occupant, and she continues to do so in “Not Normal.” “For me to go out and not do anything political,” she recently said in an interview with Variety, “it would be ignoring the orange elephant in the room. People expect me to say something. I’m a black woman and a lesbian. There’s a lot of s— that’s wrong in my world right now. So, for me to just go out and talk about my family and act like everything’s fine, it’s like what planet am I living on?” —RK