100 Women We Love: Poppy Champlin

Veteran comic Poppy Champlin’s razor sharp wit and in-your-face style of comedy have taken her everywhere from The Oprah Winfrey Show and Olivia cruises to the Gay Games in Chicago. She’s been featured on Entertainment Tonight, the Joan Rivers Show, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, and most recently, stand-up specials on Showtime and Logo—and still she makes time to perform for U.S. troops in Japan, Korea and South Africa. This alum of Chicago’s Second City Improv School has opened for the likes of Bill Maher, Denis Leary, Bill Hicks, Ray Romano and Rosie O’Donnell, and she recently honed her acting and singing chops in the regional production of Titanic: The Musical in Kingston, Rhode Island. “Being an out lesbian has made all the difference in the world for my career,” says Champlin. “I didn’t come out for the longest time because I was afraid it would ruin my career in L.A., but then I came out and actually got a career. And I created it myself. Thanks to all the LGBTQ folks who like to laugh!” These days, Champlin travels the country producing and performing her own show, The Queer Queens of Qomedy, now in its seventh year. –QW