Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian.
Bamford was born at the naval base in Port Hueneme, California (where her father Joel was serving as a Navy doctor), growing up there and in Duluth, Minnesota. She attended Chester Park Elementary and The Marshall School in Duluth and went on to attend Bates College, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Minnesota, where she earned a degree in Creative Writing. Bamford started doing stand-up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the age of 19 at Stevie Ray's Comedy Cabaret and later joined Edinburgh's improvised comedy show The Improverts. She has been in a number of movies and television shows, including several voice appearances in cartoons. One of the best-known aspects of Bamford's act is the many different voices she uses. Her comedy often takes the form of vignettes rather than the standard setup/punchline format. Because her voice is high and child-like, her various impersonations (including her mother and her agent) contrast sharply and draw a reaction from the audience as they sound more adult.
Maria was recently featured on the documentary series The Comedians of Comedy on Comedy Central and Showtime, and now appears in short skits collectively titled "The Maria Bamford Show" which can be found on the website Super Deluxe . She also appears on the comedy compilation CD Comedy Death-Ray (album).
Maria has been quoted in her comedy act and on her appearance on the podcast Never Not Funny to have been diagnosed with, and treated for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Bamford and her pugs, Bert and Blossom, reside in Eagle Rock, California.
