1. Her second stand-up special comes out on May 22 on Netflix. She was born in Mississippi, raised outside of Houston, began managing bands in Denver and found success with stand-up in Los Angeles. Needless to say, Tig Notaro, 47, has come a long way to her second stand-up special. Happy To Be Here will feature Tig’s trademark deadpan delivery as she discusses “marriage, parenting and being invited to an Ellen DeGeneres party,” per UpRoxx, before ending with a “tease that will leave you on the edge of the seat.” Considering Tig has already had a massive impact on the world of stand-up with her legendary Live set, this “tease” is a huge promise, Netflix.
2. She’s a cancer survivor. While she has had noteworthy appearances on shows like Community, the Sarah Silverman Program, The Office, and starred in her own Amazon series, One Mississippi, Tig caught the world’s attention in 2012. On July 30 of that year, she found out that she had stage-two cancer in both of her breasts. Days later, on Aug. 3, she made the diagnosis the focus of her stand-up set at Largo in Los Angeles.
“I was scared of offending people and confusing people,” she told NPR’s Terry Gross in 2013. “You know, thinking about people that maybe did have cancer in the audience, or had somebody that they loved that had cancer. And then the reality hit me that I have cancer — this is my story.” The set received immediate praise from comedians like Ed Helms, who called it “One of the most amazing stand-up sets I’ve ever seen,” and Louis CK, 50, who would release a recording of the half-hour set on his website. Tig released a version of the show, titled Live (as in “Tig lives” instead of “Tig is alive”), which became a best-seller. She underwent a double mastectomy, and the cancer was contained.
3. She’s married and has “Tig-lets!” Tig’s cancer diagnosis was captured in the documentary Tig. It started out detailing her attempts to become pregnant, as well as her dealing with her new relationship with (her future wife) Stephanie Allynne. While Tig’s attempts to become pregnant were unsuccessful, she and Stephanie welcomed twin sons – Max and Finn – in 2016, conceived with Stephanie’s eggs via a surrogate.
4. Her first comedy special had an amazing moment. Live was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2014, and her first stand-up special, Boyish Girl Interrupted, was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special. At the end of Boyish Girl Interrupted, Tig actually takes off her shirt to perform topless, showing off her post-double mastectomy chest. “I was trying to get comfortable with my body,” she told NPR, “and I had some shame and sadness and discomfort about the way I looked after my surgery and I think that my brain going to, ‘Oh, take your shirt off,’ was something that I thought might help me move through it.”
5. She was once haunted by Taylor Dayne. No, she didn’t get “Tell It To My Heart” stuck in her head. She met the Taylor Dayne, 56, at a party. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you, but I just have to tell you: I love your voice,” Tig said, to which she replied, “Yeah, I don’t do that anymore.” Nine months later, they bumped into each other at a restaurant and Tig repeated the complement, word for word, per The New York Times. After a third encounter, Tig did what any comedian would do: turn it into an epic, 11-minute joke that was the centerpiece of an amazing This American Life Live performance.
Tig Notaro’s Happy To Be Here will be available on Netflix on May 22.