For a long time, people dismissed funny women. It used to be extremely difficult for a woman to have a successful career in comedy, and most people’s favorite comedians were men. While it's still tougher for women to break into the field, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler pioneered the way for many fellow comediennes to come. The two were very popular during their time on SNL, and both went on to create and star in their own TV shows on NBC. Since then, they’ve been the undisputed queens of comedy, and have made the comedy game much more open to women.
However, when people think of women in comedy, they tend to only think of these two. While they certainly paved the way for some newer female comedians, and maybe even helped them to start their careers, there are so many other women making waves in this field. For example, Ellie Kemper has been working for years. She got her first big break on The Office and is now the star of Netflix's newest original series The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which is written and created by Tina Fey. To coincide with Kemper's new show, which is now available to stream, check out our list of other women who are dominating the comedy game right now.
After you familiarize yourselves with these witty women, if you still haven’t gotten your laughter fix, be sure to check out The Best Comedy Movies Streaming on Netflix Right Now. You can also learn about more comedians you might not know from Comedians Under 30 to Check Out This Year and The 50 Funniest Comedians on Twitter.