Sandra Bernhard

She played Nancy Bartlett Thomas on the ABC sitcom Roseanne from the fourth season (1991) to the end of the show in 1997. She played Masha in Martin Scorsese's film The King of Comedy, Nurse Judy Kubrak in the FX drama series Pose, and Nurse Cecily on the Apple TV+ series Severance. She is number 96 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.

• Name — Sandra Bernhard • Born — 6 June 1955 • Birthplace — Flint, Michigan, U.S. • Occupation — * Actress • comedian • singer • author • Known for — Nancy Bartlett Thomas in Roseanne and Judy Kubrak in Pose • Years Active — 1977–present • Partner — Sara Switzer (1999–present) • Children — 1 • Website — sandrabernhard.com

Bernhard was born June 6, 1955, in Flint, Michigan, the daughter of Jeanette (née LaZebnik; 1921–2014) and proctologist Jerome Bernhard (1922–2025). She was raised Conservative Jewish. She has three older brothers: Dan, David, and Mark. Her family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona when she was 10. She attended Saguaro High School, graduating in 1973. In 1973, she traveled to Israel and stayed for 7 months at Kibbutz Kfar Menahem with her friend Daniel Chick. She later returned to Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

In 1974, after she graduated high school, Bernhard moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in beauty school. She did open mics and performed at clubs until she became a regular at The Comedy Store in Hollywood. Her mentors at the Comedy Store were Paul Mooney and Lotus Weinstock. As her popularity as a comedian grew, she was cast as a supporting player on The Richard Pryor Show in 1977. Bernhard pivoted to acting in 1981 when she was cast in Martin Scorsese's to The King of Comedy, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Bernhard was a frequent guest on David Letterman's NBC program Late Night with David Letterman, making 30 appearances starting in 1983. Bernhard appeared with her then good friend (and rumored lover) Madonna on a 1988 episode of Late Night with David Letterman. The two alluded to their romantic relationship and staged a sexy confrontation; the appearance received much publicity. They continued to be friends for several years, with Bernhard making an appearance in Madonna's film Truth or Dare. The friendship ended in 1992. In 1991, Bernhard began playing Nancy Bartlett on the hit sitcom Roseanne. She appeared in 33 episodes between 1991 and 1997, and was one of the first actresses to portray an openly bisexual recurring character on American television. She hosted the USA Network's Reel Wild Cinema for two seasons beginning in 1995. Also that year, Bernhard appeared as a guest in the "Jerk" episode of the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The following year, she guest-starred on an episode of Highlander: The Series called "Dramatic License", where she played a romance novelist writing about the life of the main character. Bernhard appeared as herself on Will & Grace, in an episode where the title characters spuriously bid on Bernhard's Manhattan apartment in an attempt to become friendly with her. When their ruse is exposed, Bernhard rants at them, with the sounds of a blender (she was having a smoothie made) blotting out supposed obscenities. She briefly returned as herself two years later. In 2006, Bernhard hosted the first season of the reality competition show The Search for the Funniest Mother in America on Nick at Nite. In an interview with Howard Stern, she revealed that she was originally offered the role of Miranda Hobbes on the TV show Sex and the City, but opted out owing to the "terrible" original script and small paycheck. In 2013, it was announced that she would join the cast of ABC Family's Switched at Birth with Glees Max Adler, where she would play an art professor on the season 3 opener in January 2014. In 2015, she made her first appearance as the recurring character of Joedth ("Joe") in season 4 of 2 Broke Girls. From 2018 until 2021, she played Nurse Judy on FX's Pose, a show based on queer and trans ball culture in Manhattan inspired by the documentary Paris Is Burning. In 2025, she appeared in Severance as Cecily, a nurse. In February 2026, Bernhard was cast in the upcoming fourth season of HBO's The White Lotus, created by Mike White. In a March 2026 red-carpet interview at the Actor Awards, Bernhard revealed she had urged White for 25 years to write her a starring role, stating he had finally done so for this season: "What made me beg Mike White for 25 years as his friend, to say, 'When are you writing me a star-turning role?' Mike, what do I have to do? He loves me. We love each other. And he finally said, 'This is it. This is the season.' This is it, and it's the right time."

Bernhard began performing her first one-woman show, I'm Your Woman, in 1985, and an album version was released. She appeared in a variety of small television roles throughout the 1980s while crafting her stand-up routine into a more performance art-oriented show. She launched an off-Broadway one-woman show called Without You, I'm Nothing, With You, I'm Not Much Better in 1988, which played at the Orpheum Theatre. By 1990, it had become a film and a double album of the same title. Bernhard was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 1990. In 1991, she released her first studio album, Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part One). In September 1992, Bernhard appeared in a nude pictorial for Playboy. Bernhard returned to Broadway in 1998 with the show I'm Still Here... Damn It!, recorded for a live comedy album. She was pregnant at the time, and gave birth to a daughter, Cicely, on July 4, 1998. She returned to New York in 2006 with the off-Broadway show Everything Bad & Beautiful. The CD of the show, released by indie label Breaking Records, was lauded as one of her best. 2007 saw the debut of her one-woman show Plan B from Outer Space, and the inclusion of her Hanukkah-themed song "Miracle of Lights", which she co-wrote with Mitchell Kaplan, in the Breaking Records compilation album Breaking For the Holidays. She toured Plan B through 2008 and performed "Miracle of Lights" on some morning shows in New York. Bernhard was a featured guest singer with children's artist Dan Zanes on the Family Dance album's "Thrift Shop". In 2015, she began hosting a radio show, Sandyland, on Sirius XM's Radio Andy.

Bernhard identifies herself as bisexual and is a strong supporter of LGBTQ rights. In July 1998, she gave birth to a daughter whom she raised with Sara Switzer, her partner of more than 20 years. Bernhard was also in a relationship with Venezuelan actress Patricia Velasquez.

In 1995, while serving as a guest panelist on the Comedy Central talk show Politically Incorrect, Bernhard became engaged in an argument with fellow panelist, conservative political commentator John Lofton. Bernhard then stood up and spat at Lofton and exclaimed, "If I had you, you'd be an abortion." In August 2006, Bernhard served as the spokesperson in a commercial for Make-up Art Cosmetics (MAC). In the commercial, promoting PlushGlass lipgloss, she referred to someone who might not approve of her outspokenness as a "little freaked out, intimidated, frightened, right-wing Republican thin-lipped bitch." MAC edited the line from the commercial to avoid offending some of its customers. In September 2008, she warned vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin that she would be gang-raped by her "big black brothers" if she visited Manhattan. Palin had a campaign stop planned in New York City at the time. In November 2020, during an interview with Mariah Carey, Naomi Campbell criticised Bernhard for her comments about Carey and Black men in her 1998 comedy show I'm Still Here... Damn It! In the show, Bernhard disparaged Carey's Black ancestry, saying "She's trying to backtrack on our asses by acting real ni****-ish there at the Royalton Hotel suite with Puff Daddy and all the greasy, chain-wearing Black men."

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1977 — The Richard Pryor Show — Featured Performer — 4 episodes • 1985 — Alfred Hitchcock Presents — Karen — Episode: "Night Caller" • 1990 — Pee-Wee's Playhouse — Rhonda — Episode: "Camping Out" • 1991–1997, & 2018 — Roseanne — Nancy Bartlett — Recurring role • 1992 — Sandra After Dark, with Your Hostess, Sandra Bernhard — Herself (also co-executive producer) — TV movie • 1992–1993 — The A-List — Herself/host — 1 episode • 1994–1996 — Reel Wild Cinema — Herself/host — 22 episodes • 1995 — Space Ghost Coast to Coast — Herself — 1 episode • Freaky Friday — Frieda Debny — TV movie • The Larry Sanders Show — Herself — 2 episodes • 1996 — Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist — Voice, episode: "A Journey for the Betterment of People" • The Late Shift — TV movie • Highlander: The Series — Carolyn Marsh — Episode: "Dramatic License" • 1997 — Superman: The Animated Series — Ms. Gsptlsnz — Voice, episode: "Mxyzpixilated" • Ally McBeal — Caroline Poop — 2 episodes • Spider-Man — Sarah Baker — Voice, episode: "Partners" • 1998–1999 — Hercules — Cassandra — Voice, main role • 1999 — Sandra Bernhard - I'm Still Here..Damn It! — Herself (also writer) — TV movie • 2000 — The Sopranos — Herself — Episode: "D-Girl" • 2001–2002 — Will & Grace — 2 episodes • 2001 — Sandra Bernhard: Giving Them Lip — TV movie • 2002 — The Grumpy Bug — Narrator — Nick Jr. Short Series • 2001–2003 — The Sandra Bernhard Experience — Herself/host — Unknown episodes • 2003 — Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Priscilla Chaney — Episode: "Desperate" • Girlfriends — Marcia — Episode: "And Baby Makes Four" • 2004 — Silver Lake — Sheila Fontana — Unsold pilot • The Grumpy Bug — Narrator — Voice • Whoopi's Littleburg — The Macaroni Lady — 1 episode • 2005 — Crossing Jordan — Roz Framus — 2 episodes • The L Word — Charlotte Birch — 5 episodes • 2005–2006 — The Queer Edge — Herself/co-host — 26 episodes • 2007 — Las Vegas — Margo Poon — Episode: "The Burning Bedouin" • The New Adventures of Old Christine — Audrey — Episode: "Strange Bedfellows" • 2009 — Head Case — Herself — 1 episode • 2011 — Roseanne's Nuts — Herself — 1 episode • Hot in Cleveland — Nan — Episode: "Beards" • 2012 — Family Guy — Herself — Voice, episode: "Ratings Guy" • GCB — Debby Horowitz — 1 episode • DTLA — Carla — 3 episodes • 2013 — The Neighbors — Ms. Porsche — 1 episode • 2014 — Switched at Birth — Prof. Teresa Ledarsky — 4 episodes • You're the Worst — Herself — 1 episode • 2014–2015 — Brooklyn Nine-Nine — Darlene Linetti — 3 episodes • 2015 — 2 Broke Girls — Joedth — 5 episodes • 2016 — Difficult People — Lilith Feigenbaum — 1 episode • 2017 — Broad City — Brenda — 2 episodes • 2018–2021 — Pose — Judy Kubrak — 13 episodes • 2018 — American Horror Story: Apocalypse — High Priestess Hannah Putt — Episode: "Sojourn" • 2019 — Sweetbitter — Maddie Glover — 1 episode • 2020 — The Comedy Store — Herself • 2022 — American Horror Story: NYC — Fran Levinsky — 6 episodes • 2024 — So Help Me Todd — Attorney Belinda Tuttle — Episode: "The Queen of Courts" • 2025 — RuPaul's Drag Race — Herself (Guest Judge) • 2025 — Severance — Nurse Cecily — Recurring • 2025 — Percy Jackson and the Olympians — Anger — Episode: "I Play Dodgeball with Cannibals"

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1996 — Museum of Love — Kitty • 2003 — The Third Date — Ola • 2006 — Twenty Dollar Drinks — Star

• I'm Your Woman (1985) • Without You I'm Nothing (1989) • Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part One) (1994) – No. 40 Billboard Heatseekers Chart • I'm Still Here... Damn It! (1998) • The Love Machine (2001) • Hero Worship (2003) • Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part Two) (2004) • Giving Til It Hurts (2004) • Live and Beautiful (2005) – promotional album sold at website sandrabernhard.com • Gems of Mystery (2006) • Everything Bad & Beautiful (2006) • Whatever It Takes (2009) • I Love Being Me, Don't You? featuring Carla Patullo (2011) – No. 9 Billboard Comedy Chart

• "Everybody's Young" (1985) • "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" (1994) – U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play • "Manic Superstar" (1994) • "Phone Sex (Do You Want Me Tonight?)" (1994) • "On the Runway" (1999) – U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play • "Miracle of Lights" (2007) • "Perfection" (2008) • "All Around" (2009)

• Stormy Weather; song "Is That All There Is?" • Divas of Dance – Volume 3 (Remixes); song "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" • Breaking for the Holidays; song "Miracle of Lights"

Bernhard starred in 1991's Hudson Hawk, directed by Michael Lehrman and starring Bruce Willis. She also starred in 1994's Dallas Doll. In October 2024, Bernhard joined the cast of the A24 film Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet. She appears as Judy, a neighbor and friend of Fran Drescher's character.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1980 — Shogun Assassin — Voice over in English dub • 1981 — Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams — Girl Nut • 1983 — The King of Comedy — Masha — National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress • 1984 — The House of God — Angel Dutton • 1985 — Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird — Grouch Diner Waitress — Cameo • 1986 — The Whoopee Boys — Extra (uncredited) • 1988 — Casual Sex? — Extra (uncredited) • Track 29 — Nurse Stein • 1989 — Heavy Petting — Herself — Documentary • 1990 — Without You I'm Nothing — Herself (also writer) • 1991 — Madonna: Truth or Dare — Herself — Documentary • Hudson Hawk — Minerva Mayflower • 1992 — Inside Monkey Zetterland — Imogene • 1994 — Sandra Bernhard: Confessions of a Pretty Lady — Herself • Dallas Doll — Dallas Adair • 1995 — Unzipped — Herself — Documentary • One Hundred and One Nights — La première quêteuse • The Reggae Movie — Herself — Documentary • Catwalk — Herself • 1997 — Lover Girl — Marci Guerra/'Angel' • The Apocalypse — J.T. Wayne • Plump Fiction — Bunny Roberts • 1998 — An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn — Ann Glover • Exposé — Janet • Wrongfully Accused — Dr. Fridley • Somewhere in the City — Betty • I Woke Up Early the Day I Died — Sandy Sands/Professional Mourner and Stripper • 2000 — One Hell of a Guy — God — Voice • Playing Mona Lisa — Bibi Carlson — Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Stony Brook Film Festival • Dinner Rush — Jennifer Freely • 2001 — Zoolander — Herself — Cameo appearance • 2003 — The Grumpy Bug — Narrator — Voice • 2004 — The N-Word — Herself — Documentary • The Easter Egg Adventure — Claralyne Cluck — Voice • 2005 — Searching for Bobby D — Sherri Dansen • 2009 — Dare — Dr. Serena Mohr • 2010 — See You in September — Charlotte • 2011 — Looking for Lenny — Herself — Documentary • 2024 — Babes — Dr. Shirley • 2025 — Marty Supreme — Judy • Out of Order — Judge Stevenson