Paula Poundstone

Influential comedian Paula Poundstone is known for her quick-witted observational humor and often bewildered, deadpan delivery. Also a voice actor, podcast host (Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone), and regular panelist on NPR's Wait, Wait…Don't Tell Me, she got her start in comedy in the late '70s. She was winning awards for her HBO specials, including Cats, Cops, and Stuff, by the '90s. In 1992, she became the first female comic to host the White House Correspondents' Dinner. While continuing to appear regularly on television and in films over the decades to follow, Poundstone released the occasional comedy album, such as 2009's I Heart Jokes: Paula Tells Them in Maine and 2013's I Heart Jokes: Paula Tells Them in Boston. She was introduced to younger generations with her memorable performances as the voice of Forgetter Paula in the Disney-Pixar blockbusters Inside Out (2015) and Inside Out 2 (2024).