Since 1977 Sandra Bernhard has had an active career spanning decades within the entertainment industry. Her resume includes memorable roles on Roseanne, Pose, The Sopranos, and Will & Grace. Before it was mainstream, Sandra has always incorporated gays, lesbians, and drag into her act, and was unapologetically outspoken in comedy. With tons of television roles, a feature film, and a comedy tour kicking off this year, Sandra is back and louder than ever.
You are an icon who has had such an interesting career. How was your life growing up and what inspired you to ultimately get into comedy?
Sandra Bernhard: I was born in Flint, Michigan. My mother was an abstract artist, and my father was a doctor. I grew up with three older brothers. I knew I wanted to be a performer from the time I was five years old. I think some people are just born knowing what they want to do, and I was one of them. I loved entertaining my family, I loved the attention, and I had a natural predilection for performing. When I was ten, we relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona, which opened me up to the world because it was so different from the Midwest.
All these big shifts and changes have come into play for years in my personal and professional life from childhood to adulthood. My adolescence really shaped me. We all have issues and problems when we were kids but overall, I enjoyed my childhood. It was an adventure and made me who I am. I was 19 when I began performing while working as a manicurist in Beverly Hills.
When you began your comedy career, female performers were generally more reserved. However, you were very outspoken from the beginning. Was that intentional?
SB: I was the anthesis of that. I certainly broke the ice into a new era of being a female performer and saying exactly what was on my mind. I love the ground I’ve broken along the way. I was not self-deprecating and purposefully came across comfortable in my skin, even at times when I was not. It was important for me to not be controlled by the patriarchy, which was a part of my evolution as an artist.
Do you feel you set the precedent of unapologetic female comics?
SB: There were men like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce doing that before me. However, from a female perspective, there was just Joan Rivers, who still felt the need to demean herself. That was something I always watched and never wanted to do. After the big fight to get where we were and are, why would I put myself down? I think I definitely set the tone for that.
You are bisexual and were also one of the first actresses to play an openly bisexual recurring character when you starred as Nancy Bartlett on Roseanne, appearing in 33 episodes between 1991 and 1997. That role was pivotal for your career. What was the experience like, both in front and behind the scenes?
SB: I was coming in and out in a guest star role. I enjoyed it, I really liked Roseanne Barr, it was fun to be around those people. I did not get caught up in the day-to-day drama per se. That was a relief because there seemed to always be something going on. I am glad I did not have to deal with that. The show was brilliant, and Roseanne created a whole new world which no one had done before in the postmodern time. It is a bummer that things devolved. She is a brilliant woman, so it is difficult to discuss this in a freewheeling way because there is a lot at play with people’s emotions.
Roseanne was truly innovative for its time, especially given the topics the show explored. I feel once it was rebooted, it received all the wrong attention…
SB: I do not want to discuss the reboot. I can only address the time I was involved with it, how much fun it was, and how innovative all the characters were whether they were gay, bisexual, etc. Roseanne really opened the gates to interesting approaches to culture, which is what was important about that show.
When I posted I was going to be interviewing you, I received many questions about your highly publicized friendships with Roseanne Barr and of course Madonna. What is the status of those relationships?
SB: I am not interested in talking about that. I do not identify myself as somebody’s friend. I do not see either one of them anymore. We were friends, it was fun, it was a good time, and on we go. People often want some sort of scoop, which does not exist. Anytime you discuss someone, even if it’s nothing bad, people turn it into something else. I no longer want that interfering with my work, what I am accomplishing as an artist, as a social commentator, and someone who really cares about what is happening right now with our government and how tenuous it is with so many people. That is where my energy is going now in conjunction with continuing to write and perform. Clean slate!
You are booked and busy with a variety of projects including your current Shapes & Forms tour. What can fans expect on this tour?
SB: Shapes & Forms is my latest show, which I put together at Joe’s Pub in The Public Theater in December 2024. I am now taking it to every market on this 2025 tour. I have my band, the Sandyland Squad, hitting the road with me alongside Mitchell Kaplan, who has been my musical director for over 40 years.
What topics and subject matter will you be covering on this tour?
SB: I touch on political subjects obviously and tailor it depending on what is going on in the country at the time. Three weeks from this conversation I do not know what will be going on — nobody does! [laughs] I like to comedically cover all the latest pieces that are pulling the country apart. There are also stories about friendships, people I’ve been involved with, and this show is more introspective yet funny at the same time. I also intertwine groovy songs. I do not like to give all the details away. It is the latest version of who I am and what is speaking to me.
You have also been busy with a plethora of major television projects. How have you managed to juggle working on Severance, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Survival of the Thickest, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians?
SB: One of the most cherished for me is Severance, which is a mega hit show. It was an incredible experience to film, and to now see it play out a year after it was filmed has been so inspiring to me. The feedback I have received from it has been phenomenal too. RuPaul’s Drag Race was exciting because I have known Ru for years, I was one of the first performers to use drag queens in my performances, and it was nice to be a part of something [which] has been a part of my retrospective forever. I love Michelle Buteau. We previously worked together on the film Babes, we got to know each other, and afterward she asked me to come and do this role on Survival of the Thickest. It was a fun project, and Michelle is so brilliant in doing such cutting-edge work. I filmed all these projects last year and now they are all coming out. I enjoyed working on Percy Jackson and the Olympians alongside Margaret Cho, who I have known for years. We have a lot of mutual respect, and she is another person who has broken so much ground as a woman and Asian performer. Margaret is also an incredible singer with a great new album out. We have a lot of fun together.
You will also be starring in the feature film Marty Supreme, alongside Timothée Chalamet and Fran Drescher. What was it like filming this project and how would you describe your role?
SB: I will be playing a neighbor and friend of Fran Drescher’s character. It takes place in the 1950s and is a real period piece. I am not sure how it will be cut but Timothée has a really funny, pivotal scene.
You are currently on your ninth year hosting Sandyland on Sirius radio. When you started did you ever think it would be on-air for as long as it has?
SB: There are other talk show format projects I’ve done in the past. Andy Cohen asked me to do it, and it worked. It took me a while to get comfortable and on a beat. Sandyland is a weekly show now, it is on whatever I want to discuss, and I enjoy integrating all the callers. I like to make people feel loved, seen, and supported. My audience consists of everyone from housewives in the Midwest to gay and straight men. There is a variety of people who listen to the show and groove with it.
I do not see where we are heading as a good thing. It is code red. It is a shit show. It is a fucking disaster.
In closing, what are you most concerned about today in this country?
SB: I can’t sum that up, honey! [laughs] I am concerned we still have a functioning country and government in the next four years. I do not see where we are heading as a good thing. It is code red. It is a shit show. It is a fucking disaster. Everyone must be hands on deck, keep their wits about them, and roll up their sleeves to do whatever they can to let their voices be known. That is all I can say about it.
Everyone must get strong, get clear, and get engaged to save this fragile democracy. I am going to keep entertaining; I am going to keep uplifting and continuing to do what I do.
