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Julia Sweeney

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Julia Sweeney
Sweeney in 2008
Born
Julia Anne Sweeney

(1959-10-10)October 10, 1959(age 64)
Spokane, Washington,U.S.
EducationUniversity of Washington(BA)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • author
Years active1988–present
Spouses
Stephen Hibbert
​
​
(m.1989;div.1994)​
Michael Blum
​
(m.2008)​
Children1
Websitejuliasweeney.com

Julia Anne Sweeney(born October 10, 1959)[1][2]is an American actress and comedian. She gained fame as a cast member on theNBCsketch comedyseriesSaturday Night Livefrom 1990 to 1994. She played Mrs. Keeper in the filmStuart Littleand voiced Brittany inFather of the Pride.[3]She recently appeared in theHuluseriesShrill,theShowtimeseriesWork in Progress,and theStarzseriesAmerican Gods.

Early life[edit]

Sweeney was born and raised inSpokane, Washington,the daughter of Robert Mark Sweeney and Jeraldine "Jeri" Sweeney (néeIvers).[4]Her father was an attorney and federal prosecutor, while her mother was a homemaker. She has an Irish Catholic background.[5]Sweeney is the oldest of five children; she had two brothers, William Robert "Bill" Sweeney, and Michael Ivers Sweeney,[6]who both died, and has a brother, Jim Sweeney, and a sister, Meg Sweeney.

As a child, she was drawn to imitating voices and inventing characters.[7]She attended Marycliff High School andGonzaga Preparatory School,where she appeared in a number of plays.[5]She graduated with a double major in economics and European history from theUniversity of Washington,[5]where she was student body vice president[8]and became a member ofDelta Gammasorority.[9]After graduation, Sweeney moved to Los Angeles, where she worked as an accountant forColumbia PicturesandUnited Artists.[10]

Career[edit]

Sweeney speaking at theAtheist Alliance InternationalConvention in 2008

In 1988, while still working as an accountant, Sweeney enrolled in classes with theimprovisational comedytroupethe Groundlings,eventually being selected to be part of the troupe's Sunday Company. It was at the Groundlings that she began to develop characters, which she would later bring to the stage, film, and television.[11]They include Mea Culpa, the title character ofMea's Big Apology(co-written by then-husband Stephen Hibbert), which won the Best Written Play Award fromL.A. Weeklyin 1988, and has been developed by Sweeney (in collaboration with Jim Emerson) into a screenplay; and theandrogynousPat.

Saturday Night Live[edit]

At a Groundlings performance in 1989,Saturday Night Live(SNL) producerLorne Michaelsdiscovered Sweeney[citation needed]and offered her a spot as one ofSaturday Night Live's featured players. She joined the regularSaturday Night Livecast the following year and remained with the show through four seasons, from 1990 to 1994. One of her most popular characters was Pat, whose impossible-to-determinegenderwas the basis for Sweeney's popularIt's Pat!sketches onSaturday Night Live,and a laterfeature film of the same name,[7]which was a critical[citation needed]and commercial failure, costing $8 million[12]to make but grossing only $60,822[13]at the box office.

Monologues[edit]

God Said Ha![edit]

After leaving the cast ofSaturday Night Live,Sweeney returned to Los Angeles where, shortly afterwards, her career was put on hold by a series of personal traumas. Her brother Michael was diagnosed withlymphoma,and shortly thereafter Sweeney discovered that she too had cancer.[14]Her brother did not survive the cancer. Throughout the ordeal, Sweeney told stories of her experiences in serio-comic performances at L.A.'salternative comedyclub, theUn-Cabaret,eventually developing the stories into a one-woman stage show calledGod Said Ha!,which debuted at San Francisco's Magic Theater in 1995.[15]

God Said Ha!moved to Broadway, winning the 1996 New York Comedy Festival's Audience Award, and a CD recording of the show earned her aGrammynomination forBest Comedy Albumthat same year.[16]Miramaxreleased afilm version of the showin 1998, directed by Sweeney and produced byQuentin Tarantino.The film earned theGolden Space Needle Awardat theSeattle International Film Festival,[17]and was released on DVD in 2003. Portions of the monologues from Un-Cabaret were featured onepisode 9ofThis American Life(then known asYour Radio Playhouse) in January 1996. Since her initial monologue, she has appeared on three moreThis American Lifeepisodes.[18]

In the Family Way[edit]

Sweeney's second monologue chronicled the adoption of her daughter from China.In the Family Waystarted on stage in New York City in early 2003 at theArs Nova Theatre.The show was directed by Broadway stage directorMark Brokaw,before migrating to the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles. Sweeney has also released a CD recording ofIn the Family Wayand, in 2006, performed a 25-minute excerpt of the show at theHollywood Bowlwith a new orchestration written especially for her piece by composerAnthony Marinelliand performed by theLos Angeles Philharmonic.[19][20]

Letting Go of God[edit]

Sweeney's third autobiographical monologue is titledLetting Go of God.In it, she discusses her Catholic upbringing, early religious ideology, and the life events and internal search that led her to believe that the universe can function on its own without a deity to preside over it; as well as her becoming anatheist.Sweeney shares the account of when her mother told her that her birthday was really October 10 instead of September 10, and how traumatic it was to discover she was not a winsomeVirgobut really aLibra.[21]

An audio recording ofLetting Go of Godwas released on CD in 2006, and it was filmed live on stage in May 2007. The film premiered at theSeattle International Film Festivalon June 13, 2008, and the DVD of the show was released in November 2008.[citation needed]

Julia Sweeney: Older and Wider[edit]

After taking some years out of the limelight to be a suburbanChicagohousewife and mother, Sweeney returned with a fourth monologue in which she riffs on contemporary politics and religion, among other topics. The performance was so popular that it sold out its original six-day run at the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at theGeffen PlayhouseinLos Angeles,as well as a one-week extension.[22]

Sweeney appeared at the 2019CSIConput on by theCenter for Inquiry(CFI), where she presented about half of the monologue for the conference attendees.[23]

Other work[edit]

In a segment forThis American Lifein 1999, Sweeney describes one of her first jobs as a bartender's assistant, and how she began embezzling funds from her employer, and the consequences thereof.[24]

In 1992, Sweeney worked with the rock bandUgly Kid Joe,performing in the music video for their hit "Neighbor" and contributing introductory audio for two tracks, "Goddamn Devil" and "Everything About You".The latter was on the soundtrack to the Lorne Michaels movieWayne's World.

In 1994, she had a small role as "Raquel" in the moviePulp Fiction;other film roles includeGremlins 2: The New Batch,Coneheads,Vegas Vacation,Clockstoppers,Whatever It Takes,andStuart Little.

In 2000, she provided the voice ofWanda MacPhersonin the short-livedThe WB/Adult Swimanimated sitcomBaby Blues.[25]She was also the voice of Margo on the ABC animated seriesThe Goode Family,Dr. Glove onBack at the Barnyard,Miss Tronica onLloyd in Space,and Sheri Squibbles in Pixar's 2013 animated filmMonsters University.

A veteran of live television, Sweeney made her mark on primetime television as a series regular onGeorge and LeoandMaybe It's Me,and guest starred on3rd Rock from the Sun,Hope & Gloria,Mad About You,andAccording to Jim.In 2004, she co-starred in two episodes ofFrasier,as Frasier's blind date turned litigious unwanted houseguest, Ann Hodges. She had a guest role onSex and the City,and served as a consultant for its last three seasons, as well as consulting on season two ofDesperate Housewives.In 2019, she played a terrorist grandmother in season 6 of the American cop comedy seriesBrooklyn 99.

Sweeney met singer/songwriterJill Sobuleat aTechnology Entertainment and Design(TED) conference, and performed together in 2008. They took the show, calledJill and Julia,on the road in 2009 and 2010, performing in New York, Denver and other locations. It was an autobiographical mix of music, stories, and commentary.

From 2009 to 2010, Sweeney was also part of the regular rotation of panelists for theNPRnews quizradio showWait Wait... Don't Tell Me!,[26]in downtown Chicago. In 2021 Sweeney was cast in thethird season ofAmerican Godson Starz.

Sweeney has long pushed for acceptance of people who are not religious, and in 2019 she was appointed to be on the board of directors of theCenter for Inquiry.[27]

Personal life[edit]

Sweeney is married to scientist Michael Blum. They live in Los Angeles near their daughter, whom they adopted fromChina.[28]

Works and publications[edit]

  • Sweeney, Julia, andZander, Christine.It's Pat!: My Life Exposed.New York: Hyperion, 1992.ISBN978-1-562-82938-4
  • Sweeney, Julia.God Said, "Ha!".New York: Bantam Books, 1997.ISBN978-0-553-10647-3
  • Barker, Danand Sweeney, Julia.The Good Atheist: Living a Purpose-Filled Life Without GodUlysses Press, 2011.ISBN9781569758465
  • Sweeney, Julia.If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother.New York: Simon & Schuster, 2013.ISBN978-1-451-67404-0

References[edit]

  1. ^"Julia Trust Sweeney United States Public Records".FamilySearch.RetrievedFebruary 21,2015.
  2. ^Ramos, Dino-Ray (February 13, 2019)."Julia Sweeney Talks One-Woman Show 'Older And Wider' And Life After SNL In Trumpian #MeToo Era".Archivedfrom the original on February 14, 2019.I turned 60 in October and somehow that's a really big deal....
  3. ^Dell'Antonia, KJ (April 11, 2013)."Motherlode: Julia Sweeney Sees the Absurd in Motherhood (and Shares)".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 21,2015.
  4. ^"Marie Ann Ivers".Yakima Herald Republic.March 25, 2001.RetrievedFebruary 21,2015.
  5. ^abcRamirez, Marc (January 31, 1993)."Pat's World -- It's Funny Business, Hard Work And A Little Too Much Attention For Julia Sweeney".The Seattle Times.RetrievedFebruary 21,2015.
  6. ^"Michael Ivers Sweeney - California, Death Index".FamilySearch.March 31, 1995.
  7. ^ab"Behind the Curtain: Julia Sweeney".PBS.org.RetrievedSeptember 2,2016.
  8. ^ Frizzelle, Christopher (January 24, 2020)."Julia Sweeney Predicts the Future:" We're in for a Shit Show "".The Stranger.RetrievedJanuary 24,2020.
  9. ^"Celebrity Parents Magazine: Julia Sweeney Issue".Celebrity Parents Magazine.June 6, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon October 9, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 2,2016.
  10. ^Maron, Marc (November 14, 2014)."Episode 553 - Julia Sweeney"(Audio podcast).WTF with Marc Maron.RetrievedFebruary 21,2015.
  11. ^"Notable alumni of the Groundlings improv troupe".June 25, 2015.RetrievedFebruary 1,2017.
  12. ^It's Pat: Julia Sweeney's gender-bending character goes to Hollywood, but can he... er... she... er... er... Pat cross over?Archived2018-01-21 at theWayback Machine,a September 1994 article fromRolling Stone>
  13. ^It's PatatBox Office Mojo
  14. ^Julia tells about her surgery and treatmentonYouTube
  15. ^"Episode 9: Julia Sweeney".This American Life.January 10, 1996.RetrievedSeptember 2,2011.
  16. ^"Julia Sweeney".Grammy Awards.RetrievedSeptember 12,2023.
  17. ^"Golden Space Needle History 1990–1999".Seattle International Film Festival.RetrievedSeptember 12,2023.
  18. ^Julia Sweeney search resultsatThis American Life
  19. ^Kimpel, Dan (January 1, 2007)."Award-Winning Film Composer".Music Connection.No. XXXI, No. 1. p. 22.RetrievedSeptember 18,2015.
  20. ^"Comedy Tonight! With special guests The Smothers Brothers & Julia Sweeney".Hollywood Bowl.August 25, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon October 13, 2015.RetrievedOctober 13,2015.Saturday Night Live alum Julia Sweeney narrates a segment from her one-woman show, In the Family Way, set to brand new music by Anthony Marinelli.
  21. ^"How Does A Person Go From Believer To Atheist?".NPR.November 22, 2013.
  22. ^Foley, F. Kathleen (February 8, 2019)."Review: Julia Sweeney is 'Older & Wider' and really, really (really) funny".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on February 9, 2019.RetrievedDecember 4,2019.
  23. ^Fidalgo, Paul (October 19, 2019)."Julia Sweeney Opens Up at CSICon".Center For Inquiry.Archivedfrom the original on October 24, 2019.RetrievedDecember 4,2019.
  24. ^"Allure of Crime, Act I: Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad".This American Life.July 23, 1999.RetrievedDecember 30,2011.
  25. ^"WarnerBros.com | The WB's" Baby Blues "Will Take Its" Second Step "Next Season | Press Release".www.warnerbros.com.RetrievedAugust 9,2019.
  26. ^Linh Pham."NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: Show Details and Statistics".WWDT.me.RetrievedJanuary 30,2014.
  27. ^Fidalgo, Paul (September 13, 2019)."Actress Julia Sweeney Elected to Center for Inquiry Board of Directors | Center for Inquiry".Center for Inquiry.RetrievedJuly 28,2022.
  28. ^Julia Sweeney(May 14, 2010),Julia Sweeney: It's time for "The Talk",WikidataQ22980786,retrievedApril 13,2019

External links[edit]

Library resourcesabout
Julia Sweeney
By Julia Sweeney
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