Wanda Sykes stars as Barb in the hit comedy The New Adventures of Old Christine, and has been nominated for a People's Choice Award for Favorite Funny Female Star for her performance.

This fall, Sykes will host The Wanda Sykes Show, a weekly late-night series featuring Sykes' biting commentary on topical issues and heated panel discussions with recurring personalities. The series will highlight Sykes' outspoken comedic perspective on current events and will also allow her to leave the studio to shoot segments in the field.

Sykes was ranked as one of the 25 funniest people in America by Entertainment Weekly, and named one of the top 100 comedians by Comedy Central. Sykes was also nominated for a 2007 Primetime Emmy® for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special for Wanda Sykes: Sick and Tired, which was filmed before a live audience at the Moore Theatre in Seattle. The cable comedy special covered topics such as politics, gay marriage, karma, healthcare, racial profiling, the pressure of being a woman and the perks of getting older.

Sykes began her stand-up career at a Coors Light talent showcase in Washington, D.C., where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience. After honing her stand-up skills, Sykes spent five years as part of the critically acclaimed Chris Rock Show. As a performer and writer on the show, she was nominated for three Primetime Emmys® and, in 1999, won the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special. In 2001, she won the American Comedy Award for Outstanding Female Stand-Up Comic. She won three more Emmys® in 2002, 2004 and 2005 for her work on Inside the NFL for Outstanding Studio Show - Weekly. Sykes was also given a Comedy Central Commie Award for Funniest TV Actress.

Sykes had a recurring role on the critically acclaimed Curb Your Enthusiasm; she also voiced the puppet Gladys Murphy on the show Crank Yankers. Sykes starred in her own television series, Wanda at Large, which she also wrote and produced, and the series Wanda Does It. Sykes' other writing credits include The 74th Annual Academy Awards and The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show, and she performed an hour-long cable special called Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied.

Sykes has also starred in the feature films Evan Almighty, starring Steve Carell, and Monster-In-Law, for which she won a BET Comedy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Theatrical Film, opposite Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda. She can also be seen with Luke Wilson and Uma Thurman in the romantic comedy My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Sykes lent her voice for the animated features Over the Hedge, Brother Bear 2, The Barnyard, and the television spin-off Back at the Barnyard.

In addition, Sykes is also author of the book Yeah, I Said It, a humorous collection of essays touching on life, family and current events, which hit bookstores September 2004.

Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and raised in Maryland, Sykes graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampton University.