Stephanie Catherine Miller (born September 29, 1961) is an American political commentator, comedian, and host of The Stephanie Miller Show, a Progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles, California, by WYD Media Management and syndicated nationally by Westwood One. In 2017, Talkers Magazine ranked her the 23rd-most important radio talk show host in the U.S.2017 Talkers Heavy Hundred, Talkers Magazine, May 22, 2017 Miller has leveraged her talk show via various platforms including online, as well as via her Sexy Liberal Tour live comedy show.
Early life Miller was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Stephanie (Wagner) (1923–2023), and former U.S. Representative William E. Miller (1914–83), who was Barry Goldwater's running mate in the 1964 presidential election and a chairman of the Republican National Committee.McGill, Douglas - Hurley, Morgan - Radio "Talk Show Host Stephanie Miller: 'I Am A Gay Woman'"San Diego Gay & Lesbian News.Com, August 16, 2010. After her father left the United States Congress when Miller was three years old, her family moved to her father's hometown of Lockport, New York. She is the youngest of four children; her two elder sisters, Libby and Mary, are almost 20 years her senior.Q&A With Stephanie Miller, Interview with Brian Lamb, C-SPAN, January 19, 2009 - sibling age difference mentioned She also has an older brother, William Jr.William E. Miller, Jr. birthdate - January 21, 1959; Our Campaigns website Her brother ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives from upstate New York, in 1992 and 1994.Bill Miller election results- Our Campaigns WebsiteZremski, Jerry - "Miller's Campaign Filled With Statements That Always Seem to Need Some Clarification", The Buffalo News, November 3, 1994
Miller's father died in 1983; her mother died in 2023. Stephanie Miller on Twitter
Miller's first efforts at comedy were in high school, performing in a sketch, "Torn Between Two Lovers," requiring a specially-sewn dress with panels that boys ripped open every time a chorus of the song was heard. Recalling the performance, Miller says, "I got my first laugh, and that was it. It's like a drug. It's always been my only drug."Michaelson, Judith - "Queen of Some Media", Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1998 After completing her secondary education in private Catholic schools, graduating from DeSales High School in Lockport in 1979,Pergament, Alan - "Late Night In Fall Holds Promise As Miller Time" The Buffalo News, June 28, 1995 Miller attended the University of Southern California, earning a degree in theatre.Netsky, Ron - "Left Laughing: Stephanie Miller Moves from Sister Sleaze to Progressive Radio Queen", Rochester City Newspaper, December 27, 2006 Her original plan after college "was to be Carol Burnett". On September 29, 2015, Burnett called Miller on her radio show to wish her happy birthday. On the phone, Miller told Burnett she always wanted to be her, "but it didn't work out. She made me cry when she said I shouldn't be Carol Burnett because there's only one Stephanie Miller and nobody does what I do. I was bawling."McGaughy, Emily - Stephanie Miller on her Sexy Liberal tour and the advice she took from Chely Wright, AfterEllen, February 9, 2016
Stand-up comedy Miller's first job after graduation from college was at the Laugh Factory, a comedy club in Hollywood, California, where she worked for club owner Jamie Masada by answering phones, putting names on the marquee, and being a cocktail waitressSmith, Bryan - "From Her Los Feliz Basement, Stephanie Miller Is Rallying Millions Against Trump", LA Weekly, June 20, 2017 while also performing stand-up at the club. When Miller moved back to upstate New York a few years later, she worked at Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club in Buffalo,Stephanie Miller's Happy Hour Podcast - 12-02-16 with Frasier Smith living in a $125 per month apartment over a pizza parlor near the club. While working in radio in the 1980s and 1990s, she also performed at many comedy clubs around New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.Stephanie Miller's Popular Progressive Voice Returns to Radio With Nation's Fastest Growing Radio Format. PR Newswire. September 7, 2004Johnson, Allan - "Disc Jockey Makes Time for a Second Career In Comedy", Chicago Tribune, November 18, 1988 She appeared twice on A & E's An Evening at the Improv, on the A&E TV Network, on August 5, 1988, and March 3, 1989.An Evening at the Improv - Episode Guide , TV.Com She was also the first comedian to perform when the Chicago Improv club opened. In addition, she performed a one-woman Off-Broadway show while living in New York City in the early 1990s.Puig, Claudia - "Next for Stephanie Miller: The Queen of All Media?", Los Angeles Times, January 3, 1995 Miller also performed at the Laugh Factory when she moved back to Los Angeles from New York City in 2003.Ryon, Ruth - Hot Property Column, Los Angeles Times, March 9, 2003 Miller says she has a talk with her late father every time she is about to face an audience."Lockport Comedian Grows Up", The Buffalo News, August 17, 1993
Acting roles Miller initially set out to be an actress, hoping to eventually star in her own sitcom or in movies. Early in her career she had small roles as a nun in the 1984 TV movie Shattered Vows and as a nurse on General Hospital. After gaining prominence as a radio and TV host, she had acting roles where she essentially played herself, as in the movie View from the Top and an episode of the TV series Diagnosis: Murder. Miller's most significant role was in the 1997 comedy film Just Write. During the late 1990s, she also explored doing a television sitcom with producer Barry Kemp, who cast her in a pilot for ABC.Pergament, Alan - "New Shows, Bigger Laughs for WNY's Stephanie Miller", The Buffalo News, July 22, 1998
Radio and television career
Early radio career Miller did not plan a career in radio. In her words, "I always say radio was an accident until they started paying me a lot of money and then it wasn't an accident anymore."
She began her radio career after her father's death in 1983, when she returned to Lockport from California. Her first radio experience was delivering humorous bits on Sandy Beach's morning show on Hot 104 WNYS in Buffalo, New York, which included doing impressions of Katharine Hepburn. She then took an on-air job at radio station WLVL in Lockport, where she went from evenings to afternoon drive to mornings in three months."Danny's Done; Stephanie's Back: KB Radio Changes Format", Niagara Frontier Today Media Monitor, July 2, 2006 She then sent a tape to Brother Wease (Alan Levin), the morning drive host at WCMF in Rochester, New York. Levin "hired her as soon as I heard her tape," and in 1985 she went to WCMF to work as "Sister Sleaze" on the Brother Wease show. Speaking about Miller, Levin has been very complimentary, noting "She's very manic, very bright, very funny and creative." While working with Miller, in reply to friends asking Levin "how come you give that girl so much mike?" he responded: "Because she's phenomenal. Don't try and compete; let people fly. I let her fly, and we had a ball." After Rochester, Miller progressed to larger markets, as morning co-host at radio station WCKG in Chicago with John Howell from early 1988 to October 1989,"Big John Howell", Chicago Radio Spotlight, September 30, 2007 and as morning co-host with Howard Hoffman at Hot 97 WQHT in New York City for three years until 1993.The Howard Hoffman Collection - reel radio.com
In 1993, Miller headed back to Los Angeles to develop a sitcom for Warner Brothers that never materialized.Winship, Frederick M. - Stephanie Miller Bows as Late Night Host, United Press International, September 8, 1995 Instead, in 1994 she began her talk radio career when was hired by talk station KFI in Los Angeles, initially for her own weekend show which quickly became a weeknight radio show where Miller achieved high ratings.Alafi, Shireen - "Hear Her Purr, Hear Her Roar", Radio Guide Magazine Vol. 3, No 1 During the show, as she had on her earlier stations in Rochester and New York City, Miller would sometimes call her mother (also named Stephanie) in upstate New York on the phone, and her mother would also co-host when she came to visit in-person. Miller's mother would later do the same on her radio show at KABC. On her show on KFI, Miller began to incorporate political talk. "It was the first time I had done talk radio, and I was like, 'Oh, you mean just me talk, with no music?'" she recalls. "I was like, blah, blah, blah. Oh, I still have 10 minutes left. That's when I guess I started to get political, and I started to realize more of my liberal leanings." She states that her turning point in terms of being outspoken about politics came in August 1992, when she heard Pat Buchanan's gay-bashing "culture wars" speech at the Republican Convention. "It was just so mean. It changed everything for me."
Television talk show In autumn 1995 Miller began hosting her own late night television talk show, The Stephanie Miller Show, syndicated by Buena Vista Television.Tynan, William. (October 2, 1995) Joining The Boys' Club. Time. Retrieved 2012-06-11. Article copy accessible via the internet archive The show differed from other late night television talk shows in having a woman as host, no band, no desk, nightclub-style seating for the studio audience, and pre-taped sketches starring Miller as real-life characters. Miller held live conversations with members of the viewing audience by video phone.Rauzi, Robin - "Two Women Enter Late-Night Lineup : Television: Radio's Stephanie Miller and actress-model Lauren Hutton plan alternatives to current talk-show formats", Los Angeles Times, September 5, 1995 Anne Beatts, formerly a writer on Saturday Night Live, was executive producer and a writer for the show. Beatts enjoyed working on the show with Miller, and liked the immediacy of a daily talk show.Anne Beatts on her experience as executive producer/writer on The Stephanie Miller Show, Television Academy Interviews However, the show was canceled in December 1995 after only 13 weeks. Danny Bonaduce filled in for Miller the last week the show was on the air."It's a Late-Night Week for Danny! Bonaduce" , New York Daily News, December 13, 1995 Reflecting on the experience a few years later for an article in The Buffalo News, Miller said, "I think 13 weeks is a pretty tough shot for any unknown in late night. I felt like my dad must have felt in the 1964 campaign: 'I have no shot in hell, but I'll just give it a try." Comedian and voice actor Carlos Alazraqui, who later worked with Miller on her KABC radio show, and is a regular guest on her radio program (Coffee with Carlos), was part of the Irregular Regulars sketch comedy group on Miller's television show.
Return to radio