Sarah Silverman Pictures

Funny, irreverent, fearless, hardcore: all can be used to describe actress/comedienne Sarah Silverman and her unremitting style of humor. Silverman has built a career tackling controversial subjects head-on. While most might only scratch the surface, Silverman dives right into the murky depths of race, religion and sex–though she doesn’t explore them as issues per se, her blase, seemingly prejudiced outbursts serve to effectively deflate taboos, her winsome, coltish looks excusing her “offenses.”

Born on December 1, 1970, Silverman grew up one of four daughters in a middle-class home in Bedford, New Hampshire. Silverman was always interested in comedy, and even wrote the phrase “I Love Steve Martin� on her bedroom ceiling. At 17, Silverman performed her first stand-up act at Stitches in Boston. After dropping out of New York University, she graduated to open mic appearances in Manhattan, which led to regular comedy gigs and tours around the country. While on the road, she was spotted by scouts for “Saturday Night Live�, and at 22, Silverman was writing and performing on the show.

Silverman first appeared as a Not Ready for Prime Time Player in 1993, but immediately got herself into trouble with the NBC censors. One of her first bits was a commentary on the regular spot “Weekend Updateâ€?, where she joked about her desire to have an abortion, only to discover that she was only thirsty. More trouble ensued for Silverman behind the scenes, and soon found herself out of a job. She returned to performing stand-up, while appearing in episodes of “Seinfeldâ€? (1996-1997), “Star Trek: Voyagerâ€? (1996-1997), “The Naked Truthâ€? (1997-1998) and a recurring stint as writer Wendy Traston on “The Larry Sanders Show” (1996-1998).

Silverman also made her feature film debut in “Who’s the Caboose?� (1997), a mockumentary satirizing the television industry’s most competitive time—pilot season. The actress had a few small roles in bigger Hollywood fare, including the Farrelly Brother’s hit “There’s Something About Mary� (1998), Warren Beatty’s political satire “Bullworth� (1998) and “The Bachelor� (1999), starring Chris Connelly and Rene Zellweger.

Silverman attracted unwanted media scrutiny with her “Late Night with Conan O’Brien� appearance. Silverman uttered the slur “chink� in her act, which created a relentless firestorm spearheaded by Aoki’s Media Action Network for Asian Americans. Though Silverman never officially apologized, she did write a heart-felt letter to Aoki. Though the controversy faded, it left Silverman embittered.

Meanwhile, Silverman landed a regular gig as Alison Kaiser on the Fox show, “Greg the Bunny� (2001-2002). She also made more prominent appearances in films: “Evolution� (2001), starring David Duchovny and Julianne Moore; “Heartbreakers� (2001) with Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt; and “School of Rock� (2003), the Jack Black vehicle about an out-of-work rocker who impersonates a grade school substitute teacher, in which she plays the shrewish girlfriend of Black’s doormat roommate (Mike White). Though she has appeared many times on screens both large and small, Silverman has always returned to her first love: stand-up comedy. She inked a deal with HBO to write, produce and star in her own comedy special airing in late 2003.

The deal with HBO, however, was shelved, but a deal with Comedy Central for a sketch show was scheduled to begin shooting in summer 2005. Meanwhile, Silverman was one of dozens of comedians vying to tell the dirtiest version of an old Vaudeville joke in “The Aristocratsâ€? (2005), a documentary produced by Penn Jillette, the gregarious half of comedy team Penn & Teller. Though the joke contains no real punch line, the point has been to tell the most egregious version to unsettle new initiates. Silverman, of course, pushed the enveloped by pretending the joke isn’t a joke at all, resulting in one of the more disturbing versions in the film. After she competed in a couple tournaments on “Celebrity Poker Showdownâ€? (Bravo, 2003- ), Silverman was in episodes of “Entourageâ€? (HBO, 2004- ) and “Pilot Seasonâ€? (TRIO, 2004-2005), and voiced characters on the animated series, “Drawn Togetherâ€? (Comedy Central, 2004- ) and “American Dadâ€? (Fox, 2004- ). She finished a busy 2005 headlining her own comedy concert film “Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic,” in which she unleashed some of her edgiest live stand-up routines, skewered the controversy that Aoki fanned and included several humorous musical interludes in which she demonstrated a clever talent for creating scatalogical lyrics, as well as an impressive singing voice. The same year she had a brief turn as a TV producer in the big screen adaptation of the Broadway sensation “Rent” (2005).