Quick-witted comedian Kathy Griffin has had great success in different areas of entertainment, but she has a new goal in mind: a Tony award. She isn’t keeping it a secret either, as her debut Broadway show, which recently wrapped up its ten-show run and is now on tour, is simply called Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony.

Although she considers herself the Queen of the D-List, Griffin shines in everything she does, including acting, modeling, stand-up comedy, writing a New York Times best-selling book, and advocating LGBT rights.

Griffin got her foot in the door of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles comedy clubs. She then started getting cameos in TV shows like ER and Seinfeld. In 1996, Griffin landed her first regular television role as Vickie Groener, Brooke Shields’ friend and colleague on Suddenly Susan. She started getting recognition from cable biggie HBO, which gave Griffin her own hour-long special A Hot Cup of Talk. She went on to become a TV host of shows like Average Joe and Kathy’s So-Called Reality.

In 2005, Kathy Griffin landed her own award-winning show, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List on Bravo. The reality show follows Griffin on her journey to climb the Hollywood ladder. It was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program for five years straight and won twice. The show came to an end after its sixth season in 2010.

In 2009, Griffin’s book, Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin, made several bestseller lists. In the same year, she was also awarded the prestigious Vanguard Award at the GLAAD Media Awards for her work in promoting equal rights for the LGBT community.

Griffin’s father’s family was from Co. Kerry and her grandmother was born in Drogheda, Co. Louth, which Griffin visited in 2007 for the “Back to My Irish Roots” episode of My Life on the D-List in Season 3. In the same episode, Griffin also traveled to New York to accept her Top 100 award from Irish America magazine.