Whitney Cummings

Whitney Cummings is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. She is known for co-creating the television sitcom 2 Broke Girls, creating and starring in the sitcom Whitney, and directing the 2017 comedy film The Female Brain. She has also performed extensively as a stand-up comedian, released multiple comedy specials, and hosted her own podcast.

Cummings was born on September 4, 1982, in Washington, D.C., to Patti Cummings, a department store public relations director, and Eric Lynn Cummings, a lawyer and venture capitalist. She was raised in a dysfunctional household alongside an older half-brother and an older sister. After graduating from St. Andrew's Episcopal School in 2000, she studied acting at the Studio Theater in Washington, D.C., and interned at television station WRC-TV. She then enrolled at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, working as a department store model at local shopping malls during her studies. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in communications in 2004, initially aiming for a career as a journalist.

After graduating college in 2004, Cummings moved to Los Angeles. She began performing stand-up comedy and appeared on MTV's Punk'd as well as in the low-budget thriller film EMR. In 2007, Variety named her one of 10 Comics to Watch, and Entertainment Weekly named her one of 12 Rising Stars of Comedy in 2008. From 2007 to 2014, she served as a regular roundtable guest on Chelsea Lately. She also participated in Comedy Central Roasts of celebrities, released her first hour-long special Money Shot in 2010, and toured with Denis Leary on the Rescue Me Comedy Tour.

In 2011, two sitcoms created by Cummings were picked up by broadcast networks: 2 Broke Girls, which she co-created and executive produced, and Whitney, which she created, executive produced, and starred in through 2013. In 2012, she hosted the talk show Love You, Mean It with Whitney Cummings. She released subsequent comedy specials including I Love You in 2014, I'm Your Girlfriend in 2016, and Can I Touch It? in 2019. She acted in the thriller Unforgettable, directed the independent comedy film The Female Brain, and published her book I'm Fine...And Other Lies in 2017.

In 2018, Cummings worked as an executive producer and head writer on the revival of the comedy series Roseanne. She launched her podcast Good for You in November 2019, featuring co-host Benton Ray and a wide variety of guests. Her recent activities include contributing a chapter to the book Tools of Titans, appearing on the Talk Tuah podcast in September 2024, and participating in the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia in 2025.

In her personal life, Cummings gave birth to a son in December 2023. In November 2025, she became engaged to professional skateboarder Chris Cole.