Desi Lydic
Birth nameLani Desmonet Lydic[1]
Birth dateJune 30, 1981 (age 45)[2]
Birth placeLouisville, Kentucky, US
OccupationComedian · actress
Years active2001–present
SpouseGannon Brousseau

Desi Lydic (/ˈdɛziˈlaɪdɪk/ DEZ-ee-_-LY-dik, born Lani Desmonet Lydic June 30, 1981)[3] is an American comedian and actress who is a rotating host and senior correspondent on the late-night talk and news satire program The Daily Show.[4] She has won three Emmy Awards: one as a host of The Daily Show, and two as the host and producer of the short form YouTube series The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains.[5] From 2011 to 2016, she starred as guidance counselor Valerie Marks on the MTV comedy-drama series Awkward.[6]

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Lydic got her start in the 2001 parody film Not Another Teen Movie.[7] She also starred in the Spike miniseries Invasion Iowa alongside William Shatner, and the parody series The Real Wedding Crashers.[8]

She appeared as Shea Seger in the 2011 film We Bought a Zoo alongside Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, and in the 2013 film The Babymakers with Olivia Munn.[7] Lydic appeared as one half of a lesbian couple on an episode of the Disney Channel series Good Luck Charlie in 2014. She joined Trevor Noah's lineup of correspondents for The Daily Show on September 29, 2015. Lydic was among a number of guest hosts of The Daily Show after the departure of Trevor Noah.

Early life

Desi Lydic was born in 1981 in Louisville, Kentucky.[2][9] At the age of three, she became interested in comedic acting by watching Carol Burnett play Miss Agatha Hannigan in Annie.[10] As a child, she enrolled in the Young Actors Institute at the Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville and starred in a Kroger commercial.

After she graduated from Eastern High School in the city, she attended the University of Louisville for two semesters before deciding to make the biggest move of her life to that point. When she told her parents about her plans to move to Los Angeles she was not sure what to expect. “I think they saw this creative side in me growing up,” she said. “I'm so fortunate because a lot of people don't have families that would've supported them in making such a huge decision like that. But not only did they give me their blessing, my mom and dad packed up a U-Haul and drove us out all the way across the country.”[11] She told Kyle Meredith in a 2024 interview that it was during this time that she had an obsession with late '90s Saturday Night Live.[12] She later moved to Los Angeles and became an improvisational actor, performing at The Groundlings and Improv Olympic (iO).[13] At the time iO had a branch in Los Angeles. It opened in 1997 and closed in 2018.

Career

While on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Lydic said she viewed herself as being a comedic actor with "a journalistic responsibility" to the truth, in regard to the serious topics she approaches through a humorous lens, as a correspondent for the show.[14] She created her first one-hour special which aired on May 13, 2019, on Comedy Central, and entitled The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents Desi Lydic: Abroad.[1][15] The special explores how the United States is now further apart in gender equality than many other countries in the world. The special was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Best Comedy/Variety – Specials at the 72nd Writers Guild of America Awards.[16] After the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Lydic paid tribute to her work and life in a half-hour special entitled The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents: Remembering RBG – A Nation Ugly Cries with Desi Lydic aired on Comedy Central on October 30, 2020.[17][16] Lydic was among a number of guest hosts of The Daily Show after the departure of Trevor Noah. She hosted during the week of April 24, 2023.[18]

Personal life

Lydic has a son, born in late December 2015, with her husband Gannon Brousseau.[19][20] While filming her Comedy Central special Abroad,[15] Lydic got a "small upside-down triangle[21] tattoo representing female empowerment" as a commemoration of her time spent with Icelandic all-female rap collective Daughters of Reykjavík, marking her as the "23rd member" of the group.[22]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001Not Another Teen MovieCutie #2Uncredited
2003Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & BlondeDelta Nu Sister
2004Adventures in VegasDesi/SkylerShort film
2007Stand UpVeronica
Out at the WeddingJeannie
2008Screw CupidBetty
Big Heart CityRita/Jane
2009As AdvertisedRonnieTV film
Stan HelsingMia
2010Darnell Dawkins: Mouth Guitar LegendHelena
2011Poolboy: Drowning Out the FuryDiana Torres
We Bought a ZooShea Seger (Lasagna Mom)
2012The BabymakersJulie
Something Like a ButterflyJoyce HumphreyShort film
2020IrresistibleFox News Anchor
2022Mr. OberbeckAlly PearsonShort film
2024Space CadetDr. Stacy Kellogg

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2003What I Like About YouBeckyEpisode: "No More Mr. Nice Guy"
2004Complete SavagesWoman #1Episode: "Savage XXX-mas"
2005'Elaine CurtisEpisode: "Recycling"
Invasion IowaGryffyn Greene5 episodes
2006Pepper DennisMelindaEpisode: "Poker Clubs and Boob Cams - Film at Eleven"
2008Dog Whisperer with Cesar MillanHerselfEpisode: "Spoiled Rotten"
2010The LeagueWaitressEpisode: "The Marathon"
Two and a Half MenVeronicaEpisode: "Chocolate Diddlers or My Puppy's Dead"
2011Traffic LightReneeEpisode: "Where the Heart Is"
2011–2016AwkwardValerie Marks[23]Main role; guest (season 5)
2012Raising HopeUmaEpisode: "Sabrina's New Jimmy"
The Client ListDee Ann7 episodes
How to Be a GentlemanChelseaEpisode: "How to Be Shallow"
2013DadsJoanEpisode: "Dad Abuse"
2014Good Luck CharlieSusanEpisode: "Down a Tree"
Friends with Better LivesJessEpisode: "Window Pain"
2015The Odd CoupleKimEpisode: "The Blind Leading the Blind Date"
2015–presentThe Daily ShowCorrespondent, Host
2019Desi Lydic: AbroadHerselfTV special[1][24]

References

  1. ^ Haring, Bruce (March 8, 2019). "'The Daily Show' Offers First Trailer From Desi Lydic Exploring Gender Equality". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
  2. ^ "Six Moments To Make You Love Desi Lydic (Even More)". YouTube. pp. 0:18–0:39. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  3. ^ "We Need a Lot More Women to Run for Congress - Desi Lydic Womansplains on The Daily Show". YouTube. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  4. ^ Rosenzweig, Jed (May 13, 2024). "Desi Lydic Returns to Daily Show Anchor Desk This Week"
  5. ^ "Desi Lydic". Television Academy
  6. ^ "Desi Lydic | Awkward.". MTV. July 13, 2011. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  7. ^ "Desi Lydic Biography". Buddytv.com. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  8. ^ "Desi Lydic Credits". TV Guide. November 28, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  9. ^ Krauth, Olivia (April 26, 2023). "'Daily Show,' Desi Lydic visit Louisville to talk politics with 'real Kentuckians'". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  10. ^ "The Experience Questionnaire: Desi Lydic". expmag.com. May 13, 2019. Archived September 22, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  11. ^ "Desi Lydic Offers a New Political Discourse in Kentucky". Kentucky to the World. 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  12. ^ "The Daily Show's Desi Lydic on Indecision 2024: Podcast". 2024-03-25. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  13. ^ "Official Web Site". Out At The Wedding. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  14. ^ "'The Daily Show's' Desi Lydic Talks Gender Gap Special: 'The Joke Is on America'". Variety. May 10, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents Desi Lydic: Abroad". Comedy Central. May 13, 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  16. ^ "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Correspondent Desi Lydic Bio". Comedy Central. 2020. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  17. ^ "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents: Remembering RBG – A Nation Ugly Cries with Desi Lydic". Comedy Central. October 30, 2020. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  18. ^ Ortiz, Andi (January 26, 2023). "Here's Everyone Who's Guest Hosting 'The Daily Show' This Season". TheWrap. The Wrap News Inc. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  19. ^ "'Awkward' Arrival: Meet Desi Lydic's Baby Boy". MTV. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016.
  20. ^ "Desi Lydic on Instagram: "Thank you @lansinohusa for all the incredible goodies for Brixton and me. Also for these awesome pacifiers! #Lansinoh #40weeks"". Instagram. Archived December 25, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  21. ^ PBS Newshour Weekend (May 12, 2019). "The Daily Show's Desi Lydic goes 'Abroad' exploring gender equality". youtube. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  22. ^ "The Experience Questionnaire: Desi Lydic". expmag.com. May 13, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  23. ^ Wieselman, Jarett (May 28, 2013). "5 Questions With 'Awkward' Star Desi Lydic". Yahoo!. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  24. ^ "Desi Lydic Soars As A DeSantis-Dissing Flight Attendant Aboard A Migrant Plane". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved October 19, 2022.