Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is also well known as the ex-best friend of Madonna.
She played Nancy Bartlett Thomas on the ABC sitcom Roseanne from the fourth season (1991) to the end of the show in 1997. She played Masha in Martin Scorsese's film The King of Comedy, Nurse Judy Kubrak in the FX drama series Pose, and Nurse Cecily on the Apple TV+ series Severance. She is number 96 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.
Early life Bernhard was born June 6, 1955, in Flint, Michigan, the daughter of Jeanette (née LaZebnik; 1921–2014) and proctologist Jerome Bernhard (1922–2025). She was raised Conservative Jewish.
She has three older brothers: Dan, David, and Mark. Her family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona when she was 10. She attended Saguaro High School, graduating in 1973.
In 1973, she traveled to Israel and stayed for 7 months at Kibbutz Kfar Menahem with her friend Daniel Chick. She later returned to Israel during the Yom Kippur War.Archived from the original on 2023-02-14.
Career
Stand-up In 1974, after she graduated high school, Bernhard moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in beauty school. She did open mics and performed at clubs until she became a regular at The Comedy Store in Hollywood. Her mentors at the Comedy Store were Paul Mooney and Lotus Weinstock. As her popularity as a comedian grew, she was cast as a supporting player on The Richard Pryor Show in 1977. Bernhard pivoted to acting in 1981 when she was cast in Martin Scorsese's to The King of Comedy, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Television Bernhard was a frequent guest on David Letterman's NBC program Late Night with David Letterman, making 30 appearances starting in 1983. Bernhard appeared with her then good friend (and rumored lover) Madonna on a 1988 episode of Late Night with David Letterman. The two alluded to their romantic relationship and staged a sexy confrontation; the appearance received much publicity. They continued to be friends for several years, with Bernhard making an appearance in Madonna's film Truth or Dare. The friendship ended in 1992.Johnson, Richard (October 20, 1992). "Sandra can't justify Madonna's love". New York Daily News."Bernhard claims she was dumped by Madonna". Calgary Herald. October 22, 1992. p. D13.
In 1991, Bernhard began playing Nancy Bartlett on the hit sitcom Roseanne. She appeared in 33 episodes between 1991 and 1997, and was one of the first actresses to portray an openly bisexual recurring character on American television.
She hosted the USA Network's Reel Wild Cinema for two seasons beginning in 1995. Also that year, Bernhard appeared as a guest in the "Jerk" episode of the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The following year, she guest-starred on an episode of Highlander: The Series called "Dramatic License", where she played a romance novelist writing about the life of the main character.
Bernhard appeared as herself on Will & Grace, in an episode where the title characters spuriously bid on Bernhard's Manhattan apartment in an attempt to become friendly with her. When their ruse is exposed, Bernhard rants at them, with the sounds of a blender (she was having a smoothie made) blotting out supposed obscenities. She briefly returned as herself two years later.
In 2006, Bernhard hosted the first season of the reality competition show The Search for the Funniest Mother in America on Nick at Nite. In an interview with Howard Stern, she revealed that she was originally offered the role of Miranda Hobbes on the TV show Sex and the City, but opted out owing to the "terrible" original script and small paycheck. In 2013, it was announced that she would join the cast of ABC Family's Switched at Birth with Glees Max Adler, where she would play an art professor on the season 3 opener in January 2014., TV Fanatic. October 11, 2013
In 2015, she made her first appearance as the recurring character of Joedth ("Joe") in season 4 of 2 Broke Girls. From 2018 until 2021, she played Nurse Judy on FX's Pose, a show based on queer and trans ball culture in Manhattan inspired by the documentary Paris Is Burning. In 2025, she appeared in Severance as Cecily, a nurse.
In February 2026, Bernhard was cast in the upcoming fourth season of HBO's The White Lotus, created by Mike White. In a March 2026 red-carpet interview at the Actor Awards, Bernhard revealed she had urged White for 25 years to write her a starring role, stating he had finally done so for this season: "What made me beg Mike White for 25 years as his friend, to say, 'When are you writing me a star-turning role?' Mike, what do I have to do? He loves me. We love each other. And he finally said, 'This is it. This is the season.' This is it, and it's the right time."
Specials and albums Bernhard began performing her first one-woman show, I'm Your Woman, in 1985, and an album version was released. She appeared in a variety of small television roles throughout the 1980s while crafting her stand-up routine into a more performance art-oriented show. She launched an off-Broadway one-woman show called Without You, I'm Nothing, With You, I'm Not Much Better in 1988, which played at the Orpheum Theatre. By 1990, it had become a film and a double album of the same title. Bernhard was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 1990.
In 1991, she released her first studio album, Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part One).
In September 1992, Bernhard appeared in a nude pictorial for Playboy.
Bernhard returned to Broadway in 1998 with the show I'm Still Here... Damn It!, recorded for a live comedy album. She was pregnant at the time, and gave birth to a daughter, Cicely, on July 4, 1998.Bernhard Goes Maternal, CBS News, July 8, 1998. Retrieved July 1, 2008. She returned to New York in 2006 with the off-Broadway show Everything Bad & Beautiful. The CD of the show, released by indie label Breaking Records, was lauded as one of her best.
2007 saw the debut of her one-woman show Plan B from Outer Space, and the inclusion of her Hanukkah-themed song "Miracle of Lights", which she co-wrote with Mitchell Kaplan, in the Breaking Records compilation album Breaking For the Holidays. She toured Plan B through 2008 and performed "Miracle of Lights" on some morning shows in New York.
Bernhard was a featured guest singer with children's artist Dan Zanes on the Family Dance album's "Thrift Shop".
In 2015, she began hosting a radio show, Sandyland, on Sirius XM's Radio Andy.
Film Bernhard starred in 1991's Hudson Hawk, directed by Michael Lehrman and starring Bruce Willis. She also starred in 1994's Dallas Doll.
In October 2024, Bernhard joined the cast of the A24 film Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet. She appears as Judy, a neighbor and friend of Fran Drescher's character.
Personal life Bernhard identifies herself as bisexual and is a strong supporter of LGBTQ rights. In July 1998, she gave birth to a daughter whom she raised with Sara Switzer, her partner of more than 20 years. Bernhard was also in a relationship with Venezuelan actress Patricia Velásquez.
Controversies In 1995, while serving as a guest panelist on the Comedy Central talk show Politically Incorrect, Bernhard became engaged in an argument with fellow panelist, conservative political commentator John Lofton. Bernhard then stood up and spat at Lofton and exclaimed, "If I had you, you'd be an abortion."
In August 2006, Bernhard served as the spokesperson in a commercial for Make-up Art Cosmetics (MAC). In the commercial, promoting PlushGlass lipgloss, she referred to someone who might not approve of her outspokenness as a "little freaked out, intimidated, frightened, right-wing Republican thin-lipped bitch." MAC edited the line from the commercial to avoid offending some of its customers.
In September 2008, she warned vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin that she would be gang-raped by her "big black brothers" if she visited Manhattan. Palin had a campaign stop planned in New York City at the time.
In November 2020, during an interview with Mariah Carey, Naomi Campbell criticised Bernhard for her comments about Carey and Black men in her 1998 comedy show I'm Still Here... Damn It! In the show, Bernhard disparaged Carey's Black ancestry, saying "She's trying to backtrack on our asses by acting real ni****-ish there at the Royalton Hotel suite with Puff Daddy and all the greasy, chain-wearing Black men."
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1980Shogun AssassinVoice over in English dub1981Cheech & Chong's Nice DreamsGirl Nut1983The King of ComedyMashaNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress1984The House of GodAngel Dutton1985Sesame Street Presents: Follow That BirdGrouch Diner WaitressCameo 1986The Whoopee BoysExtraUncredited1988Casual Sex?ExtraUncreditedTrack 29Nurse Stein1989Heavy PettingHerselfDocumentary1990Without You I'm NothingHerselfAlso writer1991Madonna: Truth or DareHerselfDocumentaryHudson HawkMinerva Mayflower1992Inside Monkey ZetterlandImogene1994Sandra Bernhard: Confessions of a Pretty LadyHerselfDallas DollDallas Adair1995UnzippedHerselfDocumentaryOne Hundred and One NightsLa première quêteuseThe Reggae MovieHerselfDocumentaryCatwalkHerself1997Lover GirlMarci Guerra/'Angel'The ApocalypseJ.T. WaynePlump FictionBunny Roberts1998An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood BurnAnn GloverExposéJanetWrongfully AccusedDr. FridleySomewhere in the CityBettyI Woke Up Early the Day I DiedSandy Sands/Professional Mourner and Stripper2000One Hell of a GuyGodVoicePlaying Mona LisaBibi CarlsonStony Brook Film Festival Audience Choice Award for Best FeatureDinner RushJennifer Freely2001ZoolanderHerselfCameo appearance2003The Grumpy BugNarratorVoice2004The N-WordHerselfDocumentaryThe Easter Egg AdventureClaralyne CluckVoice2005Searching for Bobby DSherri Dansen2009DareDr. Serena Mohr2010See You in SeptemberCharlotte2011Looking for LennyHerselfDocumentary2024BabesDr. Shirley 2025Out of Order Judge Stevenson Marty Supreme Judy
Television