Whether she’s delighting TV audiences with her social commentaries on CBS Sunday Morning or theater fans with her solo pieces, Nancy Giles is a funny, perceptive and provocative observer of today’s world.

She is the writer and performer of the one-woman shows, Notes of a Negro Neurotic and Black Comedy: The Wacky Side of Racism, which the Village Voice called “smart and unforgiving.” A self-described “six-foot, one-inch black woman who’s not model-thin,” Giles has made her mark dismantling misconceptions about race, feminism and sexism. “White people,” she jokes, “have nothing to fear.”

Her acclaimed work on CBS Sunday Morning has provided the largest audience yet for her unique blend of laugh-out-loud humor and common sense wisdom. Whether she’s recalling the first rapper she ever heard (Robert Preston doing “Trouble” in The Music Man), celebrating Black History Month (as a schoolgirl she only had “Negro History Week,” and her mother, “Colored People Hour”) or decrying America’s obsession with Botox and plastic surgery (“when I stop having visible signs of aging, that’ll mean that I’m dead,”) Giles brings vibrant energy and a hip, alternative feel that helps distinguish the program from others.
 

"She was fabulous! Our attendees raved about her."

IBJ Corp

Born in Queens, New York, she graduated from Oberlin College and spent three years with Chicago’s esteemed Second City improv troupe, an experience she describes as “freeing and horrifying.” Winner of the Theater World Award for the off-Broadway musical, Mayor, Giles appeared for three seasons as Frankie in the TV drama, China Beach, and played Connie the waitress in the sitcom Delta. She has guest starred on such programs as Spin City, Law & Order and Fresh Prince. Her movie credits include New York Stories, Big and Working Girl.
 
When Giles realized that black actresses were mostly limited to playing “crack addicts, social workers and boring judges,” and, at her height, “if I’m lucky, I will go up against Ru Paul for the callback,” she decided to strike out as a writer/performer on her own.

The results have been, to put it mildly, encouraging. She served as Jay Thomas’ sidekick on The Jay Thomas Morning Show on New York radio, co-hosted Giles & Moriarity on Philadelphia radio (winning two Gracie Awards for Best Talk Show/Radio from American Women in Radio and Television) and was announcer and co-host of the cult favorite Fox After Breakfast. She also can be heard on TV and radio, pitching, as she puts it, “everything from plus-size fashions to True Value Hardware.”

“I want to make people laugh and I want to entertain them, but I also want to provoke thought and discussion,” says Giles. On topics ranging from popular culture and body image to creativity and racial bias, Giles is a commanding presence -- someone with something witty and compassionate to say to all of us.