Phyllis Diller

Phyllis Diller
Diller on February 25, 2007
Born	Phyllis Ada Driver (1917-07-17)July 17, 1917 Lima, Ohio, U.S.
Died	August 20, 2012(2012-08-20) (aged 95) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Bluffton College
Occupation	Actress, stand-up comedian
Years active	1941–2012
Known for	The Pruitts of Southampton A Bug's Life The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius Robot Chicken
Spouse(s)	Sherwood Anderson Diller (m. 1939; div. 1965) Warde Donovan Tatum (m. 1965; div. 1975)
Partner(s)	Robert P. Hastings (c.1985–96; his death)
Children	6

Phyllis Ada Driver (July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012), better known as Phyllis Diller, was an American actress and stand-up comedian, best known for her eccentric stage persona, her self-deprecating humor, her wild hair and clothes, and her exaggerated, cackling laugh.

Diller was a groundbreaking stand-up comic—one of the first female comics to become a household name in the U.S. She paved the way for Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr, and Ellen Degeneres, among others, who credit her influence. Diller had a large gay following and is considered a gay icon. She was also one of the first celebrities to openly champion plastic surgery, for which she was recognized by the industry.

Diller worked in more than 40 films, beginning with 1961's Splendor in the Grass. She appeared in many television series, often in cameos, but also including her own short-lived sitcom and variety show. Some of her credits are The Night Gallery, The Muppet Show, The Love Boat, Cybill, and Boston Legal, plus eleven seasons of The Bold and the Beautiful. Her voice-acting roles included the monster's wife in Mad Monster Party, the Queen in A Bug's Life, Granny Neutron in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, and Thelma Griffin in Family Guy.

Diller was born Phyllis Ada Driver in Lima, Ohio on July 17, 1917, the only child of Perry Marcus Driver (1862–1948), an insurance agent, and Frances Ada (née Romshe; 1881–1949). She had German and Irish ancestry (the surname "Driver" had been changed from "Treiber" several generations earlier). She was raised Methodist but later became an atheist. Her parents were older than most when she was born (55 and 38, respectively) and Diller attended several funerals while growing up. The exposure to death at a young age led her to an early appreciation for life and she later realized that her comedy was a form of therapy.

She attended Lima's Central High School and discovered she had the gift of humor early on. Although she wasn't a class clown, calling herself a "quiet and dedicated" student, she enjoyed making people laugh once school was out. Diller studied piano for three years at the Sherwood Music Conservatory of Columbia College Chicago but decided against a music career and transferred to Bluffton College where she studied literature, history, psychology, and philosophy. She met Sherwood Diller at Bluffton and they married in 1939. Diller didn't finish school and was primarily a housewife, taking care of their five children (a sixth child died in infancy).