Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show Chelsea Lately on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documentary series, Chelsea Does, on Netflix in January 2016. From 2016 to 2017, Handler hosted the talk show Chelsea on Netflix.
In 2012, Time named Handler one of the 100 most influential people in the world on its annual Time 100 list.
Early life
Handler was born in Livingston, New Jersey, the youngest of six children of Rita (née Stoecker), a homemaker, and Seymour Handler, a used-car dealer. Her American father was Ashkenazi Jewish; her German-born mother, who came to the United States in 1958, was a Mormon. Commenting on her religious upbringing, Handler said: "I grew up as a Jew and a Mormon… I chose Jewish obviously. Mormonism is so ridiculous. But I related to… that conflict of religion for both parents." Handler was raised in Reform Judaism, and had a Bat Mitzvah ceremony. As an adult, she broke into tears after discovering that her maternal grandfather served in the German army during World War II, on the TLC series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2013.