Joan Rivers, the legendary comedienne of the red carpet and trailblazer for women in comedy, has died at 81.
Rivers started out telling jokes in a New York City nightclub in the 1960s and went on to carve out an identity as the infamous host for E! Entertainment, lambasting celebrities and their fashion choices on the red carpet.
During her career she was labeled a “trailblazer”, and a “pioneer” for women, though these were labels she didn’t enjoy, and some feminists have argued that given that she made a living from skewering female celebrities and her obsession with physical beauty, her status as feminist icon was undeserved. But she didn’t care if everybody liked her.
In 2012 she told PBS: “It upsets me to say I’m a pioneer because I’m so current now, you know? I don’t like when the ladies come up and say, ‘Oh, you broke barriers for women.’ And I say, ‘I’m still breaking barriers.'”
As condolences roll in, her humour and biting quips on topics like abortion and plastic surgery are remembered for helping to pave the way for other female comediennes.
Her TV home — E! and NBCUniversal — released a statement, remembering Rivers as a revolutionary who shattered glass ceilings.
“For decades Joan has made people laugh, shattered glass ceilings and revolutionized comedy. She was unapologetic and fiercely dedicated to entertaining all of us and has left an indelible mark on the people that worked with her and on her legions of fans.”
Love or hate her humour, she had a penchant for delivering unapologetically blunt observations about everything from plastic surgery to reflections on herself. Below, we have gathered some of her best quotes.
“I was born in 1962…and the room next to me was 1963.”
“Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century.”
“With age comes wisdom. You don’t need big boobs to be feminine. Look at Liberace.”
“I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can’t make it through one door, I’ll go through another door—or I’ll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.”
“When a man has a birthday, he takes a day off. When a woman has a birthday, she takes at least three years off.”
“I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die, they’ll donate my body to Tupperware,”
“People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.”
“I am definitely going to watch the Emmys this year! My makeup team is nominated for ‘Best Special Effects.'”
“All my mother told me about sex was that the man goes on top and the woman on the bottom. For three years my husband and I slept in bunk beds.”
“My husband wanted to be cremated. I told him I’d scatter his ashes at Neiman Marcus – that way, I’d visit him every day.”
“On my bucket list, my No1 is: wake up. I’m not afraid of death. My father was a doctor, so I was around death all my life, I was very used to it … because he was a shitty doctor.”
“I hate housework. You make the beds, you do the dishes, and six months later, you have to start all over again.”
“I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw that my bath toys were a toaster and a radio.”
“I was dating a transvestite, and my mother said, ‘Marry him, you’ll double your wardrobe.'”
“At my funeral I want Meryl Streep to cry in 5 different accents”
“I said to my mother-in-law, ‘My house is your house.’ She said, ‘Get the hell off my property’.”