Through the hardships and the frustrations that 2018 has brought, we've still managed to have a lot of laughs this year. As we come close to the end of our inaugural Female First Awards, we pay homage to some of the women who have helping us keep smiling and announce our official Comedian of the Year winner.
Nominee: Tiffany Haddish
There's a reason this hilarious actress landed on the Time 100 list this year. Her infectious laugh, side-splitting humour and down-to-earth nature is the reason she's a break-out star. Last year, she gripped the world with her role in Girls Trip, became the very first black female stand-up comedian to host Saturday Night Live and she even went on to publish her memoir The Last Black Unicorn to critical acclaim.
It's no surprise that this year she won a Primetime Emmy, a BET Award, an MTV Movie Award among others. As of this year, she stars in Jordan Peele and John Carcieri's comedy TV show The Last O.G. alongside Tracy Morgan and she's also set to appear in Limited Partners and The Kitchen, while lending her voice to The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and The Secret Life of Pets 2.
Nominee: Amy Schumer
It's been three years since she became an international comedy star with Trainwreck, and since then she has entertained the world with Inside Amy Schumer. Last year, she appeared alongside Goldie Hawn in Snatched and made her drama feature debut in Thank You for Your Service.
This year, she played the lead in the empowering comedy I Feel Pretty, about a woman who wakes up believing she is the most beautiful woman in the world and thus begins to live a more exciting life, despite her appearance never changing. It's a powerful message that Amy aims to spread to all her female fans; that they're beautiful no matter what size they are.
Being a curvier celebrity, she's received a lot of criticism for her body, but it's the way that she handles it that makes us love her so much. Most recently, she called out a body-shamer for Photoshopping a bikini picture of her to make her look "better" (by that he meant "skinnier").
"I disagree. I like how I really look", she said in response to his comments. "That's my body. I love my body for being strong and healthy and sexy."
Nominee: Ellen DeGeneres
Everyone's favourite talk-show host debuted Relatable, her first stand-up comedy special in 15 years, yesterday (December 18), leaving her fans wondering why she hasn't returned to the stand-up format sooner. As usual, she was on top form, proving why she is one of the most iconic comediennes of the 21st century.
Two years ago, Ellen was presented with the coveted Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama for her services to comedy, her prominence in the LGBT community and, of course, her humanitarian causes. The fact that her wife Portia de Rossi couldn't think of a better 50th birthday gift than giving her the chance to save gorillas with her own rescue centre in Rwanda is proof the Ellen is the kindest person in the world (after Mother Teresa).
Plus, to this day, her coming-out story has been an important one for so many. She almost lost her career for admitting that she was a gay woman on television more than twenty years ago, but since then she has won almost thirty Daytime Emmys for The Ellen DeGeneres Show and more People's Choice Awards than anyone has ever won before.
Nominee: Rachel Parris
This British comedian became a viral sensation when she began appearing alongside Nish Kumar on BBC Two's The Mash Report. Her segment on "How NOT to sexually harass someone" had the internet creasing up over the stupidity of some people who believe that, following the #MeToo movement, men will no longer be able to interact with women.
Rachel's observances on how ridiculous it is that men are pretending that they are no longer allowed to hug women or talk to them has landed the clip 1.1 million views, and it's such an important argument for women trying to defend themselves against unwanted sexual advances.
Also this year, Rachel appeared in the epic dystopian comedy series M.O.T.H.E.R Knows Best with Chris Mayo and Scott Kingsnorth, and she is soon set to embark on her Spring tour, It's Fun to Pretend; named after one of her zingers in the viral Mash Report video. Frankly, we can't wait to see more of her.
- Day 1: TV Actress of the Year
- Day 2: Movies Actress of the Year
- Day 3: Reality TV Star of the Year
- Day 4: Musician of the Year
- Day 5: Video Game Performance of the Year
- Day 6: Author of the Year
- Day 7: Social Media Influencer of the Year
- Day 8: Comedian of the Year
- Day 9: Athlete of the Year
- Day 10: Villain of the Year