Martha Kelly (born February 24, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actress from Los Angeles, California, best known for co-starring in the FX comedy series Baskets (2016–2019). In 2022, Kelly was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as the drug lord Laurie on Euphoria (2022–2026).
Career Stand-up comedy
In high school Kelly identified as a "drama geek". After finishing near the bottom of her high school class, she attended junior college before attending UC Davis.
She has been featured on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's The Half Hour and Premium Blend, NBC's Last Comic Standing, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
At age 25, Kelly experimented with stand-up comedy at the Laugh Factory in her native Los Angeles. Her material and confidence slowly developed over a five-year period.
Kelly first surfaced on comedy stages in Austin, Texas, with HBO's Aspen Comedy Festival auditions at Esther's Pool, the Sixth Street venue associated with Esther's Follies, in the fall of 1999, followed by winning Capital City Comedy Club's annual "Funniest Person in Austin" contest in April 2000. Kelly was the winner of Comedy Central's 2002 Laugh Riots national comedy competition and was one of the New Faces in the Just for Laughs comedy festival that same year.
Acting After many years of performing stand-up, Kelly made her acting debut in January 2016 after longtime friend Zach Galifianakis asked her to co-star in his FX comedy series Baskets. She co-stars as Martha, an insurance adjuster and friend of Chip Baskets (played by Galifianakis).
In 2022, Kelly was nominated for an Emmy for her guest role as a drug dealer in the HBO series Euphoria. She is the voice of Agent Harrington on the Adult Swim animated series Common Side Effects.
Filmography
Film +YearTitleRoleNotes 2015 Knock Knock, It's Tig Notaro Self 2017 Infinity Baby Ava 2017 Spider-Man: Homecoming Tour Guide 2019 Corporate Animals Gloria 2019 Marriage Story Nancy Katz 2023 Sitting in Bars with Cake Ruth 2025 Poetic License Professor Greta Ellis 2026 Coyote vs. Acme Dottie Jones
Television YearTitleRoleNotes2016–2019BasketsMartha Brooks40 episodes2017, 2020American GodsZorya Utrennyaya2 episodes2018Will & GracePattyEpisode: "Grace's Secret"2020CorporateTandryEpisode: "Fuck You Money'2020Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of FunStylistEpisode: "Dinner Party"2021–2025The Great NorthBethany (voice)24 episodes2022–2026EuphoriaLaurieRecurring role (season 2); main role (season 3)2022American AutoBarbEpisode: "Employee Morale"2022Grace and FrankiePatty2 episodes2022HacksBarbara2022I Love That for YouPamEpisode: "Daddy's Lil' Cookies"2022GaslitRose Mary Woods5 episodes2023What We Do in the ShadowsMarthaEpisode: "The Campaign"2023Carol & the End of the WorldCarol Kohl (voice)Main role2025–presentCommon Side EffectsAgent Harrington (voice)2025FalloutRepresentative Welch2 episodes2026Bad ThoughtsNatalieEpisode: “BAD ROMANCE”2026Big City GreensFlute Hippie (voice)Episode: "Caging Cricket"
References
External links
Austin Chronicle Interview, May 2000