It’s hard to forget Tiffany Haddish. Maybe you saw her recent Instagram post where she blasted a male TMZ journalist who videotaped her struggling with her luggage. Or maybe you’ve seen her Groupon commercial where she insists that even after becoming famous, she uses the website to score sweet deals on spa days. And if you’ve seen her star turn in last year’s Girls Trip—hell, even if you haven’t—there’s no underestimating her willpower and determination.
Despite that breakout role, the actress and comedian has actually been grinding her comedy act for years. Her recent Hollywood success represents a 180-degree turn from her youth, which she spent taking care of her four siblings. In fact, the details of Haddish’s story aren’t easy to stomach, though many of them are detailed in her 2017 New York Times bestseller The Last Black Unicorn—which happens to be ghostwritten by Tucker Max. (Yes, that Tucker Max.) “Either you will cry or laugh,” she says in the book’s introduction. “And I try my best to figure out how to do the second one. I know life is no laughing matter, but having experiences can be.”
When Haddish was just 8, her stepfather cut the brakes on her mother’s car, leading to an accident that left her mother with permanent brain damage. Haddish was placed with her siblings in foster care, where she was often abused. Comedy became her main means of survival. It was a constant even when she endured homelessness and more abuse from her ex-husband.
Eventually, Haddish landed a spot on the Oprah Winfrey Network soap If Loving You Is Wrong, followed by roles on The Carmichael Show and the 2016 comedy Keanu before playing the outlandishly wild and quotable Dina on Girls Trip.
It would suffice to say that everything Haddish has achieved has also prepared her for the stage. And after an exciting year being cast into the limelight alongside her Girls Trip co-stars—legendary women like Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Regina Hall—she’s returning to her stand-up roots. #She Ready (which couldn’t have been a more appropriate name for her tour) touches down for a sold-out Aces of Comedy gig at the Mirage’s Terry Fator Theater on April 28.
And if you happen to be at McCarran Airport when the comedian’s plane lands, don’t be that guy who pulls out their camera and starts filming—unless you want to be publicly shamed during Saturday night’s concert. You’ve been forewarned.
Tiffany Haddish April 28, 10 p.m., $40+. Mirage, 702-791-7111.
