Lizz Winstead
Lizz Winstead is an American comedian, author and media creator, co-creator and original head writer of The Daily ShowThe Daily ShowThe Daily Show is an American late-night news-satire program launched by Comedy Central in 1996 and co-created by Lizz Winstead and Madeleine Smithberg. It combines news commentary, field reports, comedy segments and interviews. Jon Stewart hosts Mondays, with a rotating team on the other weekdays; distribution includes Paramount+, online video and podcasts.Open the full entry, and co-founder of Air America Radio. She also leads the reproductive-rights advocacy organization Abortion Access Front.
Contents6 sections
Key facts
July 1996Co-creating The Daily Show
Winstead co-created The Daily Show with Madeleine SmithbergMadeleine SmithbergMadeleine Smithberg is a television producer, writer and cooking-show creator who co-created The Daily Show with Lizz Winstead and served as its executive producer. She later developed cooking videos and instruction through Mad In The Kitchen.Open the full entry. Hosted by Craig KilbornCraig KilbornCraig Kilborn is an American television host, comedy performer and podcaster who moved from sports broadcasting into late-night television. He was the first host of The Daily Show and later hosted CBS’s The Late Late Show.Open the full entry, it premiered on Comedy CentralComedy CentralComedy Central is an American comedy television and digital-entertainment brand covering news satire, stand-up, sketch comedy and adult animation. Known for programs including The Daily Show and South Park, it is part of Skydance Corporation’s media business.Open the full entry on July 22, 1996. As head writer, Winstead helped shape its early transformation of news conventions into satirical comedy.[1]
2004Air America Radio
In 2004, Winstead co-founded Air America Radio and co-hosted the morning program Unfiltered with Rachel Maddow and Chuck D, extending her work from television satire into political conversation and interviews on radio.[2]
2012Publication of Lizz Free or Die
Lizz Free or Die is an autobiographical essay collection about Winstead’s Midwestern upbringing, family and religious environment, comedy career and work developing The Daily Show. The publisher dates its ebook and audiobook editions to May 10, 2012, with the paperback following in May 2013.[3]
2026Abortion Access Front and advocacy
Whole Woman’s Health Alliance identifies Winstead as founder and chief creative officer of Abortion Access Front. She combines comedy with public advocacy for reproductive rights, a distinct organizational role alongside her history in news satire.[2]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Her principal program association is The Daily Show. Her publisher identifies her X account as https://twitter.com/lizzwinstead (opens in a new window) and maintains an author page at Penguin Random HousePenguin Random HousePenguin Random House is a trade book publishing group headquartered in New York City. It was formed on July 1, 2013, by combining Bertelsmann’s Random House with Pearson’s Penguin, and has been wholly owned by Bertelsmann since 2020. Its roots include Random House, which grew out of Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer’s 1925 purchase of The Modern Library and became a general publisher in 1927, and Penguin Books, founded by Allen Lane in 1935. The group operates in more than 20 countries with more than 300 imprints, including Alfred A. Knopf, Doubleday, Viking, Dutton, Penguin Press, Crown and Ballantine Books, and had revenue of €4.981 billion in 2025. In 2022 a U.S. federal court blocked its planned acquisition of Simon & Schuster on antitrust grounds. Its chief executive is Nihar Malaviya.Open the full entry.[4]