Last Woman Standing

She’s comedian Conan O’Brien’s only female writer.

In 2010, Laurie Kilmartin’s success came to a head when she was a finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing. A northern California native, former competitive swimmer and mother to a 4-year-old boy, Kilmartin has been a writer for O’Brien since September 2010 (her jokes make up approximately one-fifth of the ones used in his monologue each night).

For a woman with so many accomplishments, Kilmartin doesn’t consider herself a “professional woman.” After gaining notoriety among the comedy community through stand-up shows at clubs and festivals where she entertained thousands, Kilmartin went on to do stints on Comedy Central, Showtime and on shows like The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Rachel Maddow Show.

PINK: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

LK: I always tell myself I can quit if I want to. I’ve never quit comedy, but I always have that in the back of my mind. Most people say you should never quit and that you should work really hard toward a goal. But you can get focused on something without realizing it isn’t what you what to do or it doesn’t fulfill you. I’ve been doing comedy for 24 or 25 years, I still love it and I can’t imagine not doing it. Giving myself that vow gave me the wiggle room to keep going.

PINK: What’s your biggest professional weakness?

LK: Thinking I’m not good enough. I’m always saying, “I just want to be a little bit better before I push myself in this direction.” I try to wait until I’m an A-plus, whereas you have guys that are B-minuses, but they have the confidence of Albert Einstein. It’s always shocking to me how there are so few women who are average but extremely confident in themselves, and so many who are really smart but are constantly downgrading themselves. I’ve sat on a lot of ideas thinking they weren’t good enough, then realizing they were more than good enough.

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