Vicki Lawrence

Vicki Lawrence Speaker Biography

Multi-talented Vicki Lawrence, is an actress, comedian, and singer known for the many characters she originated on CBS's The Carol Burnett Show, where she appeared from 1967 to 1978, for the entire series run. One such character, Thelma Harper/Mama, was the central character of the ever-popular television situation comedy series Mama's Family. The show can still be seen daily in syndication throughout most of the country and is available as a Time-Life DVD collection.

Lawrence spends much of her time on the road with her stage production, Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show. She also enjoys speaking to women’s organizations and other great causes, where she shares her life story of fame, activism, and her continuing success. All the while, she approaches everything with her characteristic sense of humor, reminding us all that “Life is much too serious to be taken seriously!”

Lawrence has multiple Emmy Award nominations, winning one in 1976. She is a multiple Golden Globe nominee, all for The Carol Burnett Show. In 1973, Lawrence recorded the hit song "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia." It reached Number One on both the United States and Canada top charts.

In the past, Lawrence hosted a popular game show, Win, Lose or Draw, her own daytime talk show, Vicki!, and appeared in many theatre productions. She was the only talk show host since Oprah to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy in her freshman year.

Through the years, Lawrence has made appearances on other television programs, such as Laverne & Shirley, Major Dad, Roseanne, Hannah Montana, and Yes, Dear. Lawrence has also appeared with Burnett, Korman, and Tim Conway in the Burnett show retrospectives. Lawrence most recently co-starred in the popular FOX-TV 2018 comedy series The Cool Kids. Lawrence’s co-stars in The Cool Kids were David Alan Grier, Martin Mull, and Leslie Jordan.

On stage, Vicki has appeared in numerous productions, including Carousel, Send Me No Flowers, No, No, Nanette, Chapter Two, Hello Dolly, I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It ON The Road, Annie Get Your Gun, and live from the Grand Ole Opry, Nunsense 3: The Jamboree, which aired on TNN.