Karen Bankhead is a comedienne, character actress and writer. She was born at Vandenburg Air Force Base (now Space Force!) and holds a degree in Psychology from UCLA. Bankhead studied at The Groundlings and performed with the prestigious Sunday Company. She has appeared in numerous television and film projects including I Am Sam, the debut season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Will and Grace, Reno 911, Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, Kidding, Franklin & Bash, Roc,The Parkers, Jamie Foxx, Bernie Mac, Sister Sister, Girlfriends, , and many others. Her second ever television role was a series regular on the ABC prime time series, New Attitude. She is well known for her comedic characters, including her altar ego, Etta Mae Mumphries and has performed at the Comedy Store and The Improv in Hollywood and Ontario. She has performed in numerous stage plays, including Off-Broadway at the Harold Clurman Theatre in New York City. Her award-winning one-woman show, The V-05 Experience, has been performed nationwide, including the Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival, the San Francisco Fringe Festival, the United Solo Fest on Theatre Row in New York City, Actor's Rep Solo Fest, HBO Workspace, Comedy Central showcase, among others. She was awarded the NAACP Theatre Award for best supporting actress in 2019 for “Three Times a Lady.” Along with the V-05 Experience, her plays "Flies in the Buttermilk,” "The ABW Effect" and "Etta Mae Mumphries: And The Rest is History" have been received with much acclaim. Her other writing credits include the sketches, "Jacob and Esau," "Mary and Elizabeth," 'Days of Joseph's Lives," and "Party of 12," for the Faithful Central Bible Church repertory company.