1. Retta is best known for her roles as Donna Meagle on NBC's Parks and Recreation and Ruby Hill on NBC's Good Girls.
20 Facts About Retta
1. 2.
Retta has appeared in several films and television shows, and has performed stand-up on Comedy Central's Premium Blend.
3.
Retta grew up in Edison and in the Cliffwood Beach section of Aberdeen Township, New Jersey, where she attended Matawan Regional High School, graduating in 1988.
4.
In 1992, Retta graduated from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where she was pre-med and graduated with a degree in sociology.
5.
Retta was raised as a member of the New Apostolic Church.
6.
When Retta competed in her first TV comedy contest, members from all over the world from the New Apostolic Church voted for her.
7.
Retta started doing standup in 1996, although she said she did not start "earning money" until 1998, when she began touring on the college circuit.
8.
Retta said she used to get "really nauseated" before a performance, but that the feeling passed with experience.
9.
Retta has said her stand-up material tends to be slightly embellished stories from her regular everyday life, family, and friends.
10.
Retta has served as the opening act for such comedians as Shirley Hemphill and Bobby Collins.
11.
Retta has performed on Premium Blend, a Comedy Central show featuring up-and-coming comedians.
12.
In 2009, Retta started making regular guest appearances on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation as Donna Meagle, an employee in the Parks Department of the fictional town, Pawnee, Indiana.
13.
Retta was upgraded to a full-time regular cast member in the third season.
14.
Retta hosted the 3rd Critics' Choice Television Awards in 2013.
15.
In 2015, Retta was one of the audiobook narrators for Welcome to Night Vale, a novel tie-in to the eponymous podcast series in which she is the voice of Old Woman Josie.
16.
In 2018, Retta co-starred in the NBC series, Good Girls, opposite Christina Hendricks and Mae Whitman.
17.
In 2018, Retta published a series of essays in a book called So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y'all Don't Even Know.
18.
In 2022, Retta signed a talent holding deal with NBCUniversal.
19.
Retta is a niece by marriage of the former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
20.
Retta is a fan of the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, and presented awards at the NHL award ceremonies in Las Vegas, in 2014 and 2015.