Judy Lynn Tenuta (November 7, 1949 – October 6, 2022) was an American comedian, actress, and comedy musician. She was known for her whimsical and brash persona of "The Love Goddess", mixing insult comedy, observational humor, self-promotion, and bawdy onstage antics. Throughout her career, Tenuta built a niche but devoted following, particularly among members of the LGBTQ community. Tenuta wrote two comedy books, and received two nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
Early life
One of nine siblings, Tenuta was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on November 7, 1949, into a Catholic family to a Polish mother, Johanna Z. "Yanya" Tenuta, and an Italian father, Caesar Tenuta.
She graduated from Immaculate Heart of Mary High School in Westchester, Illinois, and attended the University of Illinois at Chicago where she majored in theater. Her interest in comedy began when she took an improv comedy class with the Chicago improv group The Second City. Shortly thereafter, she started opening for other comedians in Chicago.
Career
Comedy career
Tenuta began her comedy career performing openers and small time shows on the Chicago comedy circuit in the 1970s. During her first performance, Tenuta shocked audiences by dressing up as the Virgin Mary, and after being encouraged by her friends to incorporate an accordion into her routine, she began to develop the character into her iconic persona as the wisecracking "Love Goddess".
After building a fiery reputation as one of the "hottest young comics around," Tenuta left Chicago and moved to New York City to host an HBO Comedy Special with Ellen DeGeneres, Rita Rudner, and Paula Poundstone. By the late 1980s, Tenuta uprooted again, moving to Los Angeles, where she published her book Full Frontal Tenudity about life in Hollywood. During her time in Los Angeles, Tenuta harbored a fiercely independent attitude, openly rejecting Hollywood beauty standards and celebrity life. She continued to perform on national tours for years afterwards, making special visits to the Chicago circuit.
Other ventures
Tenuta's use of her voice in her stand-up act lent itself to voice-over work in several animated programs. This included doing the voice of Edna on Duckman, Munch Kelly on Cow and Chicken in the banned episode "Buffalo Gals", Black Widow on Space Ghost Coast to Coast, a foul-mouthed mermaid in Johnny Bravo, Queen Porcina in Mighty Magiswords and as herself in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. She appeared in numerous film and television roles, including the dominatrix disciplinarian "Samantha Rottweiler" in Butch Camp, and the loud-mouthed librarian "Mrs. Holler" in Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. She also played various minor characters on The Weird Al Show, was featured in many of "Weird Al" Yankovic's comedy shorts and music videos, and appeared in dozens of other minor acting roles.
In addition to her small screen acting, Tenuta had various theatrical roles, most notably in The Vagina Monologues and Menopause the Musical. Tenuta wrote two comedy books Full Frontal Tenudity and The Power of Judyism, and released five comedy CDs, receiving "Best Comedy Album" Grammy nominations for Attention Butt-Pirates and Lesbetarians! and In Goddess We Trust. She gained some mainstream notoriety for a series of television ads for MTV and Diet Dr Pepper in the late 1980s, as well as her HBO, Showtime, and Lifetime specials.
