Joan Rivers Quotes

Joan Alexandra Molinsky , widely known as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and television host. She was noted for her often controversial comedic persona—alternatingly self-deprecating or sharply acerbic, especially toward celebrities and politicians.

Rivers gained prominence in 1965 as a guest on The Tonight Show. Hosted by her mentor, Johnny Carson, the show established Rivers' comedic style. In 1986, with her own rival program, The Late Show with Joan Rivers, Rivers became the first woman to host a late night network television talk show. She subsequently hosted The Joan Rivers Show , winning a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host. Having become widely known for her comedic red carpet awards show celebrity interviews, She was the 2009 Celebrity Apprentice Winner. Rivers co-hosted the E! celebrity fashion show Fashion Police from 2010 to 2014 and starred in reality series Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? with daughter Melissa Rivers. She was the subject of the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work .

In addition to marketing a line of jewelry and apparel on the QVC shopping channel, Rivers authored 12 best-selling books and released numerous comedy albums. She was nominated in 1984 for a Grammy Award for her album What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most?; and was nominated in 1994 for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance of the title role in Sally Marr...and Her Escorts. In 2015, Rivers posthumously received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for her book, Diary of a Mad Diva.

In 1968, The New York Times television critic Jack Gould called Rivers "quite possibly the most intuitively funny woman alive". In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her sixth on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.

✵ 8. June 1933 – 4. September 2014  •  Other names Joan Riversová
Joan Rivers photo
Joan Rivers: 29 quotes6 likes

Famous Joan Rivers Quotes

“A man can sleep around, no questions asked, but if a woman makes nineteen or twenty mistakes she's a tramp.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in Funny Ladies (2001), by B. Adler, p. 147

“I succeeded by saying what everyone else is thinking.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in Funny Ladies (2001), by B. Adler, p. 272

“Two is company; three is fifty bucks.”

Joan Rivers

Reported in The Quotable Quote Book (1990), p. 258

“My best birth control now is just to leave the lights on.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in On Being Blonde (2004), by P. Munier, p. 84

Joan Rivers Quotes

“I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes—and six months later you have to start all over again.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in Women Talk, edited by Michèle Brown & Ann OʼConnor (1984)

“It's been so long since I made love, I can't even remember who gets tied up.”

Joan Rivers

Reported in The Quotable Quote Book (Carol Publishing Group, 1990), p. 258

“If God wanted us to bend over he would put diamonds on the floor.”

Joan Rivers

„I'm Jewish. I don't work out.."


As quoted in Dick Enberg's Humorous Quotes for All Occasions (2000), p. 101
Variant: I'm Jewish. I don't work out. If God had wanted us to bend over, he would have put diamonds on the floor.

“I've had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware.”

Joan Rivers

On her plastic surgeries, quoted in The New York Times, 2008 (republished in The New York Daily News http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/joan-rivers-top-10-jokes-celebs-plastic-surgery-article-1.1928398#ixzz3CWeoRaTP

“Never floss with a stranger.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in Words of Wisdom (1990), ed. by W. Safire & L. Safir, p. 358

“[Catchphrase:] Oh, grow up!”

Joan Rivers

Frequent response to an audience's groans or reactions to her remarks.

“You know you are getting old when work is a lot less fun and fun is a lot more work.”

Joan Rivers

Reported in The Quote Manual: Wisdom and Wit of the Ages (2005), by R. G. Moscatelli, p. 201

“I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw that my bath toys were a toaster and a radio.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said (2003), by R. Byrne, 94

“Don't tell your kids you had an easy birth or they won't respect you. For years I used to wake up my daughter and say, 'Melissa, you ripped me to shreds. Now go back to sleep.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in On Being Blonde: Wit and Wisdom from the World's Most Infamous Blondes (2004), by P. Munier, p. 83

“People say money is not the key to happiness, but I've always figured if you have enough money you can get a key made.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in Seriously Funny (2009), by G. Nachman, p. 606

“I have so little sex appeal that my gynecologist calls me "sir."”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in R. Byrne, Third and Possibly the Best 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said (1987)

“Looking fifty is great—if you're sixty.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in Dick Enberg's Humorous Quotes for All Occasions (2000), p. 21

“[Catchphrase:] Can we talk?”

Joan Rivers

Quoted in Wash. Post (24 Aug. 1982), as reported in The Yale Book of Quotations (2006), p. 638

“My routines come out of total unhappiness. My audiences are my group therapy.”

Joan Rivers

Joan Rivers on BBC 2 (23 February 1990), as reported in The Quotable Jewish Woman (2004), by E. Partnow, p. 179

“Before we make love, my husband takes a pain killer.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in R. Byrne, Third and Possibly the Best 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said (1987)

“There is not one female comic who was beautiful as a little girl.”

Joan Rivers

Quoted in L.A. Times (10 May 1974), as reported in The Yale Book of Quotations (2006), p. 638

“Don't follow any advice, no matter how good, until you feel as deeply in your spirit as you think in your mind that the counsel is wise.”

Joan Rivers

David Seabury, as quoted in The Forbes Scrapbook of Thoughts on the Business of Life (1950), p. 248
Misattributed

“I wish I had a twin, so I could know what I'd look like without plastic surgery.”

Joan Rivers

As quoted in On Being Blonde (2004), by P. Munier, p. 84

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