5 Questions With Dan Schawbel Episode 36: Chelsea Handler
An interview with Chelsea Handler about why she went on a journey to self-discovery, how therapy changed her life, how connecting with diverse people changed her, overcoming self-doubt and her best career advice.
Welcome to the 36th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions.
This episodes guest:
My guest today is comedian, actress, TV host and author, Chelsea Handler. Born in Livingston, New Jersey as the youngest of six children, Chelsea experienced pain and death growing up. Her mom died of breast cancer in 2006 and her eldest brother died when she was only 9 years old. When she turned 19, she moved to LA where she lived in her aunt’s home in Bel Air. While she was a waitress, she was also pursuing her acting career as many do. Then at age 21, she decided to be a stand-up comic. Chelsea broke into TV as a regular commentator on E! and as a correspondent on NBC’s The Tonight Show. In 2006, she started hosting The Chelsea Handler Show on E! and a year later she performed in Comedy Central’s Hour Stand-Up Comedy Tour. In 2010, she was ranked on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list and in 2012, TIME named her as of the 100 most influential people in the world. She hosted her own half-hour late-night comedy series, Chelsea Lately, on E! In 2016, she hosted Chelsea Does, a documentary series, and Chelsea, a comedy talk show, both on Netflix. She’s the author of six bestselling books, including her latest Life Will Be the Death of Me:….and you too!, which is the basis of this podcast interview.
The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode:
- Why did you decide to go on a journey of self-discovery and what was your first step to embark on that journey?
- What changes have you made to your life as a result of therapy?
- How has connecting with a diverse group of people around the country affected you personally and made you rethink aspects of your life?
- How have you overcome self-doubt throughout your career?
- What’s your best piece of career advice?
Follow Chelsea’s journey: