Tanyalee Davis is accustomed to telling “short jokes.” She is the shortest female stand-up comedian, measuring barely 3 ft 3 in (99.06 cm) tall. Tanyalee, of Bradenton, Florida, USA, is a dwarf due to a rare genetic disorder called dystrophic dysplasia.
She hasn’t, however, allowed her disease to define who she is.
“Since I’ve been working in comedy for 33 years,” Tanyalee says. She frequently makes “short lists” for awards, but occasionally she doesn’t get the top honour.
On January 23, 1990, Tanyalee performed her first stand-up routine at the Yuk Yuks Comedy Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
“I didn’t even know that stand-up comedy was a thing,” admitted Tanyalee.
“I grew up watching American sitcoms and British comedies, so I loved to laugh and wanted to be a comedic actress.”
Tanyalee’s family supported her decision to pursue theatre studies since they recognised that she had a natural flair for performing.
She started out as a performer at a children’s theatre and won the lead role in the first play she ever tried out for.
“I was Perry the Penguin,” said Tanyalee.
She would be visiting a comedy club for the first time thanks to Tanyalee’s date’s invitation to see him perform at an open mic.
“I watched this guy on stage, and he wasn’t very good,” said Tanyalee.
“I instinctively knew what he was doing wrong. So, when he came back, I was like, ‘Wow, that was bad’.”
Tanyalee knew she was capable of doing better. Three months after starting to write her own material, she started delivering her own paid comedy sketches.
“Four months in, and this guy goes and dumps me,” said Tanyalee.
Tanyalee does practice her comedy sketches before presenting them to an audience, even though she doesn’t always ‘write’ her stuff.
“I don’t need to write material because I live my material. I am a storyteller,” she said.
“I sometimes will tell a story during one of my ‘lives’ on my late-night app Clapper to see what the reaction is and if I can make a complete story.”
Pre-lockdown, Since 2004, Tanyalee has performed on international stages.
Her favourite venue to perform is the Stand Comedy Club in Glasgow, Scotland, where she would spend weeks at a time on the road.
Tanyalee’s performance, however, changed a little after the epidemic.
Since the lockout, when I started using social media, my behaviour has altered. I discovered that I have a natural ability to share stories and that simply by living my best life, I inspire and motivate others to do the same, she added.
Tanyalee has earned her name on the wall of the World Famous Comedy Store at the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California, USA, with some of the best comedians ever, even though comedy is a male-dominated field.
She claims that being on stage is where she feels most at home, and she loves hearing and seeing people laugh and smile because it is “good for the soul.”
“Laughter releases happy hormones in our bodies,” Tanyalee Davis explained.
I enjoy taking my audience on adventures and sharing my experiences. They gain knowledge as they go.
The empowerment that comes with being the shortest female stand-up comic, though, is one of Tanyalee’s favourite aspects.
“Throughout my entire life, people have undervalued me, but I’ve accomplished some fantastic things. The key is to never give up, she explained.
“Bookers have told me they won’t book me because they previously did so for a person with cerebral palsy, and the audience didn’t like them, so they won’t like you either,” they have said. Although I am small, many professionals in the field have poor vision.
Tanyalee is thankful that there is a plan for her that she has been able to experience because she believes that she is carrying out exactly what she intended to be doing with her life.
She was also overjoyed to learn that she was a Guinness World Records holder and delighted to tell her buddy Imaan Hadchiti, who is the world’s shortest stand-up comedian, the news.
Tanyalee Davis claims that her mantra, “Unstoppable Me,” applies to everyone and isn’t just for her.
“Stop focusing on what you can’t do and focus on what you can do. I am living proof,” she said.
Younger generations need to be inspired and motivated, according to Tanyalee, because humour makes life a lot simpler.
“You can’t control what other people say, you can only control how you react,” she said.
“I choose to have a sense of humour regarding the situations I get into because of my height, and that’s why my life has been filled with incredible stories, which I now share on stage. #UnstoppableMe.”
