Every year, Forbes compiles their 50 Over 50 List, which recognizes 50 dynamic female leaders and entrepreneurs who have achieved significant success later in life. And this week, they have revealed that comedienne & queen of southern charm, Leanne Morgan, has been featured on that list.
Leanne Morgan was recognized in the the lifestyle category (the other three being impact, innovation & investment) which Forbes describes members on this list as “aren’t just publishing books, making music or selling food; they’re shaping our culture.” Leanne Morgan is undoubtedly a prime example of this cultural shaping. She now shares the limelight with luminaries such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Viola Davis, and Katie Couric, a testament to her indelible mark on the world.
Leanne Morgan's recognition caught her by a pleasant surprise when she shared “As I was sitting at my kitchen table this morning writing my book, What in the World, I got a notification that truly made me say WHAT IN THE WORLD? Forbes 50 over 50 is always something I would look at and think… look at all these amazing women. Never in a million years did I think I would be one of them!”
What Forbes had to share about Leanne Morgan
Leanne Morgan is hitting her stride as a professional comedian, and she's doing it at the age of 57. In 2022 she finished her very first 100-city comedy tour and launched her debut Netflix special, I'm Every Woman, which hit the streamer's top 10 within the first three days of its release. It is one of the highest-watched specials on the platform in 2023.
Morgan didn't start her career in entertainment; she instead stumbled on a talent for comedy while selling jewelry at home parties in Tennessee as a young mother in the 1990s. After moving to San Antonio in 2001, she started attending open mic nights.
Invited to the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal as one of 2023's Variety Top 10 Comic to Watch, she will be on stage multiple times and perform at the festival for the first time since 2011.
Morgan will star in Amazon Studio's upcoming You're Cordially Invited, along with Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell. She'll spend most of 2023 on her country-wide sold-out theater and arena tour, appropriately named Just Getting Started. Her first book What in the World? is set to be published in September 2024.
Looking for more from Leanne Morgan?
Stream & download Leanne Morgan's album Are We Gonna Eat Anything? on 800 Pound Gorilla & get to know more of her story on YouTube.
To read the full 2023 Forbes 50 Over 50 List, click here.
With Leanne Morgan's inclusion on this coveted Forbes list, it's clear that her comedic brilliance and cultural impact have earned her a place among the most influential women of our time.