Daniele Gaither - Early Life

Early Life

Daniele Gaither was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. As a child, Gaither was always the class clown with a knack for storytelling and mimicry. Like her fellow MADtv castmates Nicole Sullivan and Josh Meyers, she attended Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois. In 1993, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, and attend the Groundlings School, where aspiring sketch and improv performers are given a systematic approach to learning improvisation and writing skills.

While she studied at the Groundlings school, Gaither was trained by Michael McDonald, before his tenure on MADtv. She completed the school and became a member of The Groundlings on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. After several years as a member, she left the group in 2006.

In her comedy, Gaither tries to "represent people that you see in the streets and know in everyday life," and sometimes uses her family experiences as material. She does impressions of people that she grew up admiring, such as Patti Labelle, Marla Gibbs and Isabel Sanford, but also does impressions of current celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Star Jones and Lil' Kim.

Gaither's first regular television appearance was on Hype in 2000. After her first big break, she appeared on NBC's The Rerun Show. Gaither has a recurring role as Chandra the hairdresser on Comedy Central's Reno 911!.