Tiffany Haddish has been working in comedy for over a decade, but her role in Girls Trip is, without a doubt, her shining moment. Haddish plays Dina, the rowdy, ratchet yet endearing friend of the pack. Alongside heavy-hitters Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah and Regina Hall, Haddish earns her own—making us laugh out loud the entire film.
Prior to Girls Trip, you may have spotted Haddish on The Carmichael Show, Real Husbands of Hollywood or Keanu. But the 37-year-old has had a rich comedy career, doing her first televised stand-up routine on Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes? in 2006. Below, learn five amazing facts about Tiffany Haddish.
1. Haddish is of African-American and Ethiopian-Jewish descent
Haddish met her father as an adult, through her ex-husband who was a detective. She was able to talk with him, learn more about her heritage, and be walked down the aisle in the years before he passed away. “Him not being there allowed me to experience so many things,” she said about her Ethiopian father on The Breakfast Club. “[It] allowed me to be loved by so many different people. And be fathered and nurtured by so many different people. It’s probably a good thing he wasn’t around, he might not have been a good dad. And I thanked him for that.”
2. She was married for five years but got divorced in 2013
Haddish left her marriage because she felt her ex was stifling her journey. “I gave everything I had, it just felt like I was back to that 9-year-old— not being good enough, not being able to do enough,” she said on The Breakfast Club. “I was not going to allow my dreams to shut down. I was not going to allow no man to shut down this dream I have because it keeps coming to me. God keeps telling me, ‘You gotta do this. You gotta share your story. You gotta spread this joy, you gotta spread love.'”
3. She has an iconic story about taking Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith on Groupon swamp tour
On ESSENCE’s Yes, Girl! podcast, Haddish opened up for the first time about taking Will and Jada Pinkett Smith on a swamp tour with a Groupon. “What the f*** is a Groupon?!,” Jada said. When Haddish explained to Pinkett Smith what a Groupon actually was, she said, “I thought it meant you had your own boat that you could take a group of people on!”
4. She loves to dancing and has been caught twerking on more than one occasion
Being single, sexy and free means having fun without shame. On more than one occasion Haddish has been spotted dancing and having a great time. In a recent video from Essence Fest, she’s giving Girls Trip co-star Kofi Siriboe a twerk session.
5. Haddish is only going to get more popular
Even though she’s promoting Girls Trip, the talent is also filming her new show with Tracy Morgan called, The Last OG. And on Aug 18, Haddish’s first stand-up show with Showtime, She Ready! —filmed in Haddish’s native Los Angeles at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center— will air.
