JoAnne Astrow

Astrow was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, in a Jewish family of Russian, Hungarian, and Austrian descent.^[1] She wanted to become a performer at an early age.^[1] Her brother, Herb, also acted growing up and then worked in the textile industry and owned a restaurant.^[2]

Astrow began her career as an improv comedian and commercial actress in New York City.^[1][3] She and her husband, Mark Lonow, created the improv show Off the Wall with other actors including Henry Winkler.^[4]

In 1976, Astrow and her family drove to Los Angeles for a vacation and then stayed there to pursue their careers.^[3] Her friend Elayne Boosler encouraged her to begin doing stand-up comedy at a time when that was relatively rare for women.^[5][6] She became a successful touring comedian and appeared on shows including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.^[7][8] In 1979, she helped lead the strike at the Comedy Store in West Hollywood, which resulted in the club's owner, Mitzi Shore, beginning to pay performers at the venue.^[9] However, Shore subsequently banned Astrow from performing at the Comedy Store.^[10] After the strike, Astrow succeeded Tom Dreesen as the acting chair of Comedians for Compensation, the union that formed for the purposes of the strike.^[11]

After retiring from stand-up, Astrow became a talent manager for comedians including Lewis Black, Kathleen Madigan, Niecy Nash, and Doug Stanhope.^[1][8] In 2007, she and her husband earned nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special as executive producers for Black's special Lewis Black: Red, White and Screwed.^[12] In 2012, they co-produced Black's one-man Broadway show Running on Empty.^[13]

In 2017, Astrow and Lonow co-produced the off-Broadway play Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical.^[14] Other production credits on Broadway included The Prom and A Christmas Carol.^[15] They co-wrote the play Jews, Christians, and Screwing Stalin, inspired by Lonow's family, which premiered at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles in 2018.^[16] In 2025, they acted in the dark comedy film D(e)ad, which was directed by her daughter, Claudia Lonow, and written by and starring her granddaughter, Isabella Roland.^[17]

Astrow's first marriage was to David Rapaport, the father of actor Michael Rapaport.^[1] They had a daughter, Claudia, who also became an actress and comedian.^[1] Astrow met her second husband, Mark Lonow, while studying at the Herbert Berghof Studio.^[3] The couple married on February 9, 1969.^[1][18] After becoming grandparents, they shared a household for many years with Claudia and their granddaughter, Isabella Roland.^[8] The living arrangement inspired Claudia's show How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life), in which the grandmother is played by Elizabeth Perkins.^[19]