# Desi Lydic

Desi Lydic (/ˈdɛzi ˈlaɪdɪk/ DEZ-ee LY-dik) is an American comedian and actress who is a senior correspondent on the satirical news program The Daily Show. From 2011 to 2016, she starred as guidance counselor Valerie Marks on the MTV comedy-drama series Awkward. She got her start in the 2001 parody film Not Another Teen Movie. She also starred in the Spike miniseries Invasion Iowa alongside William Shatner, and the parody series The Real Wedding Crashers.
She appeared as Shea Seger in the 2011 film We Bought a Zoo alongside Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, and in the 2013 film The Babymakers with Olivia Munn. Lydic also appeared as one half of a lesbian couple on an episode of the Disney Channel series Good Luck Charlie in 2014. She joined Trevor Noah's lineup of correspondents for The Daily Show on September 29, 2015. Lydic was among a number of guest hosts of The Daily Show after the departure of Trevor Noah.

## Early life

Desi Lydic was born in 1981 in Louisville, Kentucky. At the age of three, Lydic became enamored of comedic acting from watching Carol Burnett play Miss Agatha Hannigan in Annie. As a child, she enrolled in the Young Actors Institute at the Youth Performing Arts School and starred in a Kroger commercial. After she graduated Eastern High School, she attended the University of Louisville for two semesters before deciding to make the biggest move of her life to that point. When she told her parents about her plans to move to Los Angeles, she was not sure what to expect. “I think they saw this creative side in me growing up,” she said. “I'm so fortunate because a lot of people don't have families that would've supported them in making such a huge decision like that. But not only did they give me their blessing, my mom and dad packed up a U-Haul and drove us out all the way across the country.” Lydic told Kyle Meredith in a 2024 interview that it was during this time that she had an obsession with late '90s Saturday Night Live. She later moved to Los Angeles and became an improvisational actor, performing at The Groundlings and Improv Olympic.

## Career

On The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Lydic saw herself as a comedic actor with "a journalistic responsibility" to the truth, in regard to the serious topics she approaches through a humorous lens, as a correspondent for the show. Lydic created her first one-hour special which aired on May 13, 2019, on Comedy Central, and was entitled The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents Desi Lydic: Abroad. The special explores how the United States is now further apart in gender equality than many other countries in the world. The special was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Best Comedy/Variety – Specials at the 72nd Writers Guild of America Awards. After the passing of the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Lydic paid tribute to her work and life in a half-hour special entitled The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents: Remembering RBG – A Nation Ugly Cries with Desi Lydic aired on Comedy Central on October 30, 2020. Lydic was among a number of guest hosts of The Daily Show after the departure of Trevor Noah. She hosted during the week of April 24, 2023.

## Personal life

Lydic has one son, born in late December 2015, with her husband Gannon Brousseau. While filming her Comedy Central special Abroad Lydic got a "small upside-down triangle tattoo representing female empowerment" as a commemoration of her time spent with Icelandic all-female rap collective Daughters of Reykjavík, marking her as the "23rd member" of the group.

## Filmography

Film work by Desi Lydic :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Not Another Teen Movie | Cutie | Uncredited |
| 2003 | Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde | Delta Nu Sister | |
| 2004 | Adventures in Vegas | Desi/Skyler | Short film |
| 2007 | Stand Up | Veronica | |
| 2007 | Out at the Wedding | Jeannie | |
| 2008 | Screw Cupid | Betty | |
| 2008 | Big Heart City | Rita/Jane | |
| 2009 | As Advertised | Ronnie | TV film |
| 2009 | Stan Helsing | Mia | |
| 2010 | Darnell Dawkins: Mouth Guitar Legend | Helena | |
| 2011 | Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury | Diana Torres | |
| 2011 | We Bought a Zoo | Shea Seger | |
| 2012 | The Babymakers | Julie | |
| 2012 | Something Like a Butterfly | Joyce Humphrey | Short film |
| 2020 | Irresistible | Fox News Anchor | |
Television work by Desi Lydic :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | What I Like About You | Becky | Episode: "No More Mr. Nice Guy" |
| 2004 | Complete Savages | Woman #1 | Episode: "Savage XXX-mas" |
| 2005 | CSI: NY | Elaine Curtis | Episode: "Recycling" |
| 2005 | Invasion Iowa | Gryffyn Greene | 5 episodes |
| 2006 | Pepper Dennis | Melinda | Episode: "Poker Clubs and Boob Cams - Film at Eleven" |
| 2008 | Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan | Herself | Episode: "Spoiled Rotten" |
| 2010 | The League | Waitress | Episode: "The Marathon" |
| 2010 | Two and a Half Men | Veronica | Episode: "Chocolate Diddlers or My Puppy's Dead" |
| 2011 | Traffic Light | Renee | Episode: "Where the Heart Is" |
| 2011–2016 | Awkward | Valerie Marks | Main role; guest (season 5) |
| 2012 | Raising Hope | Uma | Episode: "Sabrina's New Jimmy" |
| 2012 | The Client List | Dee Ann | 7 episodes |
| 2012 | How to Be a Gentleman | Chelsea | Episode: "How to Be Shallow" |
| 2013 | Dads | Joan | Episode: "Dad Abuse" |
| 2014 | Good Luck Charlie | Susan | Episode: "Down a Tree" |
| 2014 | Friends with Better Lives | Jess | Episode: "Window Pain" |
| 2015 | The Odd Couple | Kim | Episode: "The Blind Leading the Blind Date" |
| 2015–present | The Daily Show | Correspondent, Host | |
| 2019 | Desi Lydic: Abroad | Herself | TV special |