Madeleine Smithberg

It is not an exaggeration to say that Madeleine Smithberg is a comedy legend.

As the Emmy and two-time Peabody Award-winning co-creator and original executive producer of The Daily Show, she was directly responsible for the hiring of Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Ed Helms, Mo Rocca, Jon Stewart, and many others. The format which she was instrumental in creating remains unchanged to this day, nearly 30 years later. She also worked as a talent coordinator and producer at Late Night with David Letterman for six years, where she was responsible for finding non-celebrity guests with offbeat, hidden, and comedic talents (and this was before the Internet, so she had the world’s weirdest Rolodex). During this time, she also produced all of the show’s cooking segments with world-renowned chefs from Julia Child to Wolfgang Puck. At her production company, Mad Cow Productions, Madeleine developed and produced comedic projects for networks including, but not limited to, HISTORY, TBS, BET, CNN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, and SHOWTIME.

At 60, Madeleine pivoted to a brand-new career as a chef, teaching corporate team-building events. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Madeleine finally put herself in front of the camera when she launched her YouTube channel, Mad in the Kitchen. As the host of her own comedy cooking show, Madeleine was a guest on The Today Show three times and a regular guest on several other regional morning programs.

In addition to her career transition, Madeleine’s personal life has taken countless unexpected turns. She married her long-lost love during COVID and survived a challenging bout of breast cancer shortly thereafter. Madeleine always brings her wit, humor, and strength to any project she is involved with. Originally from NYC, she now lives in Seattle with her husband, but hopes to return to a climate with sunshine soon.

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