Chelsea Handler's barbed humor is taking her from late-night to Netflix. After spending seven years as the E! network's formidable comedian and celebrity interviewer, Handler's moving on to uncharted waters. Here's how she's carved her path:
A New Jersey native, Handler first moved to Los Angeles at 19 with the goal of becoming an actress. At 21, she turned a legal lemon into lemonade when a DUI prompted her entree into stand-up comedy.
It was while working as a waitress that she gave stand-up a whirl -- and immediately found her calling. She was gaining a reputation for her biting wit when she appeared on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" in 2004.
In 2005, Handler released her first book, the best-selling "My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands."
Handler did eventually land work as an actress -- she's made appearances in TV dramas such as "The Practice" as well as comedies such as "My Wife and Kids" and "The Bernie Mac Show." But her stand-up career has been so successful that she's performed at renowned venues such as The Laugh Factory in Los Angeles.
In 2006, Handler -- pictured here, center, at the June 1, 2006, premiere of "National Lampoon's Cattle Call" in Las Vegas -- made her foray into late-night TV. Her first show was a sketch program called "The Chelsea Handler Show," which lasted for a season. The following year, "Chelsea Lately" premiered on E!.
Wherever Chelsea Handler pops up, you can always expect a surprise. When she spoke at the 2009 Crystal + Lucy Awards, Handler feted the "Twilight" director thusly: "As you all know, Catherine directed 'Twilight.' When I first read that movie was about a guy who stays out all night sinking his teeth into young girls, I was like, 'Why are they making a movie about Jeremy Piven?'" When the audience hooted with surprise, Handler replied, "It's OK, you can laugh at that. He's an a**hole."
As "Chelsea Lately" became a late-night mainstay, Handler moved on to bigger stand-up waters -- such as the MTV Video Music Awards in 2010. Her antics included getting "pregnant" after sharing a hot tub with the cast of "Jersey Shore" and referring to Kanye West as the "big, black elephant in the room." Needless to say, Handler's performance was controversial.
It seems the more famous Handler's become, the more she hangs out with the A-listers. Jennifer Aniston, pictured here with Handler at Glamour's 2011 Women of the Year Awards, is just one of the host's celebrity pals.
In 2011, Handler took "Chelsea Lately" down under to Australia, but if you think she adjusted her act for an international audience, you'd be wrong. When Henry Rollins arrived on the "Lately" set, Handler was just as raw as ever.
In 2012, Handler's brand of comedy was so popular that NBC tried to get a piece of her success with the comedy "Are You There, Chelsea?" based on her 2008 hit book, "Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea." The sitcom starred Laura Prepon with Handler serving as an executive producer. The series only lasted one season.
Handler had become such a popular presence on late-night TV that many were pulling for her to make the jump from cable to broadcast when Jimmy Fallon announced he was leaving "Late Night" in 2013. Here, she joins Fallon and Steve Higgins on NBC's "Late Night" in November 2012. The show was eventually taken over by "Saturday Night Live's" Seth Meyers.
While the clamoring to see Handler move into the late-night boys club on broadcast continued -- more opportunities popped up when David Letterman, too, announced his retirement -- Handler had something else up her sleeve. "I have never had nor will have any desire to take a job someone else has already had," Handler tweeted in April 2014. "Speculation to the contrary is inaccurate. Godspeed."
It's easy to see why everyone wanted Handler to get an even bigger platform, though -- we really just want more moments like these, when she kissed "Silver Spoons" star Ricky Schroder on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" in 2013.
In the end, Handler surprised everyone in April 2014 when she announced that she was moving to Netflix. The new role will involve stand-up comedy specials and another talk show. "I'm more excited than I've been in awhile, and the team at Netflix is the most forward thinking, alert group I've sat down with in ages," Handler said in a statement at the time, quipping, "No offense to the 'Shahs of Sunset.' "
- Chelsea Handler said goodbye to E! with the final episode of "Chelsea Lately" Tuesday
- The hourlong episode was star-filled, including a shower with Ellen DeGeneres
- Handler is moving to Netflix next
(CNN) -- Chelsea Handler has made a clean break from E!.
Or at least we assume it was clean, since Handler's final "Chelsea Lately" episode Tuesday included one of her infamous celebrity-accompanied shower scenes.
Over the past seven years of "Chelsea Lately" on the E! network, host Handler has roped two other stars -- friend Sandra Bullock and fellow late night host Conan O'Brien -- into having nude shower fights with her. The running gag was brought to a close on Tuesday as an indignant Ellen DeGeneres climbed into Handler's roomy shower set, fully clothed but wearing a shower cap, demanding answers as to why Handler never had her on the show.
"Is it because I'm a lesbian?" DeGeneres asked Handler, who, per usual, was stark naked.
"No!" Handler responded. "I didn't even know you were a lesbian. I thought you were married to Ryan Seacrest."
You didn't think Handler would say goodbye to E! without landing another joke against the network's patron saint of celebrity news, did you?
What we'll miss about 'Chelsea Lately'
Throughout "Chelsea Lately's" eight-season run, Handler has commandeered an unabashedly salty late night show, which on a typical night included a ring of celebrity trash-talking comedians and a celebrity interview that ran more bawdy than promotional.
Those irritated by the Justin Biebers and Kardashians of the world likely found a kindred spirit in Handler, who wasn't ashamed to have open contempt for some of her show's topics. (One of the rumored reasons for Handler's exit was that she just didn't want to talk about Bieber anymore.)
It's no surprise that neither the pop star nor E!'s first family participated in Handler's farewell show Tuesday, but there wasn't a shortage of celebrity guests. Handler is known to run with a powerful crew that includes A-list actress Jennifer Aniston. On Tuesday, the former "Friends" star joined Sandra Bullock and Mary McCormack for a mock intervention (sit through it until the end; the surprise guest is worth it), and Miley Cyrus also showed up to perform a cover of Roy Orbison's "It's Over."
Several more famous faces arrived to help sing Handler off the network, from Fergie and Gwen Stefani, to Gerard Butler, Selena Gomez, Dave Grohl and Alanis Morissette. Stefani, who accidentally called "The Colbert Report" the "Colbore Report" at the Emmys on Monday, poked fun at her mistake by introducing Handler as her "good friend, Chelsea Hammer."
"Goodbye to E!, it's time to move on," the stars sang in unison before instructing in classic Handler fashion, "so roll yourself a joint, and have a drink."
On a more serious note, Handler did make some final remarks.
"I want to thank every single person who's shown up for me in the last seven years," Handler said. "I never really got a good chance to be serious and say thank you, and I want you to know that I am grateful for this career."
Handler is moving on to Netflix from E!, where she's expected to produce some comedy specials and deliver a new talk show in early 2016.
"Thank you to my family, and mom I hope you're watching me," Handler said in her goodbye speech. "I'll see you on Netflix!"
