CBS Sunday Morning contributor Nancy Giles is a comedian, actress, and social commentator. Since 2002 her work on the Peabody Award-winning CBS News Sunday Morning has earned her 5 Emmy Awards for her unique blend of common-sense wisdom, laugh-out-loud humor, social and political commentary, and interviews. A funny, perceptive, and provocative observer of today’s world, Giles examines topics ranging from politics and race to pop culture and body image. She has been a guest on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, The Beat with Ari Melber, and All In with Chris Hayes.
Nancy Giles is a veteran of Chicago’s esteemed Second City improv troupe, appeared Off-Broadway in Nora & Delia Ephron’s Love Loss, and What I Wore, and won the Theatre World Award for the musical satire Mayor. She was one of the stars of the acclaimed series China Beach and the sitcom Delta. She’s
appeared on both Law & Order and Law & Order SVU and was featured in the films Big, Working Girl, True Crime, and Irrational Man. Her solo shows include Black Comedy: The Wacky Side of Racism, Notes of a Negro Neurotic, Things My Afro Taught Me, and The Further Adventures of the Accidental Pundette, which The New Yorker called “the surprise of (this) annual festival... a rocking standup comedy.”
An accomplished voiceover and radio artist, Giles’ credits include network promos for Food Network, Logo, USA Network, Lifetime, and ABC Daytime; and national spots for The New York Times, Tide, True Value, Yoplait, and countless pharmaceuticals. Her cartoon voices have been heard on shows on Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel, and VH-1. Giles also won back-to-back Gracie Awards from the Alliance of Women in Media for Giles and Moriarty, a CBS Radio talk show with CBS correspondent Erin Moriarty. And her podcast, The Giles Files takes a lively spin on trending topics — from pop culture to politics, with interviews, commentaries, song parodies, and more.
For more than 30 years, Giles has been a volunteer with The 52nd Street Project, helping at-risk kids take part in acting, playwriting, filmmaking, poetry, dance, and art workshops, classes, and performances.