Trivia

Garofalo, barely five feet tall, sometimes had to stand on a box just to be in the same frame with 6-foot co-star Uma Thurman in The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996).

Was the original choice to play Monica on Friends (1994), but turned down the role.

She has referred to Saturday Night Live (1975) as the worst experience in her professional life.

A self-described neo-Luddite, she reportedly has no smartphone, computer or email address.

The original pitch for Just Shoot Me! (1997) was Garofalo getting stuck in a waiting room with a model with whom she has nothing in common. Garofalo later became the template for Laura San Giacomo's role of Maya Gallo.

Is very good friends with Ben Stiller. Both had short lived tenures on Saturday Night Live (1975), both starred on The Ben Stiller Show (1992), they have collaborated on movies together, and have written and created other comedy shows together. Garofalo has said that she works well with Stiller because they are complete opposite personalities, hers being caustic and political while Stiller is more go with the flow and silly, and they are able to fill in the gaps the other person misses.

Her production company is I Hate Myself Productions.

In his DVD commentary for Dogma (1999), director Kevin Smith said that, in retrospect, he wished he offered the role of Bethany to Garofalo instead of Linda Fiorentino, whom he found very difficult to work with. Sometimes the two did not even speak. Garofalo appeared in the film in the role of "Liz" at the abortion clinic.

Traveled widely with Margaret Cho on the comedy club circuit. They blamed each other for their bad smoking habits.

Married boyfriend Robert Cohen in 1992 at a Las Vegas drive-in chapel as a joke. They had gone to Vegas with the rest of the cast of The Ben Stiller Show (1990) and decided to get married along with some of the other crew members. After their relationship ended they never officially got divorced. In November 2012, they finally had their marriage dissolved when Cohen became engaged to Jill Leiderman. Ex-sister-in-law of Joel H. Cohen.

Was offered the role of Gale Weathers in the movie Scream (1996), but turned it down to do the movie Sweethearts (1997). Courteney Cox then got the role and Scream (1996) which went on to gross more than $100 million, whereas Sweethearts (1997) went straight to video.

In 1984, at age 20, Garofalo had breast reduction surgery that brought down her measurement from a 36D cup to a B cup. She did this for professional reasons, when she decided to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. In a 2000 interview Garofalo recalled, "At five-one, I knew that being a small person with big boobs standing in front of an audience was not going to be easy". She said the surgery gave her "a new lease on life" and has never regretted it.

Admitted in 2003 interviews that she was a recovering alcoholic.

At one point or another, has worked with every member of The Kids in the Hall (1988).

Was offered the Dorothy Boyd role in Jerry Maguire (1996) by Cameron Crowe if she could lose weight, but, after trimming down, she learned that Renée Zellweger had won the part instead in what was to become a career-launching smash hit.

Of Italian and Irish descent, the daughter of Carmine Garofalo. Garofalo attended Madison High School in Madison, New Jersey but graduated from James E. Taylor High School in Katy, Texas in 1982, after being transferred during her senior year when her family moved. She later studied history at Providence College in Rhode Island.

Auditioned for the role of Marla Singer in Fight Club (1999).

Guest-starred in two Law & Order (1990) episodes, the first one called "D-Girl" and in a The Sopranos (1999) called "D-Girl". The "D" stands for "development". In the film industry, a D-girl is a low-level executive who considers scripts for further development.

Some sources have reported that Garofalo has fifteen tattoos. One, on her arm, reads "think".

Hosted the 1996 MTV Movie Awards (1996) along with Ben Stiller.

Briefly lived in Minnesota at the beginning of her stand-up career.

During a 2008 interview with New York Magazine, Janeane said that her time on SNL was "the most miserable experience of [her] life." In fact, she hated the job so much that she left the show midway through the season.

A former host of Air America Radio's The Majority Report with Sam Seder (2004) with Sam Seder, Garofalo left in 2006, reportedly due to conflicts with Seder.

In March 2003, she made an appearance on CNN's Crossfire (1982) to discuss the international situation involving Iraq.

Returning to her roots as a stand-up comedian, appearing at the Gilded Balloon Theatre in August for the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. (August 2009)