Lydia Cornell (born July 23, 1962) is an American actress, writer, novelist, comedienne, blogger, and talk-radio host.

Early life and acting career

Born in El Paso, Texas, Cornell began acting in the early 1980s. Her first role was as Ted Knight's daughter Sara on the ABC television situation comedy Too Close for Comfort from 1980 to 1985. She has also appeared on numerous television programs over the years, including Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Drew Carey Show, Quantum Leap, Full House, Knight Rider, The Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team, T. J. Hooker, Simon & Simon, Hunter, Hardball, Black Scorpion, Love Boat (5 episodes), Hotel (2 episodes), Fantasy Island, Charlies Angels, Battle of the Network Stars, TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve as co-host with Anson Williams. She also co-starred with Oscar winners James Earl Jones, Jose Ferrer and Lila Kedrova in the horror film Blood Tide filmed in the Greek Isles and produced by Niko Mastorakis and Donald Langdon.

On December 4, 2010, Cornell hosted the live stream for Variety's Power of Comedy event at Nokia Center, honoring Russell Brand, benefiting the Noreen Fraser Foundation. She interviewed Brand, Helen Mirren, Justin Long, Bob Sagett, Sarah Silverman, B.J. Thomas, Patton Oswalt, Gene Simmons (whom she jokingly referred to as "the man who stole my husband" and attributes her 2010 divorce to. Her ex-husband Paul Hayeland went on the road with the KISS tour in the new KISS bus to market Simmons' Axe Bass Guitars in 2010. Hayeland also appeared in episodes of A&E's Gene Simmons Family Jewels during the 2010 season, prompting Cornell to lament: "My husband gets a job on a hit series, and he doesn't even have flat abs, while I have to danced naked under bad lighting to even audition for a job as a hooker or desperate housewife!"

In 2005, she appeared on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. She broadcasts a weekly live interactive Ustream TV show, and is currently writing original comedy series, inspirational talk shows and live programming for her own channel on Kelsey Grammer's new network. In spring of 2010, she appeared in the Kelsey Grammer-Bill Zucker Comedy Hour, a series of improvisational vignettes, with Scott Baio, Kelsey Grammer and Bill Zucker, whom she met on Twitter. Cornell performed a song in Zucker's Twitter Song video. Cornell describes her brand of comedy, "Spiritual Therapy Comedy."

Cornell was a Best Actress nominee at Method Fest, which honors outstanding acting performances, for her leading role in the AFI indie "Miss Supreme Queen." She is currently filming the feature film "Cats Dancing on Jupiter", directed by Jordan Alan, starring Amanda Righetti of "The Mentalist." She is also in Dean Grakal's upcoming release "Miami, Nancy and Me" with Robert Downey Jr, Jon Bon Jovi, Gary Oldman and Sarah Silverman. She also costars in the indie films Damage Done and Happy Holidaze from the Joneses directred by the Canter Brothers.

As part of a USO tour, Cornell went to Beirut, Lebanon, to a war zone, to visit American troops in the Multinational Peacekeeping Force Christmas Eve 1982. She visited the Marines in underground bunkers as well as sailors and naval officers aboard the USS Sumnter, USS Shreveport and USS Inchon. Shortly after their departure from Beirut, over 250 Marines of the 24th MAU were killed there in one of the first suicide bombings. A truck entered the barracks as the troops slept, killing them all.

Literary and journalistic career

Cornell's self-titled blog was a 2006 and 2005 Koufax Award double nominee for best writing, and has been called "a consistently thought-provoking firecracker of pointed socio-political commentary and observant, caustic wit." (Shotgun Reviews.) John Conley, a Marine combat vet, sent her his Purple Heart for her courage in standing up to Ann Coulter's "extermination speak", and about the war in Iraq.

Cornell is a humorist and comedienne, and performs stand-up comedy with Destiny (The Tonight Show, MTV, VH-1.) The duo did 14 shows at the Riviera Las Vegas in June 2006. In November, they opened for Paul Rodriguez at Pechanga, and for The Amazing Johnathan at The Sahara in Las Vegas. Cornell is a "spiritual therapy comedienne."

Cornell recently starred in an original comedy show in Hollywood with Destiny and Stephanie Hodge titled "Pain is Inevitable, Sex Optional". It is an ongoing comedy about marriage,sex, men, love, death and politics as told by three women.

The first in a series of new books will be out in 2010. Cornell has written books on Stalin and the Trotsky assassination, several comedies, theater pieces and films — including the black comedy "Venus Conspiracy", which she wrote and co-starred in with Deborah Van Valkenburgh, who co-starred with her as her character's sister in Too Close for Comfort.

Cornell has several other books awaiting publication. Her articles have appeared in Huffington Post; Editor & Publisher; the Lone Star Iconoclast; CNN; Crooks and Liars; Sitcoms Online; Retroality; Good Housekeeping; TV Guide; Femmes Fatales; Macon Area Online and several newspapers across the nation. Her article "Death is Sexier than Sex...to Ann Coulter" was published by BradBlog in December 2005 causing an uproar when Coulter published Cornell's home phone number and private email on the front page of her website, Ann Coulter.com. Cornell received death threats, hate mail, but mainly she received hundreds of letters and calls in support of her statements. The story was subsequently picked up by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann; Editor & Publisher, Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, CannonFire, and numerous online news sources.

On Saturday, February 24, 2007, Basham Radio introduced Cornell as its new co-host. Basham and Cornell Radio