Leslie Norris Townsend lost her parents when she was in her teens. In order to support her three siblings, she started entering beauty pageants in hopes of bringing home a check. She won Miss Orlando and competed for Miss Florida and Miss USA. The awards also helped pay for college. The contests required her to do a “talent” which helped her develop her singing and innate ability to improvise. Those skills translated into a job with Disney. Her comedic chops in the Disney show got strong enough for her to tackle stand-up comedy. Leslie 30+ television appearances include Comedy Central, A&E's An Evening at the Improv, and sketches seen on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.