Stand-up comedian Amy Schumer is one of the most delightful people in showbiz. A lethal combo of sparkling humour, rare honesty and courage - the 35-year-old has made her mark on the entertainment industry through sheer talent and hard work, not-so-quietly challenging every rule in the book.
Schumer recently published a collection of very personal essays in The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo, sharing tales from childhood, growing-up years, journey to celebdom and all the heartbreak that went into it.
Funny, emotional and inspiring, Schumer’s book tells us a lot about her as a person. Here are 10 things that you didn’t know about her.
1. One-Night Stands
What sets Schumer’s book apart from run-of-the-mill memoirs is her frank confessions about some of the most precious as well as vulnerable moments of her life.
2. She’s An Introvert
Just like some of us.
3. Her Favourite Soft Toy
Schumer has no qualms in confessing she still likes to sleep with her large collection of teddy bears. And Pokey - who is not a teddy bear - is her absolute favourite.
4. Sexual Abuse
Schumer’s boyfriend sexually abused her, penetrating without consent.
5. The Girl Digs Food
She’s right after our heart, isn’t she?
6. A Shoplifter
She’s not proud of it and was brought to a rather sticky end because of it.
7. Multiple Sclerosis
In what’s one of the most intimate and painful chapters of the book, Schumer talks about her father’s diagnosis and long, humiliating battle with the extremely debilitating disease, multiple sclerosis. It’s also what ultimately inspired her to write the 2015 movie Trainwreck.
8. A Victim Of Domestic Abuse
A startlingly honest revelation of love gone wrong, and the slow realisation that she was actually caught in an abusive relationship.
9. Fighting For Gun Control
John Russell Houser, an unstable man, gunned down two women and injured nine before committing suicide at Grand 16 movie theatre in Lousiana, Lafayette, which was playing Schumer’s film Trainwreck last year. The incident devastated Schumer and turned her into one of the strongest celebrity voices calling for gun control in the US .
10. The Lower Back Tattoo
Schumer sees her tattoo as a symbol of her honesty and vulnerability.
(Printed with permission from The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer, HarperCollins Publishers)