Top 10 Funny Women

The antiquated, untrue and patently ridiculous notion that women aren't funny has always been a bit of a head-scratcher: who would buy the notion that an entire gender could be missing the jocular gene? A different sense of humour, sure, but outright unfunny - I think not.

The leading men of contemporary comedy - think Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and the like - have certainly been getting their fair share of ink (check out our one-on-one with Rogen here) but what of the wonderful women who make with the funny? The girls who make us giggle deserve kudos all the same - help us celebrate the ladies with our look at the Top 10 Funny Women!

Did I miss any hilarious dames? Share your picks for fave funny female in the comments!

10. Kristen Schaal
With adorable chipmunk cheeks, a slight lisp and those huge, emotive eyes, Schaal is the perfect unsuspecting comedic whiz. She cut her teeth on the improve stage, earning the Andy Kaufman Award at the New York Comedy Festival in 2005, has been honoured as Best Alternative Comic and Best Female Stand-Up, periodically acts as a correspondent on “The Daily Show” and stole our hearts as everyone’s favourite stalker-fan Mel on HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords”. Easily disarming audiences with her soft-spoken presence and aw-shucks demeanor, she throws in a healthy dose of eccentricity to make the material all her own.

9. Wanda Sykes
The outspoken, politically-active comedienne had her own sitcom (“Wanda at Large”), wrote and published a book of humourous observations, was chosen as the 2009 featured entertainer for the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner, routinely makes TV audiences laugh out loud in supporting roles on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and wowed on the big screen in Monster-In-Law and Evan Almighty. To say that Sykes is an accomplished entertainer would be an understatement. Known for her brash, no-nonsense style, this pioneering figure in the LGBT community even used humour to combat homophobia in an ad for the Think Before You Speak Campaign and continues to offer up an honest, incisive view of the world around her - and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

8. Mindy Kaling
What started out as a behind-the-scenes role in the American version of “The Office” – Kaling was originally hired as a writer-performer – grew into a fully-realized on-screen role as the chattiest member of Dunder-Mifflin’s rag-tag group of paper pushers. With a squeaky voice, severe celebrity fixation and narcissistic outlook on most everything, Kelly Kapoor is one of the funniest characters on a show with an insanely talented ensemble cast. Her back-and-forth with on-again-off-again BF Ryan (series’ writer and producer B.J. Novak) walks that line between side-splittingly funny and horrifyingly awkward – a true testament to her comedic skills.

7. Leslie Mann
This cute-as-a-button blond often subverts her cheerleader good looks and bravely goes for the full-on gross-out, as evidenced by her memorable upchucking scene (“Did you have shellfish?”) brought on by a seriously reckless joyride alongside everyone's favourite 40-year-old virgin, Steve Carell. She again stole the show as Debbie in Knocked Up , the aging-but-still-sexy older sister to Katherine Heigl's pregnant TV producer, who juggles her roles as mother, wife and woman with a self-deprecating attitude and plenty of laughs. And being married to resident king of comedy and frequent collaborator Judd Apatow (see her next in Apatow's third film Funny People ) it’s clear Mann can more than hold her own in the laughs department.

6. Allison Janney
Television audiences may be more familiar with Janney’s dramatic, Emmy-winning turn as C.J. Cregg on “The West Wing” than for her often supporting-though-no-less-hilarious roles in a number of memorable comedies from Drop Dead Gorgeous to 10 Things I Hate About You and Juno . Her expressive face and willingness to forgo looks for a part means Janney is nearly unrecognizable in most of her roles, digging into the characters and fully committing, all in the name of yuks. Often playing a booze-soaked yokel or slightly out-of-touch small-towner, Janney uses her quirky charm and slapstick chops for maximum laughs.

5. Jane Krakowski
Playing Jenna Maroney, the vain, vapid foil to Tina Fey’s all-business Liz Lemon on the acerbic and genius NBC sitcom “30 Rock”, Krakowski routinely serves up memorable lines that take a certain believable naivete to pull off – “Kenneth, where have you been? I had to put on my jeans by myself” – and the leggy blond makes playing dumb look easy. The talented triple threat (singer/dancer/actress) first scored on TV with a supporting role in “Ally McBeal” and has picked up major awards for her work on Broadway, but we like her best when she’s making with the funny. Krakowski’s work on “30 Rock” has earned her an Emmy nod this year and with any luck, she’ll bring it home.

4. Jane Lynch
The talented, statuesque funny lady with the desert-dry delivery automatically enhances whatever project she’s working on by sheer virtue of her inimitable presence. Lynch finds a way to make seemingly bland lines sing and can have audiences in stitches with little more than a look. She killed as the sexually liberated, and rather too-available, electronics store manager in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and has long been a member of Christopher Guest's inner circle, making us laugh out loud in Best in Show and A Mighty Wind . She was one of the funniest things in the otherwise disappointing Role Models and is poised to rule the small screen with her new show "Glee".

3. Sarah Silverman
The risqué comedienne may seem, on the surface, to cater to the lowest common denominator with bathroom humour, creative expletives and racially-provocative material that would make a young Eddie Murphy blush. But behind her girl-next-door demeanor lies a cunning wit that belongs to one brave woman willing to put herself on a limb with envelope-pushing jokes, confident that the audience is willing to follow her out there. Her hilarious TV show “The Sarah Silverman Program” continues to tread in provocative waters, making comedy that skirts the line between offensive and perceptive. And that’s not to mention her movie masterpiece Jesus is Magic or the musical catharsis that was “I’m F----ing Matt Damon”.

2. Anna Faris
One of the few high points in the seriously low-brow Scary Movie franchise, Faris was first introduced to audiences as the homely brunette Cindy, the Neve Campbell proxy in the Scream spoof. But Faris would prove to be much more than a Wayans Bros. find, endearing herself to audiences with fearless performances in The Hot Chick , Just Friends , Lost in Translation , The House Bunny and Smiley Face . The blonde beauty performs with what seems like a total lack of self-consciousness, which allows her to go to some nasty places for a laugh – and we’re more than happy to chuckle knowingly right along with her.

1. Tina Fey
What can one say about this fearlessly funny female that hasn’t already been committed to print? Unabashedly hyper-critical – as are most good comedians – Fey is the first one to crack a joke at her own expense and has successfully conquered the triptych of which most actresses dare not dream: she’s the star, creator and head writer of “30 Rock”, her own wildly successful sitcom about, wait for it, a woman who is the head writer of a popular sketch show on NBC. Meta enough for you? The SNL alum was witty and charming behind the anchor’s desk for Weekend Update and scored major laughs with Mean Girls and Baby Mama but who knew she had such amazing material in her back pocket? (To wit: “I’m gonna go talk to some food about this”, “I want to go to there,” “I’m 37. Please don’t make me go to Brooklyn.”) And if you’re a fan of Liz Lemon – and really, who isn’t – you know there’s plenty more where that came from. Bring on the Lizzing!

-- Who do YOU think is the first lady of laughs? Share your picks below!!