Michaela Coel, Kate McKinnon, Sofia Vergara And More Cover Variety’s ‘Power Of Women In Comedy’ Issue

Six powerhouse women of comedy are coming together for Variety magazine.

For the outlet’s annual “Power Of Women In Comedy” issue, Michaela Coel, Kate McKinnon, Sofia Vergara, Mindy Kaling, Maya Rudolph and Julia Louis Dreyfus are being celebrated for their comedic prowess.

Not only did the women pose for individual covers and sit down for an interview but they will also be featured in the upcoming one-hour special “Lifetime Presents Variety’s Power of Women The Comedians”, airing May 10.

From HBO’s breakout hit “I May Destroy You”, Coel opens up about why the series is so important to her, and the viewers.

“Even though it’s fictional, there’s something very transparent about the show,” she explained. “I know a lot of people will say, ‘You think you know me, but you have no idea.’ And I feel like, ‘No. You probably do have a pretty good idea.’”

She added, “[Watching the episodes] was a very emotional process and another form of catharsis in itself. It was exhilarating and joyous and exciting, and also difficult, because, as you watch and people begin to receive it, it is ending at the same time.”

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With 30 years in comedy under her belt, Dreyfus is a staple in Hollywood, especially after helping pave the way for women with two powerhouse female characters, Elaine Benes on “Seinfeld” and Selina Meyer on “Veep”.

“You know who I miss? I miss playing Selina Meyer,” she told the mag of “Veep”, which wrapped in 2019 after seven seasons on HBO. “Playing that character, who was so out of her f**king mind, and so undeveloped; it was just freeing! Everything was about her ego, with not a care in the world for another human being.”

As Forbes‘ highest-paid TV actress, Vergara says, “I am super proud… I feel like it’s a bit of an exaggeration though — don’t forget that I have to pay horrific taxes too.”

She later added, “When everyone is like, ‘Oh, my God, you have so much money,’ I always say, ‘No, I don’t have as much as you think I have. I have to f**king pay Uncle Sam! And managers! And lawyers! And agents!’”

According to McKinnon, as one of Global’s “Saturday Night Live”‘s many bright lights, people are surprised to find out she’s “extraordinarily introverted.”

“People are often confused when they meet me because I’m soft-spoken and pensive. I am extraordinarily introverted,” she says. “I found I was more easily able to communicate with people doing a funny voice,” she says. “I found it was a way to share joy and to bring a sense of fun and community in a way that I had trouble doing just in my own voice.”

Adding, “I do have a personality, but I find it easier still in some ways to communicate in character.”

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Along with her many other upcoming roles, Rudolph explains why she’s so excited to take on a villainous role in Disney’s upcoming “Disenchanted”, the highly anticipated sequel to 2007’s “Enchanted”.

“If this had been 15 years ago and someone asked if I wanted to be the bad guy, I might’ve been like, ‘geez, I don’t know,’” she said. “But I’ve come to learn in my many years that the most fun thing to get to do is when you get to play The Most.”

On her growing production company, Kaling International, Kaling says, “There’s so many great production companies out there that have all these shows in the air. So they need a head of production, and they have lots of executives.”

Adding, “That’s my dream, to get a lot of people eventually.”

Variety’s “Power of Women” issue hits newsstands on May 5.