She's been in the controversial film 'Borat', she's appeared on some top TV shows and she's also been in prison.

But tonight Luenell will take to the stage in Bermuda as one of the headline acts in Extreme Entertainment's Live Stand-Up Comedy Christmas Edition at The Fairmont Southampton.

Locally, event organisers have cited a lack of women in comedy as the reason for persistently male comedy line-ups, however, Luenell, who appeared in the film 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan', disagrees.

She says there is no shortage of women in comedy, just a shortage of people who take female comedians seriously.

"It is true there are fewer women in comedy, but there are plenty of women I know in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York who are working in comedy," said Luenell. "There are plenty of talented working female comedians. My subject manner is obviously going to be different.

"I don't talk about my wife and sports and athletes. I talk about relationships, kids, sex, getting older, getting fatter. I can only speak for myself, but my type of comedy it is aimed at the females without excluding the males. They both find me as equally as funny and entertaining."

She said that unfortunately, when women are included in a comedy line-up, it is often as an afterthought. Luenell said her subject matter probably would differ slightly from the typically male comedy spiel.

"I think that people always use women as a speciality act," said Luenell. "They never usually have more than one in a show; or they will put together an all female show."

She said many men in the business don't take female comedians seriously. "I think they don't think of us," she said. "If you ask a male comedian who some of their idols are they usually don't name any females. They say Richard Prior. If you were to ask a female who their idols are they will say Carol Burnett, Joan Rivers, Cathy Griffins, and Ellen DeGeneres, among others."

When asked how she came in contact with the organisers of Extreme Entertainment in Bermuda, she said, "I am a very popular comedian. I have been on a lot of television shows. I guess that Extreme Entertainment asked around 'who is one of the hottest female in comedy' and my name came about."

Luenell was one of the few real actors to appear in 'Borat'. The movie has been controversial in the way that it tricked many real people into appearing on it, and, in some cases saying and doing racist things. In the movie, Luenell played a prostitute with the same name who goes to a formal Southern dinner with him.

In the early 1990s she appeared regularly on Soul Beat TV in California, and she has also been on the BET comedy series, 'Comic View', and is featured on the new season of Wild 'N Out. She was also in the second episode of the Comedy Central show 'Reality Bites Back'.

"Being on Borat was a terrifying experience to go through while we were filming, but wonderful in the finished product and the way the film took over the world by storm," Luenell added. "Those people in the film weren't stunt racists, they were real racist people. I am not used to going where I am not wanted."

Luenell said she has never been to Bermuda before, but she is looking forward to it.

"I am going to research it when I get there," she said. "You can't do the same comedy in Bermuda, as you would do in, say Japan. You have to adapt to the place you are in. I do a lot off the top of my head. I have some standard jokes I do. People want to see you do your hits. I am very spontaneous and freestyle and I like to keep it that way. I am sure that in coming there I will have plenty to talk about."

The show comes with the warning, "mature audiences only". Luenell said she is not rude, but she does use profanity.

"It is just the way I speak," she said.

She has one 12-year-old daughter and lives in Los Angeles, California.

"I am over 40," she said. "I had her in my 30s. It was difficult raising a kid. My daughter has a dance recital the same day I am leaving to go to Bermuda. She is very excited about the recital, but I can't be there because I will be travelling. I am usually not home for the holidays. My daughter's father works for me, and he picks up the slack when I am not around.

"You have to make some sacrifices. Those are the things that are different about being a male on the road as opposed to a female. It can get a little tough sometimes."

But Luenell's life was not always so rosy. Before becoming a comedian she had a career in banking. "I embezzled some money," said Luenell. "I went to jail for a couple of months. When I got out, I never went back to work. I just went back to comedy. That is when my family was concerned about the road I was travelling. I always knew the decision I was making about going into comedy was the right one for me.

"Out of everything bad something good comes, in a weird sort of way. It is like a bad relationship where you come out of it having learned something.

"Sometimes I talk about this part of my life in my comedy routine. There is so much to talk about in my life." She said today, she said the achievements she is most proud of include being on Comedy Central's 'Chocolate News'.

"I am really proud to be affiliated with that television show," she said. "I did a movie with rap star DMX called 'Never Die Alone'. I am really proud to be in that film. I am also proud to be a member of the Screen Actors Guild. I am proud to be a professional working actor."

For more information about Luenell go to her website at www.heyluenell.com.

Luenell will is performing alongside top comedians Marc Trinidad and Deon Cole. The event is hosted by Bermuda's own Marshall of Magic.

Mr. Cole is originally from the south side of Chicago. He is one of the most requested headlining comedians in the club and college circuit nation wide. He is also a successful actor, having appeared in MTV's 'Short Circuitz' and 'Wild N' Out' as well as 'Barbershop 1' and 'Barbershop 2'.

Mr. Trinidad, as his name would suggest, was born and raised on the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago. He now lives in Toronto, Canada.

He made history by becoming the first Canadian comedian to appear on the BET's 'Comic View' in the 2003 season, and was voted Best Comic '04 at the Soul'd Out Comedy Festival held in Toronto.

The show will be held in the Mid-Ocean Amphitheater at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel at 9.30 p.m.

Tickets to Extreme Entertainment can be purchased at www.boxoffice.bm $65 for VIP tickets and $55 for regular tickets or can be purchased at 27th Century Boutique, at Shannon's in the Washington Mall, Music Box. There is a special Christmas gift for VIP tickets and free popcorn.