Through the ups and downs of her life, Chonda Pierce has found a way to connect with others and make them laugh.
Known as the “Queen of Clean,” the Christian comedian and Middle Tennessee resident doesn’t shy away from opening up about her struggles and heartache.
She’s doing that once again with “Enough,” a documentary showing Tuesday only in 850 theaters across the U.S. The 90-minute film continues her story chronicled in a 2015 documentary called “Laughing in the Dark.”
The Kentucky native got her start years ago portraying Minnie Pearl at the Opryland Theme Park. She went on to perform as a comedian across the country and author books. In 2013, the Recording Industry Association of America named her the top-selling female comedian in history, a category that included Christian and secular comedians.
She endured through one of the hardest times of her life in 2014, when her husband David, an alcoholic, died of a stroke related to his drinking. The two had been together since becoming high school sweethearts decades earlier in Ashland City. Pierce has also been transparent about her struggles with the loss of her mother and problems with her estranged daughter.
Through her comedy and life story, Pierce hopes especially to encourage other women.
“We are still in a culture where thousands of women are trying to identify themselves with something, either to have a man, or to get the job they want, to be the size that culture is telling them they have to be,” Pierce told Baptist Press. “So women are bombarded with this thought that I am not enough. I am less than.”
Pierce said she has found strength in her faith. “God is always faithful, and you have to stay faithful to Him, and you start breathing again,” she said.
A supporter of President Trump during the 2016 election, Pierce faced a backlash when she accepted an invitation to headline an inaugural ball hosted by the Family Research Council. She did not apologize and said she was honored by the invitation.
For ticket information about Tuesday’s screening of “Enough,” visit chondamovie.com.
