Q: Who was the crazy woman in red in the Target Christmas shopping commercials?
—Gordon Oliver, San Bernardino, Calif.
That would be stand-up comedian/voice actor Maria Bamford, 41, who has played the role of the Christmas-shopping champ for three years.
Bamford, who grew up in Minnesota where Target is based, was recommended by the former creative director of the big-box store. Next to Target, Bamford is probably best known for touring in the Comedians of Comedy show with Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis and Brian Posehn.
She was born on the U.S. Navy base in Port Hueneme, Calif., where her father served as a Navy doctor. Following that, Bamford and her family moved to Duluth, Minn., and she graduated with a creative writing degree from the University of Minnesota.
She began performing stand-up at Stevie Ray's Comedy Cabaret in Minneapolis at age 19.
Bamford has appeared regularly on Cartoon Network's Tim and Eric Awesome Show and guest-starred on The Sarah Silverman Show on Comedy Central. For those who haven't seen her, you may have heard her voice work on the animated TV series Adventure Time, Kick Buttowski, Kung Fu Panda and WordGirl.
