Phyllis Diller (born Phyllis Ada Driver; July 17, 1917) is a Golden Globe-nominated American comedienne, considered one of the pioneers of female stand-up comedy. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically-dressed housewife who makes jokes about a fictional husband named "Fang" while smoking from a long cigarette holder. Diller is credited with opening the doors of stand-up comedy to women.

Phyllis Diller was born on July 17, 1917, to Perry Marcus Driver and his wife, the former Frances Ada Romshe, in Lima, Ohio. She attended Lima's Central High School, then studied for three years at Sherwood Music Conservatory, Chicago, Illinois. She then transferred to Bluffton College in Bluffton, Ohio, where she met fellow "Lima-ite" and classmate, Hugh Downs.

Diller was a housewife, mother, and advertising copywriter. During World War II, Diller lived in Ypsilanti, Michigan while her husband worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant. In the mid-1950s, she made appearances on The Jack Paar Show and was a contestant on Groucho Marx's quiz show, You Bet Your Life.