Caroline Hirsch

Caroline Hirsch is the founder of New York comedy club Carolines on Broadway and the New York Comedy Festival. Located in the heart of New York City’s vibrant Times Square district, Carolines on Broadway was widely regarded as “America’s Premier Comedy Nightclub,” presenting the best live comedy entertainment, until its closure in 2022.

Carolines first opened as a cabaret in 1981. It soon became a showcase for comedians, including performers like Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Rosie O’Donnell, and Jay Leno. “Carolines Comedy Hour” was broadcast on A&E and ultimately won a CableACE award for “Best Stand-Up Comedy Series.” Carolines hosted countless large-scale fundraising benefits annually, including OCRA’s Stand Up for Madeline event, which honored the late Madeline Kahn, raising over $2 million to date for ovarian cancer research.

Caroline is also a founding partner of the New York Comedy Festival that has showcased comic luminaries such as Dane Cook, Denis Leary, Howie Mandel, Bill Maher, Damon Wayans, Roseanne Barr, Drew Carey, Artie Lange, Rosie O’Donnell, Mario Cantone, and Steven Wright, among others. As the reigning diva of the New York Comedy scene, Caroline has proven that she is both an innovator and visionary in the constantly evolving entertainment industry. Caroline joined the OCRA board in December 2014.