Who is the real Midge Maisel?

With Amazon announcing the fifth season of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, many are left wondering if the hilarious housewife-turned-comedian, Midge Maisel, is based on a real woman, and the answer is yes!

Let’s just look at the basics. Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) is a Jewish woman in New York, bringing her own flare to the stand-up scene, making waves, and taking on the male comedians toe to toe. Remind you of anyone?

If you guessed the late great Joan Rivers (Spaceballs, The Joan Rivers Show, Serial Mom, In Bed with Joan Rivers) you would be absolutely correct.

Joan Rivers is the inspiration for Midge Maisel

Much like Midge, Joan was a Jewish divorcee who took up comedy in her 30s, bringing with her the voice of every woman who was overworked, overtired, and still expected to be at her best 100% of the time.

Joan took incredible pride in her appearance, dressed impeccably in the best fashions of the day, hair and make-up perfectly in place, and when she opened her mouth every filthy word she had ever known came out in a bold stream of consciousness style stand-up routine. Her friend Ruthi Buzzi would later describe her as “filthy mouthed but dignified looking.”

Joan was known for her blunt and often controversial comedy. One who was never been afraid to speak her mind has become an icon for many in the LGBTQIA+ community, thanks to her unrelenting support and championing the community, giving them a mainstream voice before they had one.

Throughout her life, right until her death in September 2014, Joan used her comedy to bring light to social issues, inequality, and feminism, all while making the world laugh with her one-of-a-kind human and signature raspy Brooklyn accent.

Knowing that Midge Maisel is based on the iconic Joan Rivers, could this give us a few hints as to what’s in the upcoming season? What do you think?

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is available to stream on Prime Video.