Quick Profile
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Professional name | Sommore |
| Legal / birth name | Lori Ann Rambough |
| Born | May 15, 1966 |
| Birthplace | Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Primary occupations | Stand-up comedian, actress, writer, producer |
| Years active | c. 1992–present |
| Notable platforms | ComicView, The Queens of Comedy, film and streaming specials |
| Signature themes | Money, sex, gender dynamics, sharp sarcasm |
| Education | McCorristin Catholic High School (1985); studied Business Administration at Morris Brown College |
The Voice: A Snapshot of Stage Presence
Lori Ann Rambough — better known to audiences as Sommore — speaks like a lightning bolt: quick, clear, and impossible to ignore. Her comedy is built on precision and a rhythm that lands like a series of deliberate drumbeats. Where some comedians warm a room gently, Sommore stakes a claim. Her material centers on power—financial, sexual, social—and she wields observation and self-possession as her tools. The result is a stage persona alternately regal and ferocious: a diva not of vanity but of authority.
Early Life and Formation (Dates & Numbers)
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1966 | Born May 15 in Trenton, New Jersey. |
| 1985 | Graduated McCorristin Catholic High School. |
| Late 1980s – early 1990s | Studied business administration at Morris Brown College; worked in retail, employment consulting, and as an algebra instructor prior to full-time comedy. |
Raised in a closely knit urban neighborhood, Rambough’s upbringing was shaped by a single mother figure and an extended family network. Family structure and caretaking responsibilities are described in multiple public accounts as complex and communal: a mother, five aunts, and a local community that functioned like a village. That environment taught young Lori resilience, timing, and how to hold an audience—skills she later transposed from dinner-table storytelling to the national stage.
Career Highlights — By the Numbers
- Mid-1990s: Broke out on televised platforms such as Def Comedy Jam and Showtime at the Apollo.
- 1990s–2000s: Became the first female host of BET’s ComicView.
- 2001: Headlined The Queens of Comedy tour and filmed the Showtime special with Mo’Nique, Adele Givens, and Laura Hayes—an event that significantly raised her profile.
- 2002–2006: Appeared in feature films including Friday After Next (2002), A Miami Tail (2003), Soul Plane (2004), and Something New (2006).
- 2008, 2012, 2015: Released one-woman specials (e.g., The Queen Stands Alone, Chandelier Status, The Reign Continues).
- 2015 onward: Continued touring, festival appearances, and streaming distribution for recorded specials.
Her trajectory reads like a ladder with each rung visibly stamped: television exposure, headline tours, film parts, and one-woman projects where she controlled the script and the camera. This combination of visibility and ownership is rare. It is also why her name became shorthand in many circles for a particular brand of audacious, unapologetic female comedy.
Family & Roots: People Who Matter
| Family member | Relationship | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Doughtry “Doc” Long | Father | Community educator and poet; central paternal figure connected to Trenton’s cultural scene. |
| Nia Long | Half-sister | Actress; paternal half-sister who shares the same father. |
| Djamila McRae | Half-sister | Named in local coverage as another daughter of Doughtry Long. |
| Mother / maternal caregivers | Mother / extended family | Described in interviews as a single, hardworking mother and extended-family caretaking arrangement; details vary across accounts. |
Family is more than genealogy for Rambough; it is material. Her stage references to upbringing are often delivered as compressed vignettes—sharp, economical, and revealing. The presence of a celebrated paternal figure who was a teacher and poet gave the household an artistic pulse. The shared lineage with an established actress adds another public dimension: two sisters on divergent but intersecting paths in entertainment.
Selected Works, Dates & Formats
| Year | Work | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Queens of Comedy | Tour / Showtime special |
| 2002 | Friday After Next | Feature film |
| 2004 | Soul Plane | Feature film |
| 2006 | Something New | Feature film |
| 2008 | The Queen Stands Alone | One-woman stand-up special |
| 2012 | Chandelier Status | One-woman stand-up special |
| 2015 | The Reign Continues | One-woman stand-up special; later streaming |
The pattern is consistent: live performance is the backbone; recorded media amplifies and preserves the live edge. Sommore’s specials read like solo exhibits in which she curates an aesthetic—costume, cadence, and command—so that the comedy feels less like a performance and more like a proclamation.
Stagecraft and Style: What Sets the Work Apart
Sommore’s writing is economical and muscular. Punchlines are generally spare; setups are often built from social shorthand—money, relationship dynamics, status—then stretched to reveal the ironies underneath. Her delivery is poised, almost aristocratic, but with a razor’s edge. Think of a crown that doubles as a weapon. She can play provocateur without misplacing warmth. When she targets an audience, it is usually to invite them to laugh at shared human contradictions, not merely to skewer.
Public Presence in Numbers
- Decades active: 30+ years of professional engagement (early 1990s to present).
- Specials released: 3+ notable one-woman specials spanning 2008–2015.
- Film appearances: 4+ feature-film credits in the early 2000s.
These numbers sketch persistence. They also reflect adaptation—moving from television to film to independently produced specials and streaming.
Notes on Narrative Texture
Rambough’s story is both personal and emblematic. It maps a route from a working-class childhood to a national stage, where she translated grit into a public persona. Her family—father the poet-educator, sisters who share blood and public attention, and a mother/extended family who shaped early survival—remains woven through the narrative. The comedy, then, is not just craft; it is inheritance. The stage becomes an altar where memory and ambition are performed simultaneously.
Final Observations (no concluding paragraph)
Her name—Lori Ann Rambough—slides easily into the professional mantle of Sommore, a brand built of timing, confidence, and a willingness to speak truth with a smirk. The numbers and dates mark a steady climb. The family details provide the texture. The jokes provide the light.
