Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball would be at the top of any list of the funniest people in television history, man or woman. She wasn't just talented enough to play the lead in three separate, long-running sitcoms; she was also talented enough to have her name in the title of all three. Aside from her most well-known shows, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, she had nearly 300 episodes in total.

In contrast, her performance as Lucy Ricardo on I Love Lucy would be enough to crown her as the funniest woman in television history. Her red-haired, shameless fame-seeking bandleader Ricky Ricardo's wife is arguably the most iconic, most famous character in television history, and her antics—whether on the chocolate factory line, trying to meet celebrities in Hollywood, or hawking alcoholic health tonic—are as amusing today as they were when they first aired. Lucille Ball is the funniest woman to ever appear on television. She is timeless, witty, and revolutionary.