Patricia Williams of BET’s ‘Ms. Pat Show’ mines a tough life for laughter. See her in NOLA.

If there was ever someone with the deck stacked against her, it was Patricia Williams.

Yet at 52, Ms. Pat, as she’s known to her fans, is starring in two hit television shows, is a principal actor in the just-released remake of “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead,” and has toured with her successful one-woman comedy shows for years. She’ll bring the comedy show to the Joy Theater in New Orleans May 18.

But Ms. Pat’s success is clearly a tale of triumph over adversity.

Her mother had six kids by the age of 19 and was selling drugs to support them, she said. Pat was regularly exposed to domestic violence in her Atlanta home, and by the age of 12 she had taken up with a 21-year-old and was pregnant with his two children by the age of 15.

She was selling crack to buy diapers for her 1- and 2-year-olds and found herself in and out of jail. And, as is commonplace in the world of drug dealing, she was often on the receiving end of violence.

“After you get shot a couple of times you finally realize it’s time to change your life path,” Ms. Pat said. “I had two kids who needed a better role model, and I had met a good man who I knew cared about me and was encouraging me to make the right move.

“So I decided to try something else. President Bill Clinton had started the greatest program in the world called the Welfare to Work Partnership Program, and once I went through that program, I was given a case worker.

That’s funny?

“She kept telling me how funny I was, but I wasn’t trying to be funny. I was just telling these stories about my life, which were certainly outrageous, and instead of feeling sorry for me, she was laughing at my delivery” — and was surprised at Pat’s ability to turn tragedy into comedy.

With her GED in hand, Pat thought she wanted to be a nurse, but as a convicted felon she couldn’t get into nursing school. Her case worker suggested she give stand-up a try. She went to an open mic night at an Atlanta comedy club in 2002, fell in love with interacting with the crowd, and has been telling jokes ever since.

Ms. Pat kicked around on the comedy club circuit for more than a decade while doing temp work at General Motors. Then in 2016 the family moved to Plainfield, Indiana, where her husband was transferred for his job. It was a grand departure from their Atlanta neighborhood.

“I’m a Black woman from the inner city of Atlanta and I had never lived in an all-white neighborhood,” Ms. Pat said. “You talk about culture shock! But I just began writing jokes about my community, and the first time I saw corn fields, and the next thing I know I’m telling my stories on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Someone heard it, and Hollywood came knocking.”

In the meantime, she had been working on her autobiography called “Rabbit” (her childhood nickname) which was published in 2017. It garnered her a nomination for an NAACP Image Award.

‘The Ms. Pat Show’

With all the attention, the time was right to pitch a TV show, but it would take many incarnations and the right writer to transform Ms. Pat’s real-life drama into a sit-com. Fortunately, she had a couple of Hollywood heavyweights in her corner: producers Lee Daniels and Brian Grazer, who were guiding her through the process.

The show was finally picked up by Fox in 2019, where it was still finding its audience, when it was thought the show would be better in a streaming situation, so was moved to Hulu.

When Hulu dropped the series, BET+ picked it up, and with a new writer, Jordan E. Cooper, the show found its footing and a faithful audience.

“The Ms. Pat Show,” a series that deals with everything from abortion and school shootings to racism and drug addiction, was just picked up for a fourth season after being Emmy-nominated in 2022 and 2023.

In October 2023, BET added another show to her repertoire, “Ms. Pat Settles It.” It’s a courtroom show where Ms. Pat is the judge, presiding over all sorts of dustups amongst everyday people.

“Hey, if Donald Trump can be president, I can be a judge,” Ms. Pat says.

Now, a Netflix comedy special 

With her successful podcast, “The Patdown” going on now for five years, and a Netflix comedy special “Y’All Want to Hear Something Crazy?” directed by Robert Townsend and produced by Wanda Sykes, Ms. Pat is now in the midst of her comedy tour.

“Ya Girl Done Made It” is coming to The Joy Theater in New Orleans on May 18 for a one-night performance.

“As much as I love television and film, comedy is what got me here,” Ms. Pat said. “So my comedy will always take precedence over everything else.

“I’ve been to New Orleans for Essence Festival, and I love the place, but I’ve never performed there, so I’m eager to mix it up with the audience. We’re going to have fun!”