Wanda Sykes has never been the kind of person to hold her tongue. Her smart-witted stand up has sent her career in many different areas.

The funny lady, whose career began at a Coors Light Super talent Showcase in Washington, D.C., where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience, has come full circle.

Sykes first made a name for herself on TV with stints on “The Chris Rock Show” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

She has recently not only made strides by coming out and bringing a face to black and lesbian women in America, but she is also nominated for a 2009 NAACP Image Award – the nation’s premiere event to honor outstanding black actors, actresses, writers, producers and directors.

She is known for her heavy opinions on politics, same-sex marriage, karma, health care, racial profiling, the pressure of being a woman and the perks of getting older. The recent election and new administration has made room for Sykes to take her seat and message to the White House … dinner that is.

Coast to coast, as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets last November, Sykes came out publicly telling the crowd at a Las Vegas marriage rally she was a lesbian. She confirmed what many of us already knew, but she also revealed she was married on Oct. 25, 2008.

“I want to have my marriage also recognized in Nevada, in Arizona, all the way to New York.”

The comedienne says the passage of California’s Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage last year has led to her being more outspoken about being gay.

“You know, I don’t really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn’t feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life,” Sykes said.

“Everybody that knows me personally, they know I’m gay. But that’s the way people should be able to live their lives.”

Since then the 44-year-old comedienne – who has established a comic identity around her blunt, feisty personality – has appeared at several rallies and spoke out on the issue of same-sex marriage.

The star of “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” said the passage of California’s Proposition 8 made her feel like she was “attacked.”

“Now, I gotta get in their face,” she said. “Everybody who knows me personally, they know I’m gay. ... I’m proud to be a woman, I’m proud to be a black woman and I’m proud to be gay.”

The March issue of The Advocate has an interview with the actress, which she says is her first and only significant interview about her coming out.

Sykes is still reluctant to share some details about her personal life – “This is for The Advocate, right?” she asked during the interview. “Isn’t it just preaching to the choir?’ – Still she has no problem explaining the importance of coming out of the closet for black gay men and lesbians. Sykes says homophobia in the black community is leading to fear and HIV.

“There’s such a stigma about being gay that a lot of the men don’t want to be labeled as gay so they live straight lives and then, behind closed doors, they’re fooling around with men, bringing HIV home to their wives,” she says, stepping confidently onto a soapbox. “We’re literally killing ourselves over this fear of homosexuality.”

In an effort to address these issues and “build this bridge” between gays and blacks, Sykes joined the board of Equality California in November. The Advocate article is accompanied by a photo shoot of Sykes by fashion and celebrity photographer Roger Erickson. In one of the photos she is wearing a T-shirt that reads “Homophobia is Whack!”

The comic actress, known for her wisecracks, will get the chance to make fun of President Barack Obama to his face.

She confirmed to The Associated Press on Feb. 12 that she has been selected as the entertainer at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, slated for May 9.

Obama is expected to attend the black-tie affair at the Washington Hilton and to follow in his predecessors’ tradition by putting on a comedy act of his own. The guest list of some 2,000 people will likely include the usual mix of Washington elite, White House press corps and Hollywood celebrities.

“The first thing I did when they asked me to do this gig – I made sure my taxes were paid,” quipped Sykes, taking a dig at the withdrawal of former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle from Obama’s cabinet due to unpaid taxes.

Sykes, who booked the gig a few weeks ago, said the idea of performing for such a high-profile crowd is “scary but very exciting.” The dinner has tripped up comedians before. Rich Little and Stephen Colbert both provoked criticism of their performances before the crowd.

She said it’s her job to “poke fun and ridicule,” and even a popular figure like Obama isn’t off limits. She already has some ideas about what she could mine for laughs. For example, she noted, Obama can be “a little long-winded. So we can get him on that.”

Jennifer Loven of The Associated Press is president of the association and chose Sykes because of her fresh style and engaging stage presence.

Sykes expects fumbles in the Obama administration between now and the correspondents’ dinner.

“I’m not rooting against him at all, because, especially in this economy and everything, we need him to succeed,” she says. “But there’s gonna be some incidents and missteps, like we saw with the whole tax thing.”

At the dinner, the association presents its journalism awards, as well as scholarships to aspiring reporters.

The White House Correspondents’ Association was formed in 1914 as a liaison between the White House press corps and the presidents they cover. Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the dinner.

The Emmy Award-winning comedienne, who has been called “one of the funniest stand up comics” by her peers and ranks among Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Funniest People in America, will likely have a few things to say on the topic when she takes the stage at The Grand Cabaret at Pala Casino & Spa in Palomar this Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $48.

For tickets call 619-220-8497 or visit www.palacasino.com.