A DUI Kickstarted Chelsea Handler's Career

On Sunday, Chelsea Handler told Barbara Walters that a DUI is responsible for her start in stand-up comedy. Uh... what? A DUI arrest that boosted a performer's career instead of destroying it? Now that's certainly something you don't hear every day! At 19 years old, Handler moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting. Two years later, she was arrested for drunk driving. Handler told Walters during her 10 Most Fascinating People interview that this was an "A-ha!" moment of sorts for her:

I had to go this class, like DUI class, where basically you had to speak publicly about your experience and your arrest. And at that time in my life, I had never had to speak publicly. And then I did it ... and I was higher than I've ever been. I mean, everyone was laughing at my story. And somebody said, "You should be a stand-up comedian!" And I said, "Maybe I should!"

Talk about finding inspiration in unexpected places! Thankfully, no one was hurt when Handler drove drunk. Many years later, she's one of the biggest names in stand-up comedy. Her late-night show on E!, Chelsea Lately, was a huge success until it came to an end this past August.

Handler told Walters that she had become "bored" with the program and wanted to "challenge" herself with something new. She is currently developing a project with Netflix.

Image: chelseahandler/Instagram