Candace Payne
Candace Payne, also known as “Chewbacca Mom,” will appear at the Poncan Theatre Saturday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are now available at the box office at 104 East Grand Avenue.
Payne is an author, speaker, and viral sensation whose video showing her in a Chewbacca mask became the most-viewed Facebook Live video to date, with over 170 million hits. She shares a message of joy and laughter through speaking engagements around the country. Her first book, “Laugh It Up: Embrace Freedom and Experience Defiant Joy,” is available now. A follow-up volume, “Simple Joys: Discovering Wonder in the Everyday,” is due out in September.
Payne has made several appearances on national television, including “Good Morning, America,” “Entertainment Tonight,” and “The Late, Late Show with James Corden.” She has also been profiled in The New York Times, People, and Cosmopolitan.
The Hasbro toy company presented her with a “Chewbacca Mom” action figure, which speaks phrases from her viral video.
Payne released a new arrangement of Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World” on iTunes as a fundraiser for the Convoy of Hope charity. The song charted in the service’s top 30 within a few hours of its debut, and continues to earn money for the nonprofit organization.
Payne lives in Texas with her husband, two children, and an “ornery pug.”