Loni Love gets lots of love from D.L. Hughley. The veteran comic gushes when he speaks of his former charge.

“Loni is incredible,” Hughley says. “She is unbelievably funny.”

The charismatic Love was a CNN correspondent for “DL Hughley Breaks The News” four years ago. But that’s just one of many gigs Love has had over the years.

Love has had three different lives. She worked on the General Motors assembly line in Detroit and toiled as an engineer at Xerox in California during the ’90s.

“I’ve done what I had to do,” Love says. “Now I do what I want to do.”

Love is part of a fresh wave of female comics who have broken through. Love, Sarah Silverman, Lisa Lampanelli and Kathy Griffin are each on tour and in demand.

“It’s been a good thing lately,” Love says. “But let me tell you, comedy is hard, especially for women. It took me a long time (three years) to get into a mainstream club. The industry is very cliquish. There was a reason you didn’t see many women stand-ups for awhile. But you can’t deny us. We might be women, but we’re funny.”

Love is a topical humorist, inspired by the news every day. “That’s why no show is the same,” she says.

“There’s always something out there to poke at and have fun with. Somebody is always doing something.”

Many fans know Love from the VH1 shows, “I Love The ’70s” and “I Love The ’80s.”

“I love those shows since they keep repeating them,” Love said. “Also, VH1 was one of the first things I did on television. People got to know who I was since those ‘I Love The’ shows are always on. One of the best things I did was do those shows. I’m so thankful for VH1.”

Love can’t imagine what it would be like if she stayed with the engineering gig and put off comedy. “That is something I can’t even think about,” she says.

“I’d be living with regret and I would probably be fighting for a job now. There is no loyalty in a job like what I had. You could work at a company for 30 years and they boot you out the door the next day.

“What’s great about comedy is that I call the shots. I go where I want. I work when I want and I say what I want to say. I get a lot off of my mind. After I finish (a set), I feel so good, a lot better than how I felt after working a long day on the assembly line.”

Who: Loni Love

When: 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday

Where: Goodnight’s, 861 Morgan St., Raleigh

Cost: $20, Friday, $22 Saturday and $16 Sunday

Details: 919-828-5233

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/02/2863352/loni-love-went-from-the-assembly.html#storylink=cpy

Loni Love has a seemingly ubiquitous presence on television.

She has appeared as a correspondent on “Dr. Oz” and on “D.L. Hughley Breaks the News” (during which she covered President Obama’s first inauguration). She can be seen providing commentary for VH1′s “I Love the…” series, she’s a regular panelist on “Chelsea Lately” and she’s made numerous guest appearances on other television shows.

This is just a small portion of her ever-expanding catalog of television projects, a mode of exposure she has come to greatly appreciate.

“Most of the time for comedians it’s better for them to do a television show because people get to actually really know who they are as a comic,” Love said. “So for me, I like television a little more.”

She has also appeared in various feature films such as Soul Plane, and even dabbled with acting in serious dramatic plays, though it wasn’t for her.

“When you’re a performer you should try all forms of performing, and that’s what I did, but my heart is with comedy.”

Her comedy interest began when she performed at amateur standup events during college. Love went on to get a steady job as an electrical engineer, but continued to perform comedy on the side, and became a finalist on Arsenio Hall’s reboot of “Star Search.” Soon after, she became a full-time comedian.

“One day at my engineering job we were having layoffs and I said, ‘Lay me off and save somebody else’s job,’ and I became a professional comedian.”

Critics and fellow comedians quickly took notice. She won the Jury Prize for “Best Stand-Up” at the US Comedy Arts Festival, and made it onto “best of” lists for Variety and Comedy Central.

Love is proud to help represent a growing female voice in comedy, and commends performers such as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for their hard work and success in a shifting industry.

“Now people are starting to see that the female voice is a little different than the male voice, but when it comes to comedy funny is funny.”

And being funny is what Love does best. Throughout all of her endeavors she always has one goal: to make people smile.

“As a performer there’s nothing greater than standing there looking at people laughing.”

Michigan native Loni Love was “the worst (electrical) engineer in America” 10 years ago.

“Anyone driving a 1992 Cutlass, take it back, because I built it,” Love said.

A decade ago, she decided to venture away from her day job to perform comedy on “Star Search.” She took second place on the show in 2003 and her life took a different path.

Now, she appears on television shows, including “Chelsea Lately,” in films and on comedy club stages nationwide. Love will perform two shows, 10 p.m. and midnight (10 p.m. is sold out) Friday, March 15, at McFadden’s, 58 Ionia Ave. SW, during LaughFest 2013.

“I like the fact that I’m performing at a restaurant and saloon because I like to eat and I like to drink, and I’ll have to be an honorary Irish person,” Love said in a recent phone interview.

“I’ve heard (LaughFest) is a really good festival and what I like about festivals is the fact that not only do I get to perform, but I get to see a lot of my comic friends,” Love added.

Love’s on-stage persona is no-nonsense, advice-giving girlfriend who would not only tell you if something was stuck in your teeth but tell you why you shouldn’t eat the food that’s there. Her forte is love and relationships, as she showcases regularly as a guest on Dr. Drew’s “Loveline.”

“I do like to laugh at and talk about relationships,” Love said. “I do talk about celebrity relationships like Kim Kardashian’s. I like to find the humor in love.”

An observational comic, Love’s show changes often.

“We’ll probably talk about the Oscars. That’s a nice thing about being a topical standup, you can add in things to keep it fresh,” Love said.

Love is also set to publish her first book later this summer called “Love Him or Leave Him: Just Don’t Get Stuck with the Tab.”

“I was just getting the same questions from my friends and my fans and I just decided to put them all in a book and laugh at them,” Love said. “The book is really just an extension of my standup, but it made me open up about myself and dig deeper with my comedy. It’s a ‘real woman’s’ point of view about relationships.”

Tickets, $17.50, are still available for her midnight show at laughfestgr.org.

“We can have a little more fun with the midnight show. I’ll try and stay sober for that show but that might not happen. I’m going to have a good time with the crowd.”

Loni Love’s 10 p.m. show on March 15 is sold out, but you still can catch her later show at 12 midnight in McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon. Love’s gig is part of the Bud Light Blue Late Night Comedy Series, but several more shows are available.