It’s not likely you’ll see Grandma Lee in St. Cloud every day.

But, you just never know.

Grandma Lee, the spry, 75-year-old woman who became an overnight sensation by telling risqué and saucy jokes on the popular television show, “America’s Got Talent,” has some great friends living in St. Cloud — the Bill Lower family — and she visits them often.

Recently, Grandma Lee and the Lowers made a special stop at The Rib Shack, 10th Street and Connecticut Avenue, where owner Jim Chaney welcomed her.

With a long cigarette tucked behind her right ear, Grandma Lee took a few minutes to talk about her rise to stardom.

“It sure is a better living now,” Grandma, whose real name is Lee Strong, said about her career in comedy, which started only a few years back. “My family, when I first got started in this, they had their reservations. But now, they’re liking it.”

Last year’s “America’s Got Talent,” pulled in an incredible 200,000 auditions. Grandma Lee, through her unforgettable comedy routines, made it into the top 10 on the show and became a fan favorite.

“I didn’t really care about the money,” Grandma said, referring to the ultimate prize of $1 million for the eventual winner. “I did it so people could recognize me and to try to go to Vegas.”

The winner of the big prize was singer Kevin Skinner. Grandma described him as “a really good guy,” with whom she closely bonded during the show.

Since she became a big hit on television – four standing ovations from the audience of “America’s Got Talent,”  she’ll quickly tell you — Grandma Lee has already performed or has plans to perform in Vegas, Iowa, Michigan, Florida and MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecticut. She said she would also like to perform in New York at some point and her manager is working on getting her an engagement in Ireland.

Her material may be something of a shock, especially coming from a woman of her age. But Grandma claims she’s not out to hurt anyone’s feelings.

“My material I do in the show is all more or less true. I have certain things I like to say. I don’t try to offend anybody … except Bush,” she said with a slight laugh.

She then told two jokes with words that TV audiences never heard and this newspaper cannot print. But the small crowd of friends and Rib Shack employees roared with laughter as her impeccable timing — as well as the naughty words coming from this kind-looking, grandmother figure — made the jokes all the more humorous.

Grandma Lee, who said she is feeling very healthy, felt she had a calling to be a comedian when she was about 12. But, life took over and she never had the opportunity to perform until much later in her life. And although she has a great knack for telling jokes with excellent timing, Grandma Lee doesn’t profess to have any other real talents — like singing.

“After singing in the fifth grade, my teacher came up to me and told me ‘I want you to be our silent singer,’” she said. “So, no, I don’t sing.”

She claims she hasn’t rubbed elbows with too many celebrities but one of her proudest moments was receiving a gift from one of her favorite actresses, Mariska Hargitay, who plays a detective on the television show “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” Hargitay, the daughter of late actors Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield, sent Grandma a gift with a note attached to it that said, “God bless you.”

“It was the biggest moment of my life,” said Grandma. “I love Mariska Hargitay.”

Her husband, Ben, a retired master sergeant, died 15 years ago. “He was a great guy,” she said. “We traveled all over the world.”

Grandma uses a fake husband in her routine, named “Dwayne.” And she doesn’t joke about her friends, because, as she explains, “Friends are too nice to joke about.”  

In real life, Grandma has several grandchildren. Her children, three sons and a daughter, hold some interesting careers — a nuclear engineer, a partner in a law firm, a pilot in the Coast Guard and a teacher near Winston-Salem.

Besides rooting on Grandma in her comedy performances, her friends, the Lowers, are seeing someone else very close to them in the national limelight — their grandson, Aaron Kelly.

Kelly was selected recently as one of the 12 finalists on this year’s American Idol, and has received many positive comments from all of the judges … even Simon.