Actress-comedian Roseanne Barr says she is running for the Green Party's US presidential nomination - and it's no joke.

She said today she was a long-time supporter of the party and looked forward to working with people who shared her values.

"The Democrats and Republicans have proven that they are servants - bought and paid for by the 1% - who are not doing what's in the best interest of the American people," Barr said.

There has been much discussion in campaigns in recent days about the difference between the lives of the richest 1% of Americans and everybody else.

Occupy Wall Street protesters popularised the "We are the 99%" slogan in their fight against economic disparity and perceived corporate greed.

Barr has submitted paperwork to the Green Party for her candidacy. The party's presidential nominee will be selected at a convention in Baltimore, Maryland, in July.

Barr, who has a 46-acre macadamia nut farm in Hawaii, said she had been fighting for working-class families and women for decades.

"I will barnstorm American living rooms," she said in a candidate questionnaire submitted to the Green Party. "Mainstream media will be unable to ignore me, but more importantly they will be unable to overlook the needs of average Americans in the run-up to the 2012 election."

Barr's hit TV sitcom Roseanne was shown from 1988 to 1997 and earned her an Emmy and a Golden Globe. She played a wise-cracking mother in the comedy about a blue-collar family.