Kate McKinnon

Kate McKinnon
McKinnon in 2018
Born Kathryn McKinnon Berthold[1][2][3]
(1984-01-06) January 6, 1984
Sea Cliff, New York, U.S.
Occupation Actress, comedian, impressionist
Years active 2007–present

Kathryn McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984),[1][2][3] known professionally as Kate McKinnon, is an American actress and comedian. She is widely known as a regular cast member on The Big Gay Sketch Show (2007–2010) and Saturday Night Live (2012–present).[4] She is also known for her film roles as Dr. Jillian Holtzmann in the supernatural comedy Ghostbusters (2016), Mary Winetoss in the comedy Office Christmas Party (2016), Pippa in the comedy Rough Night (2017), and Morgan in the action comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018).

McKinnon is known for her character work[5] and celebrity impressions[6] of pop singer Justin Bieber, comedian television host Ellen DeGeneres, and political figures Hillary Clinton,[7] Angela Merkel, Kellyanne Conway,[8][9] Elizabeth Warren, Betsy DeVos, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Robert Mueller, Rudy Giuliani, Lindsey Graham,[10][11] and Jeff Sessions.[12] She has been nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards; one for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics and five for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, winning in 2016 and 2017.

Early life

McKinnon was born and raised in the Long Island town of Sea Cliff, New York[1][13] to Laura Campbell, a parent educator, and Michael Thomas Berthold, an architect.[14][15][16] She has a younger sister, Emily.[1][16] Her father died when she was 18 years old.[1][15]

As a child, McKinnon played several instruments. She started playing the piano when she was 5 years old, the cello when she was 12, and taught herself how to play the guitar when she was 15.[17] She graduated from North Shore High School in 2002,[18] and from Columbia University in 2006 with a degree in theatre, where she co-founded a comedy group, Tea Party, which focused on musical improv comedy.[1][2] At Columbia, she starred in three Varsity shows: V109 "Dial D for Deadline", V110 "Off-Broadway" and V111 "The Sound of Muses".[19][20][21] She was also a member of Prangstgrüp, a student comedy group which set up and recorded elaborate college pranks.[22]

Career

In 2007, McKinnon joined the original cast of Logo TV's The Big Gay Sketch Show, where she was a cast member for all three seasons.[5]

Since 2008, she has performed live sketch comedy regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City.[5][23] She has also worked as a voice-over actress, and has voiced characters for series such as The Venture Bros., Robotomy, and Ugly Americans.[23][24] In 2009, McKinnon won a Logo NewNowNext Award for Best Rising Comic.[25] She was nominated for an ECNY Emerging Comic Award in 2010.[5] In 2014, she appeared in the Kennedy Center Honors as part of a tribute to Lily Tomlin. In 2016, she starred in the reboot Ghostbusters, alongside Melissa McCarthy, and fellow SNL cast members Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones.[26] In 2017, McKinnon is attached to star in Amblin Entertainment's Lunch Witch, an adaptation of a young adult graphic novel by Deb Lucke. She has been set to play the title role of Grunhilda, an out-of-work witch who takes a job in a school cafeteria to make ends meet. McKinnon currently voices the character of Ms. Frizzle in the reboot of the Magic School Bus children's series.[27]

Saturday Night Live

McKinnon debuted as a featured player on Saturday Night Live on April 7, 2012. She was promoted to repertory status in season 39 in 2013. Following the departure of Vanessa Bayer, McKinnon is now the longest serving female cast member.[28]

In 2013, McKinnon was nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress, Comedy.[29] McKinnon won the 2014 American Comedy Award for Best Supporting Actress, TV for her work on SNL.[30] In 2014, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series,[31] as well as for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics along with four of her colleagues for the song "(Do It On My) Twin Bed".[32] She was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the second time in 2015.[33] She eventually won the very next year, becoming the first actor from SNL to win the award since 1993.

McKinnon began appearing as Hillary Clinton on the series leading up to the 2016 presidential election. The real Hillary Clinton appeared alongside her in a sketch during the show's season 41 premiere.[34] McKinnon has said that her impression of Hillary Clinton comes from a place of deep admiration, and that "[she] unequivocally want[ed] her to win" the 2016 presidential election.[35] On November 12, 2016, which was the first show after Clinton's loss in the election, she reprised the role to open the show with a solo performance of "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen, whose death was announced two days before her performance.[36] After the election, McKinnon began to impersonate Kellyanne Conway alongside Alec Baldwin as Trump. On February 11, she debuted her impression of Elizabeth Warren during Weekend Update and Jeff Sessions in the cold open.

Saturday Night Live characters

Weekend Update characters
  • Olya Povlatsky, a Russian woman who voices her opinions on current events, comparing them to the outrageous struggles she faces in her village. She also appeared in a cold open with Beck Bennett as Vladimir Putin reading a prepared statement against her will.
  • Deenie, a.k.a. "Somebody's Mom", a middle-aged woman who attempts to recap soap operas she's been watching, but only knows the characters by self-applied nicknames, such as "Big Boobs" and "Mustache". She is always eating some foul concoction out of Tupperware, such as Brussels sprouts and imitation crab, which generally both revolts and breaks up anchor Colin Jost.
  • Mrs. Santini, an apartment dweller who writes passive-aggressive notes to her neighbors. Originally performed as Effie Villalopolus on Comedy Bang! Bang!
Other characters
  • Sheila Sovage, a heavily intoxicated woman at a bar who meets and hooks up with a heavily intoxicated man or woman, played by the host, at closing time.
  • Jodi Cork, one of the hosts of Women in the Workplace.
  • Barbara DeDrew, a lesbian volunteer at the cat shelter Whiskers R We.
  • Helga Handler, a Swedish TV presenter who speaks only in exaggeratedly Swedish-sounding gibberish, occasionally saying crude English words.
  • Colleen Rafferty, a middle-aged woman who appears in panels in which other sketch participants (mostly Cecily Strong as a hippie woman named Sharon) recount idyllic paranormal events (such as being abducted by aliens twice, having a near-death experience, and discovering that Santa Claus is real) while Rafferty experiences less enjoyable versions.
  • Les Dykawitz, a lesbian cop from the 1970s who works for Chicago PD along with her partner, Chubina Fatzarelli (played by Aidy Bryant), in "Dyke & Fats".
  • Debette Goldry, a senile, septuagenarian actress whose harsh experiences with being an actress in Hollywood (including the on-going issues of equal pay and sexual harassment/abuse) are more outrageous than what modern actresses have gone through.
  • A member of Woodbridge High School's theatre troupe, who make their performances obsessively and solely about social justice issues that they know very little about.
  • Noelle LeSoup, the co-host of the French show "America's Funniest Cats", who appears on the American version of the show along with Joelle LaRue (played by Cecily Strong).
  • Shud, a crass mermaid who is based on a blobfish, and makes sexual advances on an unfortunate marooned sailor.

Celebrity impressions

Other work

Aside from SNL, McKinnon also co-created and co-stars in the web series Notary Publix with her sister Emily Lynne.[38][39] In addition to Aidy Bryant, who stars in the series, McKinnon's SNL co-stars Beck Bennett, Jay Pharoah and SNL writer Paula Pell all guest-starred in the six-episode first season of the web series.[38]

In 2015, McKinnon appeared in a number of commercials for the Ford Focus.[40]

In 2016, McKinnon co-hosted the 31st Independent Spirit Awards with Kumail Nanjiani.[41]

McKinnon has made appearances as a voice actress in series like The Simpsons (as Hettie in season 27, episode 14 "Gal of Constant Sorrow") and Family Guy (a voice in season 14, episode 15 "An App a Day", as Karen / Heavy Flo in season 14, episode 6 "Peter's Sister", and a voice in season 15, episode 9 "How the Griffin Stole Christmas"), and films such as Finding Dory (as Stan's fish wife), The Angry Birds Movie (as Stella / Eva the Birthday Mom) and Ferdinand (as Lupe).

Personal life

McKinnon is SNL's first openly lesbian cast member,[42][43][44] as well as the series' third known LGBT cast member after Terry Sweeney and Danitra Vance.[45] She has a pet cat, Nino Positano,[35] whom she jokingly refers to as her son. She does not use social media, citing fear that she will "misrepresent her true feelings".[46]

McKinnon's knack for accents began when she was in 5th grade. She auditioned to be "the queen of reading week" and used a British accent. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she says, "I think the genesis of my entire life, probably, was the smiles I elicited doing this British accent. I've been chasing that dragon ever since."[47] In addition to theater, McKinnon is interested in science. She said to The New York Times, "I've been a big astrophysics nut since I was 12. I have always had a real soft spot for the bizarreness of quantum mechanics."[48]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Mr. Ross Debby Short film
2011 Elizabeth Taylor's Video Will Elizabeth Taylor Short film
Pudding Face Amy Short film
2012 My Best Day Heather
Hannah Has a Ho-Phase Nicky
2014 Life Partners Trace
Balls Out Vicky
2015 Giant Sloth Nina Voice role
Short film
Ted 2 Herself
Staten Island Summer Mrs. Bandini Jr.
Sisters Sam
2016 The Angry Birds Movie Stella / Eva Voice roles
Finding Dory Stan's Wife Voice role
Ghostbusters Dr. Jillian Holtzmann
Masterminds Jandice
Office Christmas Party Mary Winetoss
2017 Rough Night Pippa
Leap! Regine Le Haut / Felicie's Mother Voice roles
Ferdinand Lupe Voice role
2018 Irreplaceable You Glass Half Full Kate
Family[49] Jill
The Spy Who Dumped Me Morgan Freeman
2019 Untitled Danny Boyle/Richard Curtis film Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2007–2010 The Big Gay Sketch Show Various 23 episodes
2008 Mayne Street Olga Svenson Episode: "Parking Tickets"
2010 We Have to Stop Now Angela Episode: "Celesbianism"
2010 Concierge: The Series Mary 3 episodes
2010 Vag Magazine Bethany 6 episodes
2010–2011 Robotomy Additional voices 5 episodes
2010–2016 The Venture Bros. Nikki and Margaret Fictel / Additional voices 10 episodes
2011 The Back Room Susan Boyle Episode: "Todd Barry"
2011 The 40-Year-Old 20-Year-Old Kate 5 episodes
2012–present Saturday Night Live Various Main cast
2012 Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday Various 2 episodes
2013 Toy Story of Terror! PEZ Cat (voice) Television special
2013 Hudson Valley Ballers Just Jamie 2 episodes
2014 Comedy Bang! Bang! Effie Villalopolus Episode: "Nick Offerman Wears a Green Flannel Shirt & Brown Boots"
2014–2015 The Awesomes Lola Gold / Additional voices 7 episodes
2015 China, IL Sunshine (voice) 5 episodes
2015 The Spoils Before Dying Dallas Boudreaux[50] Episode: "That's Jazz"
2015 Difficult People Abra Cadouglas[51] Episode: "Pledge Week"[52]
2015 Moonbeam City Panache Miller (voice) Episode: "Lasers and Liars"
2015–2016 Family Guy Karen Griffin / Additional voices 3 episodes
2015–present Nature Cat Squeeks (voice) 21 episodes
2016 31st Independent Spirit Awards Herself (host) Television special
2016 Maya & Marty Heidi Cruz Episode: "Jimmy Fallon & Miley Cyrus"
2016 The Simpsons Hettie (voice) Episode: "Gal of Constant Sorrow"
2017 Friends from College Shawna Episode: "All-Nighter"
2017–present The Magic School Bus Rides Again Fiona Felicity Frizzle (voice) Main role
2018 Sesame Street Mother Goose[53] Episode: "Elmo's Nursery Rhyme"

Video games

Year Title Role
2015 LEGO Dimensions Dr. Jillian Holtzmann

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2009NewNowNext Awards[54]Brink of Fame: ComicWon
2010ECNY Awards[5]Emerging Comic AwardNominated
2012Ashland Independent Film Festival AwardSpecial Jury Mention for Acting Ensemble: FeatureMy Best DayWon
2013EWwy AwardBest Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesSaturday Night LiveNominated
Gold Derby AwardsBreakthrough Performer of the YearNominated
Online Film & Television Association AwardBest Female Performance in a Fiction ProgramNominated
2014American Comedy Award[55]Comedy Supporting Actress – TVWon
Behind The Voice Actors AwardsBest Vocal Ensemble in a TV Special/Direct-to-DVD Title or Theatrical ShortToy Story of Terror!Nominated
Dorian Award[56]Wilde Wit of the YearNominated
Gold Derby AwardsBest Variety PerformerSaturday Night LiveNominated
Online Film & Television Association AwardBest Female Performance in a Fiction ProgramNominated
Primetime Emmy Award[57]Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesNominated
Outstanding Original Music and LyricsNominated
2015Gold Derby AwardsBest Variety PerformerNominated
Online Film & Television Association AwardBest Female Performance in a Fiction ProgramNominated
Best Ensemble in a Fiction ProgramNominated
Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesNominated
2016Gold Derby AwardsBest Variety PerformerNominated
Online Film & Television Association AwardBest Female Performance in a Variety ProgramNominated
Best Ensemble in a Variety, Reality or Non-Fiction ProgramWon
Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesWon
Critics' Choice Television AwardBest Actress in a Comedy SeriesWon
The Advocate AwardsThe Advocate's Person of the YearFinalist[58]
USA Today AwardsUSA Today's Entertainer of the YearWon[59]
Critics' Choice AwardBest Actress in a Comedy MovieGhostbustersNominated
San Diego Film Critics Society AwardsBest Comedic PerformanceNominated
Women Film Critics CircleBest Comedic ActressWon
Best Female Action HeroWon
Best EnsembleNominated
2017Saturn AwardBest Supporting ActressNominated
People's Choice AwardsFavorite Comedic CollaborationSaturday Night LiveNominated
Dorian AwardsT.V. Musical Performance of the YearWon
Wilde Wit of the YearNominated
Wildest Artist of the YearWon
Daytime Emmy AwardOutstanding Performer in an Animated ProgramNature CatNominated
Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesSaturday Night LiveWon
2018MTV Movie & TV AwardsBest Comedic PerformanceNominated
Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesNominated

See also

References

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  2. 1 2 3 Gay, Verne (March 29, 2012). "Kate McKinnon joining 'SNL' cast". Newsday. Melville, New York: Altice. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Long Island celebrity yearbook pictures: The 2000s". Newsday. July 19, 2014. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
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  7. 1 2 Hanks, Henry (March 9, 2015). "'Saturday Night Live' takes on Hillary Clinton email controversy". CNN.
  8. Kreps, Daniel (January 21, 2017). "See 'SNL' Parody Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway With Musical Sketch". Rolling Stone. New York City: Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
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  20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtVaRfYCvHo&t=5501s
  21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9AZ3bhKwFA
  22. Matlow, Orli (19 November 2014). "Spectrum investigates: The club graveyard". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 25 September 2016. Also a former fixture of the comedy scene is the dearly departed Prangstgrüp, which staged pranks and performances, kind of like Improv Everywhere. Kate 'McKinnon' Berthold of SNL was a member.
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  29. Bierly, Mandi (September 13, 2013). "EWwy Awards 2013: Meet Your 10 Winners!". EW.com. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
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  35. 1 2 Dowd, Maureen. "Kate McKinnon Hates Letting Her Hair Down". New York Times.
  36. "SNL's Kate McKinnon opens show singing 'Hallelujah'". CNN, November 13, 2016.
  37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZXNqic_Zi8
  38. 1 2 Kumari Upadhyaya, Kayla (April 8, 2015). "Kate McKinnon's new web series is about notaries, because why not". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  39. Schroeder, Audra (April 16, 2015). "The best webseries from 'SNL' cast members". The Daily Dot. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
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  42. Piccoli, Dana (July 18, 2016). "10 Reasons Why Kate McKinnon is Hollywood's New Queer Heartthrob". After Ellen. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  43. Gilchrist, Tracy E. (April 8, 2012). "SNL's First Out Lesbian Featured Player Kate McKinnon Makes Splash with Penelope Cruz Pantene Sketch". SheWired. Here Media. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  44. "Kate McKinnon: Who is SNL's first openly lesbian cast member?". The Week.
  45. Brantley, Ben (August 23, 1994). "Danitra Vance, 35, an Actress; Worked at Shakespeare Festival - New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
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  49. https://deadline.com/2018/03/taylor-schilling-sxsw-family-kate-mckinnon-matt-walsh-video-clip-1202325204/
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  52. Planje, Alexa (August 13, 2015). "Difficult People: "Devil's Three-way"/"Pledge Week"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  53. "Sesame Street Season 48 Episode 4803 - Elmo's Nursery Rhyme". Muppet Central Forum. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
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  55. Ray, Amber (May 9, 2014). "Amy Poehler, Seth Rogen win American Comedy Awards". Entertainment Weekly. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  56. Kilday, Gregg (January 9, 2013). "Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Announce Dorian Award Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  57. Carter, Bill (July 10, 2014). "2014 Emmy Nominations: 'Breaking Bad,' 'True Detective' Among the Honored". New York Times. New York City: New York Times Company. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  58. By Advocate.com Editors (2016-11-11). "Person of the Year: The Finalists". Advocate.com. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
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