Molly Helen Shannon is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic actress best known for her work as a cast member on
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
from 1995–2001 and for starring in the films
SuperstarSuperstar is a 1999 comedy film and Saturday Night Live spin-off about a quirky, socially inept girl named Mary Katherine Gallagher. The character was created by SNL star Molly Shannon and appeared as a recurring character on SNL in numerous skits. The story follows Mary Katherine trying to find...
and
Year of the DogYear of the Dog is a 2007 comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike White, and starring Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Regina King, Tom McCarthy, Josh Pais, John C. Reilly and Peter Sarsgaard...
. More recently, she starred in
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's
Kath & KimKath & Kim is an American version of the Australian television comedy series of the same name starring Selma Blair and Molly Shannon. The series premiered on NBC on October 9, 2008...
from 2008–2009 and on the
TBSTBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
animated series
Neighbors from HellNeighbours from Hell is a strategy video game for Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox. In Europe, it was released for Windows on June 20, 2003, and the GameCube and Xbox on March 4, 2005...
. Throughout Shannon's career she has appeared in a number of films in supporting roles. Molly currently guest-hosts on the CBS daytime talk show
The TalkThe Talk is a talk show created by actress Sara Gilbert, who also serves as the executive producer. The show premiered on October 18, 2010, and airs on CBS as a part of CBS Daytime...
.
Early life
Shannon was born in
Shaker Heights, OhioShaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 28,448. It is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland that abuts the city on its eastern side.-Topography:Shaker Heights is located at...
, to an
Irish AmericanIrish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
CatholicIrish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
family. Her mother, Peg Shannon, was a teacher, and her father, James F. Shannon, was a sales manager. Shannon was involved in a car accident when she was four years old which killed her mother, younger sister and cousin. Shannon attended St. Dominic School in Shaker Heights for grade school, and
Hawken SchoolHawken School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school in Northeast Ohio.Hawken currently has two main campuses, the Lower and Middle Schools in Lyndhurst and the Upper School in Gates Mills, plus a third, an urban campus in University Circle, The Sally & Bob Gries Center...
in
Gates Mills, OhioGates Mills is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,270 at the 2010 census. Gates Mills is an affluent suburb of Cleveland...
, for high school.
Career
Before
Saturday Night Live, Shannon had a struggling career in films, her most notable being a supporting role as Meg in the 1989
horror filmHorror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
remake of
The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the Opera: The Motion Picture is a 1989 horror film directed by Dwight H. Little and based on Gaston Leroux's novel of the same name....
with
Robert EnglundRobert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice-actor and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in...
. In 1991, she had a brief appearance in the second season of
Twin PeaksTwin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
, and in 1993, she appeared with minor roles in two episodes of
In Living ColorIn Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
, the first in a fake TV commercials with
Chris RockChristopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
(played by
Shawn Wayans), and the second in a sketch with
Jim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
, playing LAPD Sergeant
Stacey KoonStacey Cornell Koon is a former sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department who became nationally notorious in the wake of the Rodney King incident...
.
Shannon's major break came in February 1995, when she was hired as a featured player on
Saturday Night Live to replace
Janeane GarofaloJaneane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
after Garofalo left mid-season. Shannon was one of the few cast members to be kept (along with
David SpadeDavid Wayne Spade is an American actor, comedian and television personality who first became famous in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 when he starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C.J...
,
Norm MacdonaldNorman Gene "Norm" Macdonald is a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He is best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, which included anchoring Weekend Update for three years...
,
Mark McKinneyMark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
and
Tim Meadows) when
Lorne MichaelsLorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
engaged in a major cast overhaul between seasons 20 and 21.
She appeared in a 1997 episode of
SeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
entitled "
The Summer of George"The Summer of George" is the 156th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It was also the 22nd and final episode of the 8th season. It originally aired on May 15, 1997.-Plot:...
," where she played Sam, the co-worker who drove
Elaine BenesElaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer...
crazy because she did not swing her arms while walking. She also appeared in
Sheryl CrowSheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
's video for the song "A Change (Will Do You Good)" and played the recurring role of loony neighbor Val Bassett,
Grace AdlerGrace Elizabeth Adler-Markus is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Debra Messing. She is a Jewish interior designer , living in New York City with her gay best friend Will Truman...
's nemesis, on
Will & GraceWill & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, appearing in five episodes over the sitcom's eight-season run. In 1998, she played the role of Emily Sanderson in the film
A Night at the RoxburyA Night at the Roxbury is a 1998 comedy film based on a recurring skit on television's long-running Saturday Night Live called "The Roxbury Guys." Saturday Night Live regulars Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, and Colin Quinn star....
, featuring
Will FerrellJohn William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
and
Chris KattanChristopher Lee "Chris" Kattan is an American actor/comedian, best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:Kattan was born in Sherman Oaks, California. His father, Kip King, was an actor and voice actor who appeared on the series Reno 911! as Larrie Plum. His mother, Hajnalka E....
who were also cast members of
SNL at the time.
In 1999, Shannon starred alongside Will Ferrell in
SuperstarSuperstar is a 1999 comedy film and Saturday Night Live spin-off about a quirky, socially inept girl named Mary Katherine Gallagher. The character was created by SNL star Molly Shannon and appeared as a recurring character on SNL in numerous skits. The story follows Mary Katherine trying to find...
, a feature film based on her most famous SNL character,
Mary Katherine GallagherMary Katherine Gallagher is a fictional character invented and portrayed by Saturday Night Live cast member Molly Shannon from 1994 to 2001, and when Shannon reprised her role when she hosted in 2007.-Character:...
, the awkward Catholic school student who aspires to be a musical superstar.
Shannon left
SNLSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in 2001, surpassing
Victoria JacksonVictoria Jackson is an American comedian, actress, satirist and singer best known as a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1992....
as the show's longest-serving female cast member (she has since been surpassed by
Rachel DratchRachel Susan Dratch is an American comic actress best known for her roles as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
,
Maya RudolphMaya Khabira Rudolph is an American actress, comedienne and singer known for her comedic roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2007, and for appearing in films such as Away We Go, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups, A Prairie Home Companion and MacGruber...
, and
Amy PoehlerAmy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
). In 2003, she appeared in the romantic comedy
My Boss's DaughterMy Boss's Daughter is a 2003 romantic comedy film starring Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid and Terence Stamp.- Plot :Tom Stansfield is a researcher at a publishing company who works under the tyrannical Jack Taylor . Tom has a crush on his boss' daughter, Lisa Taylor , who is completely controlled by...
and the television remake of
The Music Man.
In 2004, she starred in a short-lived
FoxFox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
network television series
Cracking UpFor the movie, see Cracking Up .Cracking Up is an American television sitcom created by School of Rock writer Mike White, who also served as the series' head writer. It aired on the Fox Network on Monday nights from March to May 2004. The title of the program and the name of the psychiatrist, Dr...
with actor Jason Schwartzman. That same year, she guest starred in an episode of
ScrubsScrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
and starred as Mrs. Baker in the film
Good Boy!Good Boy! is a 2003 film produced by Jim Henson Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, starring talking alien dogs. The film stars Liam Aiken as Owen Baker, as well as Matthew Broderick, Delta Burke, Donald Faison, Cheech Marin, Brittany Murphy, Vanessa Redgrave, and Carl Reiner were the voice cast for...
. In 2006, Shannon was featured in the
Sofia CoppolaSofia Carmina Coppola is an American screenwriter, film director, actress, and producer.In 2003 she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing...
directed movie
Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette is a 2006 biographical film, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is very loosely based on the life of the Queen consort in the years leading up to the French Revolution. It won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design...
as Aunt Victoire. The next year, Shannon guest starred on ABC's
Pushing DaisiesPushing Daisies is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007 to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch, an ability that comes with stipulations...
and the film
Evan AlmightyEvan Almighty is a 2007 American religious comedy film and the stand-alone sequel to Bruce Almighty . The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, and starring Steve Carell as the title character. Morgan Freeman also reprised his role as God from the original film. Production of...
. Shannon also made a rare move to drama, appearing in the critically acclaimed film
Year of the DogYear of the Dog is a 2007 comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike White, and starring Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Regina King, Tom McCarthy, Josh Pais, John C. Reilly and Peter Sarsgaard...
in 2007.
Shannon hosted
Saturday Night Live on May 12, 2007, making her the second former female cast member to host (after
Julia Louis-DreyfusJulia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
) and the first one to have been a cast member for Lorne Michaels (Louis-Dreyfus was a cast member under
Dick EbersolDuncan "Dick" Ebersol is an American television executive and a senior adviser for . He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League broadcasts....
).
In 2008, Shannon starred as Kath in the US version of the hit Australian sitcom
Kath & KimKath & Kim is an American version of the Australian television comedy series of the same name starring Selma Blair and Molly Shannon. The series premiered on NBC on October 9, 2008...
. Also in 2008, she starred in an episode of the comedy series
Pushing DaisiesPushing Daisies is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007 to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch, an ability that comes with stipulations...
and the TV movie
More of Me.
In early 2010, Shannon was cast in a recurring role on the
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
television series
GleeGlee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
as Brenda Castle, an astronomy and badminton teacher who has a rivalry with main character
Sue SylvesterSusan "Sue" Sylvester is a fictional character of the Fox musical comedy-drama series, Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Jane Lynch, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Sue was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian...
.
She returned to
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
for a special
Mother's DayMother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
episode on May 8, 2010., and also the October 2010 reunion special "Women of SNL".
Shannon replaced
Katie FinneranKatie Finneran is an American actress of film, stage, and television noted for her Tony Award-winning performances in the Broadway play Noises Off in 2002, and the musical Promises, Promises in 2010.-Personal life:...
in the role of Marge McDougall in the
BroadwayBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
revival of
Promises, PromisesPromises, Promises is a musical based on the 1960 film The Apartment. The music is by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David, and book by Neil Simon. Musical numbers for the original Broadway production were choreographed by Michael Bennett; Robert Moore directed and David Merrick produced...
on 12 October 2010, and will remain through its closure on 2 January 2011 along with co-stars Sean Hayes and
Kristin ChenowethKristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
.
Shannon's first children's book,
Tilly the Trickster, will be released September 1, 2011.
Personal life
Shannon married artist Fritz Chesnut on May 29, 2004. They have two children: daughter Stella (b. 2003), and son Nolan (b. 2005).
Filmography
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1989 |
The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera: The Motion Picture is a 1989 horror film directed by Dwight H. Little and based on Gaston Leroux's novel of the same name....
|
Meg Meg Giry is one of the fictional characters from Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera. In the story she is Madame Giry's oldest daughter....
|
|
| 1991 |
Twin PeaksTwin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
|
Judy Swain |
1 episode |
| 1993 |
In Living ColorIn Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
|
Officer Trainee |
1 episode |
General HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
|
Surrogate Mother #2 |
1 episode |
| 1994 |
The John Larroquette Show The John Larroquette Show is a situation comedy that ran on the NBC network from 1993 to 1996. The show, created by Don Reo, was a vehicle for John Larroquette following his run as Dan Fielding on Night Court. The series took place in a seedy bus terminal in St. Louis, Missouri and focused on the...
|
|
1 episode |
Sister, SisterSister, Sister is an American television sitcom about identical twin girls Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell , who were separated and adopted at birth, when one day they come face-to-face after 14 years apart....
|
Cashier |
1 episode |
| Ellen Ellen is a U.S. television sitcom that ran on the ABC network from March 29, 1994 to July 22, 1998, producing 109 episodes.The theme song, "So Called Friend" is by Scottish band Texas...
|
Woman |
1 episode |
| 1995 |
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
|
Various |
120 episodes (1995–2001) |
| Return to Two Moon Junction Return to Two Moon Junction is a 1995 romantic drama film which serves as a sequel to the 1988 film Two Moon Junction. The plot concerns a New York fashion model who returns to her Georgia home town where she has an affair with a local sculptor. The film was directed by Farhad Mann, and stars...
|
Traci |
|
| 1996 |
Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace |
Homeless Lady |
|
| 1997 |
Dinner and Driving |
Arguing Woman in Café |
|
| The Single Guy The Single Guy is an American television sitcom that ran for two seasons on NBC, from September 1995 to April 1997. It starred Jonathan Silverman as struggling New York City writer Jonathan Eliot, and followed several of his close friends The series also starred Joey Slotnick as Eliot's best...
|
Melody Pugh |
1 episode |
SeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
|
Sam |
1 episode "The Summer of George" is the 156th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It was also the 22nd and final episode of the 8th season. It originally aired on May 15, 1997.-Plot:...
|
| 1998 |
The Thin Pink Line The Thin Pink Line is a 1998 film directed by Joe Dietl and Michael Irpino.The title is a parody of Errol Morris' documentary The Thin Blue Line, which raised questions about the conviction of a prison inmate on death row.-Plot outline:...
|
Aanl |
|
| Happiness |
Nancy |
|
| A Night at the Roxbury A Night at the Roxbury is a 1998 comedy film based on a recurring skit on television's long-running Saturday Night Live called "The Roxbury Guys." Saturday Night Live regulars Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, and Colin Quinn star....
|
Emily Sanderson |
|
| Daydream Believer "Daydream Believer" is a song composed by John Stewart shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. The song was originally recorded by The Monkees, with Davy Jones singing lead vocals. The single hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four...
|
Susan Bradley |
|
| 1999 |
Analyze ThisAnalyze This is a 1999 gangster comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, who co-wrote the screenplay with playwright Kenneth Lonergan and Peter Tolan. The film stars Robert De Niro as a mafioso and Billy Crystal as a psychiatrist...
|
Caroline |
|
| Never Been Kissed Never Been Kissed is a 1999 comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell and starring Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Michael Vartan, Molly Shannon, Leelee Sobieski, John C. Reilly, Jessica Alba, Marley Shelton, James Franco , Giuseppe Andrews, Jeremy Jordan and Garry Marshall...
|
Anita |
|
My Neighbors the Yamadasis an anime film directed by Isao Takahata and released by Studio Ghibli on July 17, 1999. The movie is a family comedy that is presented in a comic strip style which is unusual since all the other Studio Ghibli movies are presented in the traditional anime style of Studio Ghibli...
|
Matsuko Yamada |
Dubbed English Voice |
| Superstar Superstar is a 1999 comedy film and Saturday Night Live spin-off about a quirky, socially inept girl named Mary Katherine Gallagher. The character was created by SNL star Molly Shannon and appeared as a recurring character on SNL in numerous skits. The story follows Mary Katherine trying to find...
|
Mary Katherine Gallagher Mary Katherine Gallagher is a fictional character invented and portrayed by Saturday Night Live cast member Molly Shannon from 1994 to 2001, and when Shannon reprised her role when she hosted in 2007.-Character:...
|
|
Will & GraceWill & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
|
Val Bassett This is a list of the supporting or recurring characters and guest stars on the NBC situation comedy Will & Grace, with information on each of them.-Grace's family:...
|
5 episodes (1999–2004) |
| 2000 |
SNL Fanatic |
Anna Nicole Smith |
TV |
| My 5 Wives |
Barbara Van Dyke |
|
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas |
Betty Lou Who |
|
| 2001 |
Wet Hot American SummerWet Hot American Summer is a 2001 satirical comedy film written by David Wain and Michael Showalter, and directed by Wain. The film takes place during the last day at a fictional Jewish summer camp in 1981, before closing for the summer...
|
Gail von Kleinenstein |
|
Saturday Night Live Primetime Extra 1Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
|
Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
|
TV |
| Osmosis Jones Osmosis Jones is a 2001 live-action/animated comedy film directed by Tom Sito and Piet Kroon for the animated segments and the Farrelly brothers for the live-action segments...
|
Mrs. Boyd |
|
| Serendipity Serendipity is a 2001 romantic comedy, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. It was written by Marc Klein and directed by Peter Chelsom...
|
Eve |
|
Shallow HalShallow Hal is a 2001 romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, and Jason Alexander. It was directed by the Farrelly Brothers and filmed in and around Charlotte, North Carolina as well as Sterling and Princeton, Massachusetts at Wachusett Mountain.- Plot :Hal Larson is a...
|
Mrs Mary Larson |
Uncredited |
| 2002 |
Sex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
|
Lily Martin |
3 episodes |
The Santa Clause 2The Santa Clause 2 is a 2002 American comedy film and the sequel to the 1994 film, The Santa Clause. All the principal actors from the first film reprise their roles, except for Peter Boyle, who returns portraying a different minor character...
|
Tracy |
|
| 2003 |
American SplendorAmerican Splendor is a series of autobiographical comic books written by the late Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the most recent in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular intervals...
|
Stage Actor Joyce |
|
The Music ManThe Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
|
Mrs Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn |
TV |
| Ed Ed is an NBC television program co-produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, NBC Productions, and Viacom Productions that aired from 2000 to 2004....
|
Linda Berringer |
1 episode |
| My Boss's Daughter My Boss's Daughter is a 2003 romantic comedy film starring Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid and Terence Stamp.- Plot :Tom Stansfield is a researcher at a publishing company who works under the tyrannical Jack Taylor . Tom has a crush on his boss' daughter, Lisa Taylor , who is completely controlled by...
|
Audrey Bennett |
|
Good Boy!Good Boy! is a 2003 film produced by Jim Henson Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, starring talking alien dogs. The film stars Liam Aiken as Owen Baker, as well as Matthew Broderick, Delta Burke, Donald Faison, Cheech Marin, Brittany Murphy, Vanessa Redgrave, and Carl Reiner were the voice cast for...
|
Mrs. Baker |
|
| 2004 |
ScrubsScrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
|
Denise Lemmon |
1 episode |
| The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve |
Angie |
TV |
| Cracking Up For the movie, see Cracking Up .Cracking Up is an American television sitcom created by School of Rock writer Mike White, who also served as the series' head writer. It aired on the Fox Network on Monday nights from March to May 2004. The title of the program and the name of the psychiatrist, Dr...
|
Lesley Shackleton |
7 episodes (2004–2006) |
| 2005 |
Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie is a 2005 computer animated film, a sequel to the 1970 Rankin/Bass TV special, Here Comes Peter Cottontail. It was released by Classic Media. It made its television debut on 14 April, 2006 on Cartoon Network...
|
Jackie Frost |
Voice |
American Dad!American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
|
Kristy |
3 episodes (2005–2007) |
| 2006 |
Shut Up and Sing |
Trish |
|
Scary Movie 4Scary Movie 4 is the fourth film of the Scary Movie franchise, directed by David Zucker, written by Jim Abrahams, Craig Mazin and Pat Proft, and produced by Craig Mazin and Robert K. Weiss. It is distributed by The Weinstein Company via its Dimension Films unit in the U.S. and Television, and...
|
Marilyn |
|
| Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette is a 2006 biographical film, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is very loosely based on the life of the Queen consort in the years leading up to the French Revolution. It won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design...
|
Aunt Victoire |
|
| Little Man Little Man is a 2006 American comedy film, directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. It stars Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Kerry Washington, and Tracy Morgan. Little Man was released on DVD on November 7, 2006.- Plot :...
|
Soccer Mom |
|
| Talladega Nights |
Mrs. Dennit |
|
My Gym Partner's a MonkeyMy Gym Partner's a Monkey is an American animated television series created by Timothy and Julie McNally Cahill and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It premiered on December 26, 2005 and ended in November 27, 2008 following a marathon of its final regular-run episodes...
|
Pretties |
1 episode |
The Amazing Screw-On HeadThe Amazing Screw-On Head is the title of a one-shot comic book written and drawn by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics in 2002, starring the character of the same name....
|
Patience the Vampire |
TV / Voice |
| Gray Matters Gray Matters is a 2006 romantic comedy film directed by Sue Kramer, starring Heather Graham, Tom Cavanagh and Bridget Moynahan. It premiered on October 21, 2006 at the Hamptons International Film Festival and had a United States limited theatrical release on February 23, 2007.- Plot :Gray Baldwin ,...
|
Carrie |
|
Air BuddiesAir Buddies is the sixth film in the Air Bud series and the first in the direct to video spin-off series Air Buddies, which follows the life of a lonely teenager and his dog who has the uncanny ability to play every sport. The film was released on December 12, 2006...
|
Molly |
Voice |
| 2007 |
The Mastersons of Manhattan |
Amanda Masterson |
|
| Year of the Dog Year of the Dog is a 2007 comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike White, and starring Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Regina King, Tom McCarthy, Josh Pais, John C. Reilly and Peter Sarsgaard...
|
Peggy |
|
| 30 Rock 30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
|
Katherine Catherine |
1 episode |
| Evan Almighty Evan Almighty is a 2007 American religious comedy film and the stand-alone sequel to Bruce Almighty . The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, and starring Steve Carell as the title character. Morgan Freeman also reprised his role as God from the original film. Production of...
|
Eve Adams |
|
| More of Me More of Me is a 2007 Lifetime Television movie, starring Molly Shannon and directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer.-Plot:Alice McGrath is a woman struggling with her busy life. On a similar vein to Michael Keaton in Multiplicity, she splits into three different versions of herself, making four Alices...
|
Alice |
TV |
| Pushing Daisies Pushing Daisies is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007 to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch, an ability that comes with stipulations...
|
Dilly Balsam |
1 episode |
| 2008 |
More of Me |
Alice |
Made of televisión |
| Snow Buddies Snow Buddies is a 2008 direct to video in the Air Bud series. It was released on DVD on February 5, 2008. The movie was shot on location in Canada at Mount Seymore and the town of Ladner, British Columbia.-Plot:...
|
Molly |
Voice |
| Igor Igor is a 2008 computer animated family comedy film about the stock character Igor. The plot revolves around the grotesque title figure Igor and his dreams of winning first place at the Evil Science Fair. The movie was released on September 19, 2008...
|
Eva |
Voice |
Kath & KimKath & Kim is an American version of the Australian television comedy series of the same name starring Selma Blair and Molly Shannon. The series premiered on NBC on October 9, 2008...
|
Kath |
18 episodes (2008–2009) |
| 2009 |
What Goes Up |
Penelope Little |
|
The New Adventures of Old ChristineThe New Adventures of Old Christine is an American comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus which ran for five seasons on CBS from March 13, 2006, to May 12, 2010...
|
Jeannie |
1 episode |
| 2010 |
Glee Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
|
Brenda Castle |
2 episodes: Bad Reputation "Bad Reputation" is the 17th episode of the American television series, Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on May 4, 2010. It was directed by Elodie Keene, and written by series creator Ian Brennan. In "Bad Reputation", cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester is publicly ridiculed when a...
and Dream On"Dream On" is the 19th episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on May 18, 2010. It was directed by Joss Whedon and written by series creator Brad Falchuk. Neil Patrick Harris guest-stars as former glee club star Bryan Ryan...
|
| Neighbors from Hell Neighbours from Hell is a strategy video game for Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox. In Europe, it was released for Windows on June 20, 2003, and the GameCube and Xbox on March 4, 2005...
|
Tina Hellman |
Voice |
| 2011 |
Bad Teacher Bad Teacher is a 2011 comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan based on a screenplay by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, and Jason Segel...
|
Melody |
|
| The Middle "The Middle" is a song by Jimmy Eat World. The song released as the second single of their fourth album Bleed American. It was a top five Billboard Hot 100 hit in 2002. The song was a breakthrough hit for Jimmy Eat World...
|
Frankie's sister, Janet |
Season 3: "Thanksgiving III" |
| Up All Night Up All Night is an American television comedy series created by Emily Spivey that premiered on NBC on September 14, 2011, at 10 p.m. , before assuming its regular time slot on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, at 8 p.m....
|
Nancy |
1 Episode |
| 2012 |
Hotel Transylvania |
Wanda |
Voice |
Original characters
- Mary Katherine Gallagher
Mary Katherine Gallagher is a fictional character invented and portrayed by Saturday Night Live cast member Molly Shannon from 1994 to 2001, and when Shannon reprised her role when she hosted in 2007.-Character:...
, Shannon's best known character. An odd, outcast student at a Catholic school who enjoyed performing in the choir and school plays. Shannon starred in a 1999 feature filmSuperstar is a 1999 comedy film and Saturday Night Live spin-off about a quirky, socially inept girl named Mary Katherine Gallagher. The character was created by SNL star Molly Shannon and appeared as a recurring character on SNL in numerous skits. The story follows Mary Katherine trying to find...
based on the character.
- Sally O'Malley, a proud 50-year old dancer with a bouffant
A bouffant is a type of hairstyle characterized by hair piled high on the head and hanging down on the sides.-History:The bouffant was a mainstream hairstyle in the mid-to-late 18th century in western Europe. It was thought to be created for Marie Antoinette, as she had relatively thin hair and...
hairdo, who wore tight red pants and proclaimed how much she loved to "kick, stretch and kick!"
- Circe Nightshade, co-host of "Goth Talk
Goth Talk was a recurring sketch on the American television series Saturday Night Live from the late 1990s.The sketch was about a late-night Tampa Bay Public-access television cable TV show recorded in the home of Azrael Abyss, Prince of Sorrows , a goth high school student. Another goth student,...
" (with Chris KattanChristopher Lee "Chris" Kattan is an American actor/comedian, best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:Kattan was born in Sherman Oaks, California. His father, Kip King, was an actor and voice actor who appeared on the series Reno 911! as Larrie Plum. His mother, Hajnalka E....
).
- Miss Colleen, co-host of "Dog Show" (with Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
).
- Elizabeth, one of the "Southern Gals".
- Helen Madden, an overly exuberant self-proclaimed "Joyologist", who appeared on talk shows with the trademark catchphrase "I love it, I love it, I love it!"
- Veronica Kilvere, an airhead fashion model who hosts the "Veronica & Co." talk show.
- Janette Blow, wife of Joe Blow (played by Colin Quinn
Colin Edward Quinn is an American stand-up comedian and writer best known for his five years in the cast of Saturday Night Live, as the sidekick/announcer of MTV's late 1980s gameshow Remote Control and as host of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central from 2002–2004.-Early years:Quinn was...
) on "The Local News" public-access televisionPublic-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV talk show.
- Terri Rialto, co-host of the NPR radio show "Delicious Dish" (with Ana Gasteyer
Ana Kristina Gasteyer is an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002.-Early life:...
).
- Margaret Healy, a women who enjoys doing lots of voices and accents.
- Jeannie Darcy, an unfunny mullet-haired
The mullet is a hairstyle that is short at the front and sides, and long in the back. . The mullet began to appear in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s but did not become generally well-known until the early 1980s...
stand-up comedian, who ended almost every joke with the phrase "Don't get me started, don't even get me started!"
Celebrity impressions
- Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
- Ann Miller
Johnnie Lucille Collier, better known as Ann Miller was an American singer, dancer and actress.-Early life:...
- Anna Nicole Smith
In 1992 Smith was chosen by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover of the March issue of Playboy, where she was listed as Vickie Smith, wearing a low-cut evening gown. The centerfold was photographed by Stephen Wayda. Smith said she planned to be "the next Marilyn Monroe". Becoming one of Playboys...
- Betty Boothroyd
Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, OM, PC is a British politician, who served as Member of Parliament for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000, initially for the Labour Party and, from 1992 to 2000, as Speaker of the House of Commons...
- Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
- Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
- Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
- Bobbi McCaughey
- Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
- Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
- Donatella Versace
Donatella Versace is an Italian fashion designer and current Vice-President of the Versace Group, as well as chief designer. She owns 20 percent of the entire stock market assets of Versace. Her brother, Santo Versace, owns 30 percent...
- Debbie Rowe
Deborah Jeanne "Debbie" Rowe is an ex-wife of pop singer, Michael Jackson, and the mother of two of his children. She currently lives in Palmdale, California.-Early life:...
- Denise Rich
- Gisele Bundchen
Gisele Caroline Bündchen is a Brazilian fashion model, occasional film actress and goodwill ambassador for the UN Environment Programme.In the late 1990s, Bündchen became one of the first in a wave of Brazilian models to find success...
- Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...
- Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton is an English pop singer/songwriter and TV and radio presenter. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010, she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing on Ice...
- Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
- Julianna Margulies
Julianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
- Kim Cattrall
Kim Victoria Cattrall is an English actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones in the HBO comedy/romance series Sex and the City, and for her leading roles in the 1980s films Police Academy, Big Trouble in Little China, Mannequin, and Porky's...
- Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
- Madonna
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
- Meredith Vieira
Meredith Louise Vieira is an American journalist, television personality, and game show host. She is best known for her roles as the original moderator of the ABC talk program The View and co-host of the long-running NBC News morning news program, Today...
- Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, as well as for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.- Early life...
- Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
- Paula Zahn
- Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
- Soon-Yi Previn
Soon-Yi Previn or Soon-Yi Farrow is an American actress and wife of film director Woody Allen.-Early life and adoption:...
- Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
External links