It’s hard to believe that Saturday Night Live icon Kristen Wiig was initially terrified to perform in front of people. Born and raised in Upstate New York, the Oscar and Emmy nominated writer and actress studied studio art at the University of Arizona and figured she would graduate and become an art teacher. But thanks to one of the curriculum requirements, she had to face her fears and take an acting class. In an episode of the Awards Chatter podcast, she told The Hollywood Reporter that she was terrified and “hated speaking in front of anyone.” By the end of the class, however, she loosened up and fell in love with performing. She liked it so much that she decided to drop out of college, pack up her car, and move to Los Angeles, despite not having any job prospects or any idea of how to start her career.
A boss at one of her art-based jobs in LA happened to see an improv show at The Groundlings and told Wiig that that’s where she belonged (even though he never really saw her be funny before). She would end up calling The Groundlings her home for several years, where she learned important skills like collaboration, writing, and backstage etiquette and created characters like Aunt Linda and Target Lady that would come in handy in the future. It was during this time that she and her manager Naomi Odenkirk discussed submitting a tape to SNL. The tape led to two auditions and a nerve-wracking and disappointing meeting with Lorne Michaels. While he loved her and wanted her on the show, she was told there wasn’t any room for new players. “I left knowing I didn't get it,” and then “the season started and that’s when I really knew I didn’t get it.” Much to her surprise, she got a call three weeks into the new season that they wanted her on the show. Once again, she dropped everything and packed her bags.
There’s a reason Lorne Michaels considers her in the “top three or four” SNL cast members ever. From 2005 to 2012, Wiig had us bowled over with uncontrollable laughter from her impressions, eclectic characters, and shameless creativity. She innovated the long-running sketch show and continues to inspire generations of artists of all genres. After seven years and a beautiful send-off episode, Wiig received an Oscar nomination for co-writing Bridesmaids and has starred in a number of independent films such as Girl Most Likely, Welcome to Me, and The Diary Of A Teenage Girl.
Let’s look back at Kristen Wiig’s best characters from Saturday Night Live.
Judy Grimes
Weekend Update travel writer Judy Grimes (Kristen Wiig) has a lot to say but she is nervous. Just kidding, she’s really nervous. This has to be Wiig’s most impressive Update character based purely on her mouth gymnastics. She speedily delivers her lines and constantly interjects “just kidding” while remaining painfully stiff. If you’d like travel tips, Judy probably isn’t your best bet. But, if you want to watch someone nervously talk about airplanes and cows, then this is the character for you.
Target Lady
Welcome to Target! She’s on the clock and she’s ready to rock, it’s the one and only Target Lady! For Target Lady, Target isn’t just a popular retail chain, but rather a magical wonderland where items are purchased and dreams come true. Her voice may sound like it’s covered in egg, and her hair like an upside-down bowl of pudding, but Target Lady is ready to assist you with all of your Target needs. Much to her customers’ dismay, Target Lady is very chatty and nosy. If there’s a product she’s never heard of that's in your cart, she will abandon you to search the store and find it.
Through different interactions, she’s given customers a look into her personal life. She has restless arms and legs, loves Beyoncé, weddings, and driving to Florida “just to take a quick look at Florida.” She’s always got a pack of almonds at the ready in case she needs to bite one for her low blood sugar. She’s energetic. She’s a handful. She’s Target Lady. Wiig created this character at The Groundlings and said she based it on a real person. “I met a lady at Target who kind of had an interesting voice,” adding, “I just remember trying to do her voice in my car, and I had never written a sketch by myself [until Target Lady].”
Gilly
Gilly is...how to describe her. She’s a tall, colorful, bushy-haired school girl who always gets into trouble. When she’s not dancing around to her theme song, she’s likely saying “sorry” for disrupting the class and hurling something at her teacher (Will Forte). Wiig said that she and longtime SNL writer Paula Pell accidentally came up with the character while writing another sketch together. “We were actually writing a different sketch and I think we just started saying [‘sorry’]” like the character." Gilly’s a girl of a few words and the proud owner of an overbite. She’s a little scamp and she knows it.
Aunt Linda
There’s surely no pleasing Aunt Linda (Kristen Wiig), a cranky, bewildered movie reviewer who has had it! Despite seeming very unhappy with nearly every movie she watches, she continues to persevere through some of the most popular titles to see what all the fuss is about. Spoiler alert: She is not a fan of CGI or anything that seems to strike a chord with audiences. She’s the queen of the eyeroll and isn’t afraid to be controversial. In an episode of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, Wiig told Jerry Seinfeld that her Aunt Linda character was inspired by a passenger on a flight, who was loud and very baffled by the Matrix. Oh, brother!
Kathie Lee Gifford
In addition to crafting such unique characters, Wiig is also a master at impressions. She hilariously imitated Paula Deen, Liza Minnelli trying to turn off a lamp, Ann Margaret trying to throw away a piece of paper, and Jamie Lee Curtis on Activia commercials. There’s some impressions she’s done so many times that they become their own characters. One of her most popular parodies of real people is her impression of Kathie Lee Gifford, who co-hosted the fourth hour of the Today show for 11 years with Hoda Kotb. If you were a fan of their Today show spot, then you know that they would drink a lot of wine, talk about current events, and tease each other. In a number of spit-out-your-wine funny sketches, Wiig embodied Gifford’s persona but also heightened her zaniness and escalated the tension between her and Hoda.
Michelle Dison
After a brief leave of absence, Michelle Dison (Kristen Wiig) is back for a brand new edition of her local news segment “Around the Town.” But, it doesn’t seem like Michelle is emotionally ready to return to work just yet. While she is supposed to focus on the interviewee and the story at hand, she cannot help but get distracted by the subject’s beauty. Wiig does an excellent job embodying awkwardness as she talks herself deeper and deeper into her own grave through misplaced compliments and observations. Michelle only appeared a couple of times but remains a criminally underrated character.
Sue the Surprise Lady
Surprises can be a fun way for people to celebrate an important occasion and celebrate with the ones they love. But, as a warning, you might not want to invite Sue to your next surprise party. She means well and will be your biggest cheerleader, but she cannot keep a secret to save her life. For someone who gets invited to a lot of surprise parties, Sue never ceases to be amazed by the idea of a surprise. She cannot contain herself no matter how hard she tries and she'll ruin the party for everyone. And she’ll probably also jump out the window.
Penelope
Beware, Penelope will one-up you with anything you say or do. Anything. She’s a hair-twirling fiend who may seem shy but isn’t afraid to make herself the star of a wedding, soup kitchen, or even therapy. You have M&Ms? She has “M&M&Ms.” Ever have a panic attack? Well she has “panic-anic attacks.” Did you get a speeding ticket? Penelope has too...for breaking the sound barrier. Wiig based this character on someone she knew and co-wrote it with James Anderson and Kent Sublette, both of whom she worked with every week of her seven years on the show.
Dooneese
For someone with such tiny hands, Dooneese is pretty handsy! This has to be Wiig’s strangest character, which is kind of saying a lot. Dooneese appears in The Lawrence Welk Show parodies (though she did steal the spotlight in a sketch about The Sound of Music) and stands out for being an oddity among the other women of the Finger Lakes. In addition to her massive forehead and baby hands, Dooneese’s high pitched voice could shatter any glass. And make sure your schedule is cleared, because she will be telling you in stream-of-consciousness fashion about her latest sexual exploits and strange activities. Be ready to answer the question, “Is that bad?”
Suze Orman
Suze Orman is another real-life person that Wiig’s imitated on several occasions, making her take on the acclaimed host a character in and of itself. Wiig is parodying Orman’s long-running CNBC show, The Suze Orman Show, in which she would give her viewers all the tips and tricks they’d need for financial success and security. Orman has an easily-imitable appearance, as she always has the same short haircut, big smile, stud earrings and a stylish jacket. And she speaks in short. Snappy. Sentences. Orman emphasizes the power and importance of women in finance which is something Wiig took and ran with for her impression. Wiig captures her manic yet composed nature and infuses her impression with intense feminism and a peek into her private life, which includes a Pap smear cruise, Tampax sponsored business events, and enjoying her woman-made Koi pond. Orman even highlights Wiig’s impression on her website as one of her “favorite television appearances.”
Shana
To some of her co-workers, Shana (Kristen Wiig) is the sexiest woman in the office., and so the chance to socialize with her outside of work is very exciting for her colleagues (Andy Samberg, Kenan Thompson, and Will Forte). The guys are in for a rude awakening, however, when they see how Shana behaves in public. Let’s just say she’s not as dainty and poised as they thought. She’s more...disgusting. Shana has also visited a Halloween party with host Ben Stiller and basketball practice with Bryan Cranston.
Kat
If you’re hoping to find some timeless tunes you can sing along to that are definitely not made up on the spot, then look no further than singer-songwriter duo Garth and Kat (Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig). These two perform all over the place, but they seem to shine the most on Weekend Update. Part of the charm of these appearances is how much Wiig and Armisen break character due to their nonsensical lyrics. It’s an unwritten rule that Armisen sings first, which leaves Wiig guessing where the song will go next. For such an unorganized pair, the two seem to book plenty of gigs, performing everywhere from Camp David to hayrides. Every time they appear on Update, they are totally frazzled and out of breath, though they swear they didn't forget that they were supposed to be there. And take Seth's word for it: they are the most attractive people you will ever see in your life.
Mindy Elise Grayson
She said it. She said the secret word. But she can’t help it, she’s Mindy Elise Grayson (Kristen Wiig). Better known for her work on the Broadway stage, the overly-theatrical Mindy eats, sleeps, and breathes acting. But because nearly every stage show she’s part of is a major flop and hated by critics, she is desperate for attention, leaving Secret Word as her only creative outlet. When Mindy’s a guest on the game show, the word doesn’t stay a secret for very long. No matter how hard the actress tries, she says the clue. And the best part is, she embraces it each time, and turns it into an opportunity to reminisce about one of the many bizarre performances she’s contributed to during her long and tragic career.
Cheryl Bryant
It’s the season finale of Dream Home Extreme and congratulations, you won your dream home! Aren’t you excited? Like, at all? Please? Host Cheryl Bryant (Kristen Wiig) is ecstatic and really wishes you were, too. After all, it is live television and she has to fill her painfully long air time with some celebration. Wiig’s high-energy reality show host paired with Emma Stone’s unphased contestant winner is a perfect parody of the over-the-top reactions featured on home renovation shows. Wiig's also done this exhausting character with Russell Brand.
One of Two A-Holes
Hey, babe. The A-holes are back, and so are their opinions. This obnoxious couple, played by Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig, have wreaked havoc at a gym, a live nativity scene, a crime scene, and even made buying a Christmas tree difficult. The only thing that matters to them is that they look good and have enough gum. Got it, babe? Funnily enough, Wiig and Sudeikis came up with these characters while chewing gum. In a conversation with former SNL cast member Laraine Newman, Wiig remembers, “Jason and I wrote it at like four or five in the morning. We were chewing gum I think to like stay awake and we just kind of like came up with it.”
Thank you Kristen Wiig for being one of the all-time SNL greats. She can be seen reprising her role as Vicki St. Elmo in MacGruber, which premieres Thursday, December 16th on Peacock.