Kate McKinnon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kate McKinnon
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McKinnon in 2018
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Kate McKinnon Berthold
January 6, 1984 Sea Cliff, New York, U.S.
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| Education | Columbia University (BA) |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress and comedian famous for her funny characters and celebrity impressions. She was a star on the comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 2012 to 2022. For her work on SNL, she won two Primetime Emmy Awards.
McKinnon has also starred in many movies. You might know her from films like Ghostbusters (2016), The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018), and as Weird Barbie in Barbie (2023). She has also been the voice of characters in animated shows like Nature Cat and The Magic School Bus Rides Again.
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Early Life and Education
Kate McKinnon was born and grew up in Sea Cliff, New York, on Long Island. Her mother, Laura Campbell, was a parent educator, and her father, Michael Thomas Berthold, was an architect. He passed away when Kate was 18. She has a younger sister, Emily Lynne, who is also a comedian.
As a child, Kate was very musical. She started playing the piano at age five and the cello at twelve. When she was 15, she taught herself how to play the guitar.
She discovered her talent for doing accents in the fifth grade. She tried out for a part as "the queen of reading week" using an English accent. The smiles she got from her classmates encouraged her to keep being funny.
In 2002, she graduated from North Shore High School. She then went to Columbia University and graduated in 2006 with a degree in theatre. At college, she started a comedy group called Tea Party that focused on musical improv, which is comedy made up on the spot.
Career
In 2007, McKinnon joined the cast of the TV sketch comedy series The Big Gay Sketch Show. She was a part of the show for all three of its seasons. She also began performing live comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City in 2008.
Besides acting on screen, McKinnon is a talented voice actress. She has voiced characters in shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy. She also voiced characters in movies like Finding Dory, The Angry Birds Movie, and DC League of Super-Pets.
In 2016, she starred in the new Ghostbusters movie with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Leslie Jones. More recently, she played the memorable role of Weird Barbie in the hit movie Barbie in 2023.
Saturday Night Live
McKinnon joined the cast of Saturday Night Live on April 7, 2012. She quickly became a fan favorite and was promoted to a main cast member in 2013. She stayed on the show for ten years, making her one of the longest-running female cast members in the show's history.
Her work on SNL earned her many awards. She was nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, winning the award in 2016 and 2017.
Famous Impressions on SNL
McKinnon is well-known for her amazing impressions of famous people. She could transform into singers, actors, and political figures. Some of her most famous impressions include:
- Singer Justin Bieber
- Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres
- Politician Hillary Clinton
- Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel
During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, her impression of Hillary Clinton was very popular. The real Hillary Clinton even appeared in a sketch with her. After the election, McKinnon opened the show by playing the song "Hallelujah" on the piano while dressed as Clinton.
Memorable SNL Characters
Besides impressions, McKinnon created many original characters that fans loved.
- Olya Povlatsky: A woman from a small Russian village who would appear on the Weekend Update segment to talk about how hard life was in her town.
- Barbara DeDrew: A volunteer at a cat shelter called Whiskers R We who would show off cats available for adoption in a very funny way.
- Colleen Rafferty: A woman who had very strange and unlucky experiences with aliens or ghosts. While her friends had wonderful paranormal encounters, Colleen's were always rough and hilarious to hear about.
- Debette Goldry: An old-time movie star who would talk about the crazy and difficult things that happened to actresses in the early days of Hollywood.
Writing and Other Projects
McKinnon is also a creator and writer. With her sister, Emily Lynne, she created a web series called Notary Publix. They also created a fantasy-comedy audio series for Audible called Heads Will Roll.
In 2024, McKinnon announced she had written a book for middle schoolers called The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science. The book, released in October 2024, is about three sisters and a mad scientist.
In November 2024, she hosted the National Book Awards ceremony in New York City.
