Kristen Wiig facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kristen Wiig
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Wiig at the Australian premiere of Anchorman 2 in 2013
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| Born |
Kristen Carroll Wiig
August 22, 1973 Canandaigua, New York, U.S.
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Hayes Hargrove
(m. 2005; div. 2009)Avi Rothman
(m. 2020) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
Kristen Carroll Wiig (born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She first became known as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy group The Groundlings. Wiig became a big star in the late 2000s when she joined the cast of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). She was a main cast member on the show for seven years, from 2005 to 2012.
While on Saturday Night Live, Wiig was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards. She also acted in comedy movies like Knocked Up (2007) and Paul (2011). In 2011, she co-wrote and starred in the movie Bridesmaids, which was a huge hit with both critics and audiences. For Bridesmaids, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
After leaving SNL, Wiig starred in many other movies. These include The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), The Martian (2015), Ghostbusters (2016), and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020). She has also been a voice actor in animated films like Despicable Me and the How to Train Your Dragon series. In 2012 and 2025, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
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Early life
Kristen Wiig was born in Canandaigua, New York. Her father, Jon Wiig, managed a lake marina, and her mother, Laurie Johnston, is an artist. She has an older brother named Erik. Her father's family has Norwegian and Irish roots, while her mother's family is English and Scottish. The name "Wiig" comes from an area in Norway.
When Wiig was three, her family moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. At age 13, they moved back to New York, this time to the city of Rochester. She graduated from Brighton High School.
Wiig went to the University of Arizona and studied art. She took an acting class as a requirement, and her teacher told her she should keep acting. She was about to start a job drawing for a plastic surgery clinic when she decided to move to Los Angeles to become an actress instead.
Career
Starting out on SNL
When Wiig moved to Los Angeles, she worked different jobs to support herself while she pursued acting. She joined the famous comedy group The Groundlings, where she discovered she loved improvisational comedy, or "improv." Being part of the group helped her become a better comedian.
In 2005, Wiig sent an audition tape to Saturday Night Live. One of the characters she performed was the "Target Lady." She joined the cast of SNL that same year. By 2006, she was a full-time cast member and became one of the show's most popular stars.
During her time on SNL, she created many memorable characters, like the excitable Target Lady and the mischievous student Gilly. She was nominated for four Emmy Awards for her work on the show. She also voiced the character Lola Bunny in The Looney Tunes Show from 2011 to 2014.
Wiig also started appearing in movies. She had small roles in comedies like Knocked Up (2007) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008). She also voiced characters in the animated movies Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Despicable Me (2010), and How to Train Your Dragon (2010).
Movie Stardom
The year 2011 was a major turning point for Wiig's career. She co-wrote and starred in the comedy Bridesmaids with her friend and fellow comedian Annie Mumolo. In the movie, she played Annie, a woman whose life gets messy when she becomes the maid of honor for her best friend.
Bridesmaids was a massive success. Critics loved it, and it made over $280 million around the world. The movie showed that a comedy led by women could be a huge box office hit. For her work, Wiig was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress and an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
After Bridesmaids, Wiig became a major movie star. She left Saturday Night Live in 2012 to focus on her film career. She has returned to host SNL several times since leaving.
She continued to do voice work, playing Agent Lucy Wilde in Despicable Me 2 (2013). She also starred alongside Ben Stiller in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) and appeared in the comedy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.
In 2014, she starred with fellow SNL alum Bill Hader in the movie The Skeleton Twins. The next year, she appeared in the science fiction hit The Martian with Matt Damon. In 2016, she starred in the all-female reboot of Ghostbusters with Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.
Recent Work
Wiig has continued to act in a variety of roles. She returned to voice Lucy Wilde in Despicable Me 3 (2017). In 2020, she played the villain Cheetah in the superhero movie Wonder Woman 1984.
In 2021, she teamed up with Annie Mumolo again to write and star in the comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. The movie was well-received by critics. That same year, she played Aunt Carlotta in the Netflix Christmas movie A Boy Called Christmas. In 2024, she starred in and produced the TV series Palm Royale.
Personal life
Wiig began dating actor Avi Rothman in 2016, and they got engaged in 2019. In 2020, they welcomed twins, a son and a daughter, through a surrogate. Wiig confirmed in 2021 that she and Rothman were married. The family lives in Pasadena, California.
Awards and nominations
Wiig has been nominated for many awards throughout her career, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and nine Primetime Emmy Awards.
See also
In Spanish: Kristen Wiig para niños
