Born

January 6, 1984

Kate McKinnon Overview

Kate McKinnon is proof that big talent can come in small packages. A veteran of sketch and improv comedy from her college days through multiple TV projects -- most notably Saturday Night Live -- McKinnon is beloved for her boundless energy, elastic expressions and brilliant character work. She is a gifted impressionist and has made history by being the first openly gay woman in the history of Saturday Night Live.


Her talent and total willingness to appear completely silly made her one of the most popular cast members at SNL in a short amount of time.

Quick Kate McKinnon Facts 

• Kate McKinnon (born Kate McKinnon Berthold) was born and raised in Sea Cliff, New York.
• She attended Columbia University in New York, where she appeared in more than 60 theater productions and formed an improv comedy group called Tea Party during her senior year.
• She performed with the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York.
• Her first big break came in 2007 when she joined the cast of Big Gay Sketch Show, a sketch comedy series produced by Rosie O'Donnell for cable's Logo Network.
• McKinnon joined the cast of Saturday Night Live as a featured player in 2012, where she quickly established herself as one of the most popular cast members thanks to a series of celebrity impressions and recurring characters.
• She was cast in Paul Feig's reboot of Ghostbusters in 2015 alongside Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Melissa McCarthy.

Kate McKinnon at Saturday Night Live

Kate McKinnon joined the cast of SNL as a featured player in 2012, near the end of the 37th season. At the time, she was the first openly gay female to ever star on the sketch comedy and only the third gay cast member in the show's history. McKinnon quickly became the show's breakout star like Kristen Wiig and Amy Poehler before her thanks to recurring characters like Russian immigrant Olya Povlatsky (a regular fixture on "Weekend Update") and spot-on impressions ranging from Hilary Clinton to Ellen DeGeneres to Justin Bieber. McKinnon became a full cast member at the start of Season 39 in 2013.

Additional Kate McKinnon Facts

• She was awarded the title of Best Rising Comic at Logo TV's NewNowNext awards in 2009.
• In 2014, she won the American Comedy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work on Saturday Night Live. 
• The same year she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress, but lost out to Allison Janney for her work on the sitcom Mom.
• In addition to her work on SNL, McKinnon has provided voices for The Venture Bros., Family Guy and The Awesomes. She has also appeared on the big screen in Life Partners, Ted 2 and the 2015 comedy Sisters.
• McKinnon co-created and stars alongside here sister on the web comedy series ?Notary Publix.
• She's a talented musician and can play the piano, cello and guitar.
• McKinnon has performed several one-woman shows, including Kate McKinnon on Ice, Best Actress and Disenchanted.