# Ana Gasteyer

Ana Gasteyer (/ˈɑːnə ˈɡæˌstaɪ.ər/; born May 4, 1967) is an American actress, comedian and singer. She is most notable for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's Suburgatory, TBS's People of Earth, NBC's American Auto, and the film Mean Girls.

## Early life

Gasteyer was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Mariana (née Roumell), an artist, and Phil Gasteyer, a lobbyist who later became the mayor of Corrales, New Mexico. Gasteyer grew up on Capitol Hill, three blocks from the Capitol. Her maternal grandparents were Romanian and Greek. As a child, Gasteyer was friends with Amy Carter, daughter of then-president Jimmy Carter, whom she bonded with through the violin. She has spoken of how she spent the night at the White House as a child, watched Star Wars with the Sadat Family, and saw President Carter "laughing hysterically" as he watched Dan Aykroyd portray him on SNL.
She graduated from Sidwell Friends School. She enrolled as a music major at Northwestern University, and graduated from Northwestern University School of Communication in 1989.

## Career

Gasteyer developed comedy experience with the Los Angeles improv – sketch comedy group The Groundlings. She played small roles on Seinfeld (as a doomed customer of The Soup Nazi) as well as on the shows Party of Five, Frasier, Hope & Gloria, and NYPD Blue. In 1996, she joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. Among her most popular characters on the show were high school music teacher Bobbie Mohan-Culp; Margaret Jo McCullen, the National Public Radio host of Delicious Dish; folk singer Cinder Calhoun who sang feminist songs at Lilith Fair, and her impressions of Martha Stewart and Celine Dion. In 2000, she and Chris Parnell auditioned to succeed Colin Quinn as co-anchors of the news parody segment Weekend Update, but the positions went to Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon.
After six seasons, Gasteyer left SNL in 2002. Subsequently, she appeared in various television programs, films and stage productions. In 2004, Gasteyer played the mother of the main character Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) in the feature film Mean Girls, written by SNL castmate Tina Fey. The film also featured other former SNL castmates, including Fey, Tim Meadows, and Amy Poehler. Gasteyer appeared in the 2005 Showtime musical film Reefer Madness as Mae, the doomed girlfriend of Jack and owner of the Reefer Den.
Gasteyer starred in a revival of The Threepenny Opera on Broadway as Mrs. Peachum, along with Jim Dale, Alan Cumming, and Cyndi Lauper. The production ran from March 24 through June 25, 2006.
On June 24, 2005, Gasteyer originated the role of Elphaba in the Chicago sit-down production of the musical Wicked, alongside Kate Reinders as Glinda. The production opened July 13, 2005. Gasteyer was nominated for a Jefferson Award for her performance. She played her final performance on January 22, 2006, replaced by her standby Kristy Cates. She later reprised the role in the Broadway production from October 10, 2006, through January 7, 2007, replacing Eden Espinosa.
On April 12, 2007, the media announced that Gasteyer had joined the cast of the then-new musical Writing Arthur for the 2007 New Works Festival for TheatreWorks in California, which ran from April 14 to 22. Gasteyer performed in Chicago in the Stephen Sondheim musical Passion at Chicago Shakespeare Theater from October 2, 2007, through November 11, 2007.
She was originally cast as Gloria in the 2008 Encores! Summer Series production of Damn Yankees, but due to injury during rehearsals, she was replaced by Megan Lawrence. Gasteyer took part in the reading of the Broadway musical version of The First Wives Club in January 2009.
She starred as Kitty Dean in the Broadway play The Royal Family which began performances at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on September 15, 2009, and officially opened on October 8, 2009. The show concluded its run on December 13, 2009. Gasteyer also starred as Frisco Kate Fothergill in the City Centers Encores! production of Girl Crazy, running from November 19 to 22, 2009.
She returned to Saturday Night Live for a special Mother's Day episode on May 8, 2010, and for another Mother's Day episode on May 11, 2012.
Gasteyer appeared in season eight of Curb Your Enthusiasm as Larry David's girlfriend.
From 2011 to 2014, Gasteyer co-starred as Sheila Shay on the ABC comedy series Suburgatory, and, as of March 2013, she was a spokeswoman for the Weight Watchers diet plan. Gasteyer has been a guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2021.
In 2014, taking advantage of her training as a singer, Gasteyer recorded and released I'm Hip, an album of jazz standards including "One Mint Julep". In 2015, she played Mimi Schwinn in the New York City Center Encores! Off-Broadway revival of the musical A New Brain, also appearing on the cast recording.
From 2016 to 2017, Gasteyer had a starring role on TBS's cult hit People of Earth as the leader of an alien abductee support group.
In October 2019, she released the holiday album Sugar & Booze which was later accompanied by an Audible Original comedy piece titled Holiday Greetings from Sugar and Booze, featuring Gasteyer along with Maya Rudolph, Oscar Nunez, and Patti LuPone. Gasteyer later appeared as a contestant on the second season of The Masked Singer as "Tree".
In February 2020, it was announced that Gasteyer will play Katherine Hastings in the NBC comedy pilot American Auto, written by Justin Spitzer. The show's production was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and skipped the step to premiere in the 2021–2022 broadcast season. In September and October 2020, she voiced a red panda named Nut in an adult animated series titled Magical Girl Friendship Squad.
In 2024, Gasteyer starred as Queen Aggravain alongside Sutton Foster, Will Chase, Brooks Ashmanskas, Daniel Breaker, and Michael Urie in a Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress. The show subsequently played a limited run in Los Angeles with the Center Theatre Group following its Broadway closing. The Broadway production ran from July through November 2024 at the Hudson Theatre. It played 128 performances.

## Personal life

Gasteyer married her husband, Charlie McKittrick, in 1996. They live in Brooklyn, New York with their two children.

## Saturday Night Live characters
### Original characters

* Bobbie Mohan-Culp, the operatic-voiced high school music teacher (with Will Ferrell)
* Margaret Jo McCullen, co-host of the NPR radio show Delicious Dish (with Molly Shannon)
* Gemini's Twin singer Jonette (with Maya Rudolph)
* Cinder Calhoun, a politically correct Lilith Fair singer
* Fast-talking MTV VJ Kincaid
* Daytime talk show hostess of Pretty Living, Gayle Gleeson

### Celebrity impressions

* Martha Stewart
* Céline Dion (on The Celine Dion Show)
* Katherine Harris
* Joy Behar
* Joan Rivers
* Sally Jesse Raphael
* Elizabeth Dole
* Kathy Griffin
* Carrie Donovan (Vogue style editor featured in the Old Navy commercials)
* Bea Arthur
* Barbra Streisand (auditioning for Star Wars)
* Helen Thomas
* Hillary Clinton
* Mia Farrow
* Victoria Beckham
* Geri Halliwell
* Christina Aguilera
* Laura Schlessinger
* Debbie Matenopoulos
* Elizabeth Hurley
* Lynda Lopez
* Lisa Kudrow (as Phoebe Buffay on Friends)
* Jewel
* Cokie Roberts
* Madonna
* Andie MacDowell
* Nancy Grace
* Ann B. Davis
* Cynthia Nixon (as Miranda Hobbes on Sex and the City)
* Glenn Close
* Renee O'Connor (as Gabrielle on Xena: Warrior Princess)
* Darva Conger
* Amelia Earhart
* Christie Whitman
* Diane Sawyer
* Jane Fonda
* Theresa Saldana
* Jo Anne Worley
* Susan McDougal
* Allison Janney (as C. J. Cregg on The West Wing)
* Betty Ford
* Jamie Gangel
* Lara Flynn Boyle (as Helen Gamble on The Practice)
* Anne Heche
* Kathryn Beaumont

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1996 | A Small Domain | Mother |
| 1997 | Courting Courtney | Rosemary Colletti |
| 1998 | Meet the Deedles | Mel |
| 1999 | Dick | Rose Mary Woods |
| 2000 | Woman on Top | Claudia Hunter |
| 2000 | What Women Want | Sue Cranston |
| 2001 | What's the Worst That Could Happen? | Ann Marie |
| 2004 | Mean Girls | Betsy Heron |
| 2005 | Reefer Madness: The Musical | Mae Coleman |
| 2007 | The Procedure | Denise |
| 2008 | Finn on the Fly | Dr. Madsen |
| 2008 | The Women | Pat |
| 2009 | Dare | Ruth Berger |
| 2012 | Robot & Frank | Shop Lady |
| 2012 | That's My Boy | Mrs. Ravensdale |
| 2012 | Fun Size | Jackie Leroux |
| 2013 | Geography Club | Mrs. Toles |
| 2013 | Peeples | Mayor Hodge |
| 2013 | Rapture-Palooza | Mrs. Lewis |
| 2015 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | Mrs. Gundermutt |
| 2019 | Wine Country | Catherine |
| 2020 | Happiest Season | Harry Levin |
| 2021 | A Clüsterfünke Christmas | Hildy Clüsterfünke |
| 2024 | Doin' It | Principal |

### Television

| Year | Title | Character | Notes |
| 1995 | Seinfeld | Woman | Episode: "The Soup Nazi" |
| 1996 | Hope and Gloria | Girl | Episode: "The Man Upstairs" |
| 1996 | Party of Five | Emcee | Episode: "Valentine's Day" |
| 1996 | NYPD Blue | Angie | Episode: "A Death in the Family" |
| 1996–2002 | Saturday Night Live | Various | Main role; 121 episodes |
| 1998 | Law & Order | Monica's Social Worker | Episode: "Bad Girl" |
| 1998 | Just Shoot Me! | April | Episode: "What the Teddy Bear Saw" |
| 1998 | Mad About You | Yoga Woman | Episode: "Season Opener" |
| 2000 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Dr. Brand / Herself | 3 episodes |
| 2000 | Behind the Music | Herself | Episode: "Celine Dion" |
| 2000 | Geppetto | Sra. Giovanni | TV musical |
| 2000–2001 | TV Funhouse | Various voices | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | The West Wing | Butterball Hotline Operator (uncredited) | Episode: "The Indians in the Lobby" |
| 2002 | Frasier | Trish Haney | Episode: "Bristle While You Work" |
| 2003 | I'm with Her | Bonnie | Episode: "Alex Misses the Boat" |
| 2009 | Valentine | Mona McAllister | Episode: "Hound Dog" |
| 2009 | The Electric Company | Sandy Scrambler | Episode: "Friends or Aunts" |
| 2010 | Chuck | Dasha | Episode: "Chuck Verses the First Fight" |
| 2010 | Running Wilde | Anna Lowry | Episode: "It's a Trade-Off" |
| 2010–2014 | The Good Wife | Judge Patrice Lessner | Recurring role; 5 episodes |
| 2011 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Jennifer | 2 episodes |
| 2011–2014 | Suburgatory | Sheila Shay | Series regular; 42 episodes |
| 2013 | Fish Hooks | Hot Cocoa | Voice, episode: "See Bea Ski" |
| 2014 | Family Guy | Speed Dater | Voice, episode: "The 2000-Year-Old Virgin" |
| 2014–2020 | The Goldbergs | Miss (Susan) Cinoman | Recurring character; 13 episodes |
| 2015 | The Mindy Project | Barb Gurglar | Episode: "Stanford" |
| 2015 | Girls | Melanie Shapiro | Episode: "Iowa" |
| 2015 | Younger | Meredith Montgomery | Episode: "The Boy with the Dragon Tattoo" |
| 2015 | Difficult People | Woman at Cafe | Episode: "Even Later" |
| 2015 | Celebrity Name Game | Herself (celebrity guest) | Episode: "Ana Gasteyer vs. Billy Gardell" |
| 2015–2016 | Harvey Beaks | Tara | Voice, 6 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | Dawn of the Croods | Meep | Voice, 5 episodes |
| 2016 | Grease: Live | Principal McGee | TV special |
| 2016 | Mike Tyson Mysteries | Genevieve | Voice, episode: "The Bard's Curse" |
| 2016 | Maya & Marty | Scientist | Episode: "Will Forte, Amy Poehler, Jerry Seinfeld" |
| 2016 | The $100,000 Pyramid | Herself (celebrity guest) | Episode: "Ana Gasteyer vs. Rachel Dratch" |
| 2016–2017 | Lady Dynamite | Karen Grisham | Recurring role; 17 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | People of Earth | Gina Morrison | Series regular |
| 2016–2019 | The Lion Guard | Reirei | Voice, recurring role; 12 episodes |
| 2016–2020 | Match Game | Herself (celebrity guest) | Episode: "Joel McHale, Amanda Seales, Ron Funches, Ana Gasteyer, Rob Huebel, Nikki Glaser" |
| 2017 | Great News | Kelly | Episode: "Snowmagedon of the Century" |
| 2017 | A Christmas Story Live! | Mrs. Schwartz | Live televised performance |
| 2018 | Voltron: Legendary Defender | Krolia | Voice, 9 episodes |
| 2019 | Schooled | Miss (Susan) Cinoman | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | The Masked Singer | Tree | Contestant; 5 episodes |
| 2019 | Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures | Wilhelmina the Royal Courtier | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Prodigal Son | Tilda Carp | Episode: Death's Door |
| 2020 | Duncanville | Janine | Voice, episode: "Fridgy" |
| 2020 | Magical Girl Friendship Squad | Nut | Voice, main role |
| 2021–2023 | American Auto | Katherine Hastings | Series regular; 23 episodes |
| 2022–2024 | Alice's Wonderland Bakery | Kiki | Voice, recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Ridley Jones | Amanda Cornwallis | Voice, episode: "Game of Jones" |
| 2024 | Loot | Grace | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | Hamster & Gretel | Lorraine Ampersand | Voice, episode: "Lorraine, Rattle, and Roll" |
| 2025 | RoboGobo | Crabitha | Voice |
| 2025 | Krapopolis | Clotho | Voice, episode: "John Fate Comes a-Knockin" |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 2000 | The Rocky Horror Show | Usherette; Columbia | Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway |
| 2002 | Funny Girl | Fanny Brice | New Amsterdam Theatre, Broadway (Benefit Concert for The Actors' Fund) |
| 2003 | Kimberly Akimbo | Debra | New York City Center - Stage I, Off-Broadway |
| 2004 | Roulette | Virginia | John Houseman Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 2004 | Hair | "performer" | New Amsterdam Theatre, Broadway (Benefit Concert for The Actors' Fund) |
| 2005 | Wicked | Elphaba | Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, Chicago |
| 2006 | The Threepenny Opera | Mrs. Peachum | Studio 54, Broadway |
| 2006–2007 | Wicked | Elphaba | Gershwin Theatre, Broadway |
| 2009 | Chance & Chemistry | "performer" | Minskoff Theatre, Broadway (Benefit Concert for The Actors' Fund) |
| 2009 | The Royal Family | Kitty Dean | Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway |
| 2024 | Once Upon A Mattress | Queen Aggravain | Hudson Theatre, Broadway |

### Web

| Year | Title | Character | Episodes |
| 2015–present | Going There with Ana Gasteyer | Herself | 9 |