Molly Shannon

Molly Helen Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress who was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2001. In 2017 she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film Other People.
She has appeared in supporting roles in a number of films, such as A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Never Been Kissed (1999), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Osmosis Jones (2001), My Boss's Daughter (2003), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015). Her voice can also be heard in Igor (2008) and the Hotel Transylvania film series.
== Early life ==
Shannon was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, on September 16, 1964, to an Irish American Catholic family.[1][2] Her mother, Mary Margaret "Peg" (née Keating), was a teacher, and her father, James Francis Shannon, was a sales manager.[3]Her maternal grandparents were born in Ireland, with her grandfather being from Cloghmore, Achill, Mayo.[4] At age four, Shannon was involved in a car accident which killed her mother, younger sister, and cousin.[5][6][7] Shannon attended St. Dominic School in Shaker Heights for grade school, and Hawken School in Gates Mills, Ohio. She attended New York University, where she studied drama and graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1987.[8]
== Career ==
Before Saturday Night Live, Shannon worked as a hostess at Cravings restaurant on Sunset Boulevard and as a food demo girl at Gelson's super market in Marina Del Rey. She auditioned for her first big film role and was cast, playing the supporting part of Meg in the 1989 horror film remake of The Phantom of the Opera, with Robert Englund. In 1991, she had a brief appearance in the second season of Twin Peaks as "the happy helping hand lady", and in 1993, she appeared with minor roles in three episodes of In Living Color, the first in a fake TV commercial with Shawn Wayans playing Chris Rock, the second in a sketch with Jim Carrey, playing LAPD Sergeant Stacey Koon, and third being a parody of Star Trek.
Shannon's major break came in February 1995, when she was hired as a featured player on Saturday Night Live to replace Janeane Garofalo after Garofalo left mid-season due to creative differences. Shannon was one of the few cast members to be kept (along with David Spade, Norm Macdonald, Mark McKinney and Tim Meadows) when Lorne Michaels overhauled his cast and writers for season 21 (1995–96).
She appeared in a 1997 episode of Seinfeld entitled "The Summer of George," where she played Sam, the co-worker who drove Elaine Benes crazy because she did not swing her arms while walking. She also appeared in Sheryl Crow's video for the song "A Change (Will Do You Good)" and played the recurring role of loony neighbor Val Bassett, Grace Adler's nemesis, on Will & Grace, appearing in five episodes over the sitcom's eight-season run. In 1998, she played the role of Emily Sanderson in the film A Night at the Roxbury, featuring Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan who were also cast members of SNL at the time.
In 1999 Shannon starred in Superstar, a feature film based on her most famous SNL character, Mary Katherine Gallagher, the awkward Catholic school student who aspires to be a musical superstar.
During her run on SNL, Shannon also found time to star in the movie Never Been Kissed (1999) and How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) and Serendipityopposite Kate Beckinsale (2001). Shannon left SNL in 2001, surpassing Victoria Jackson as the show's longest-serving female cast member (she has since been surpassed by Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, and Amy Poehler). In 2003, she appeared in the romantic comedy My Boss's Daughter and the television remake of The Music Man.
In 2004 she starred in a short-lived Fox network television series Cracking Upwith actor Jason Schwartzman created by Mike White. That same year, she guest starred in an episode of Scrubs and starred as Mrs. Baker in the film Good Boy!. In 2006, Shannon was featured in the Sofia Coppola directed movie Marie Antoinette as Aunt Victoire. The next year, Shannon guest starred on ABC's Pushing Daisies, and appeared in the film Evan Almighty. Shannon also made a rare move to drama, appearing in Mike White's film Year of the Dog in 2007. In 2013, Shannon joined White again playing his love interest Eileen in the HBO show Enlightened for which she was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding guest actress.
Shannon hosted Saturday Night Live on May 12, 2007, making her the second former female cast member to host (after Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the first one to have been a cast member for Lorne Michaels (Louis-Dreyfus was a cast member under Dick Ebersol).
In 2008, Shannon starred as Kath in the American version of the hit Australian sitcom Kath & Kim.
In early 2010, Shannon was cast in a recurring role on the Fox television series Glee as Brenda Castle, an astronomy and badminton teacher who has a rivalry with main character Sue Sylvester.[9]
She returned to Saturday Night Live for a special Mother's Day episode on May 8, 2010,[10] and also the October 2010 reunion special "Women of SNL".
Shannon replaced Katie Finneran in the role of Marge McDougall in the Broadway revival of Promises, Promises on 12 October 2010, and remained through its closure on 2 January 2011 along with co-stars Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth.[11]
Shannon's first children's book, Tilly the Trickster, was released September 1, 2011.[12]
As of Spring 2012, she has replaced Pauley Perrette as the spokesperson for Expedia.
in 2015, Shannon starred in the Sundance premiere Me and Earl and the Dying Girl directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. She was a guest, along with Denis Leary, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on June 9, 2015.
In 2016, Shannon co-starred in the HBO comedy Divorce opposite Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church.
Shannon won the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the highly-acclaimed drama, Other People. She had two films premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival: The Little Hours and Fun Mom Dinner.
In 2018, Shannon co-hosted the Rose Parade with Will Ferrell on Amazon Prime Video in character as fictional local television personalities, Tish and Cord. In 2018, Shannon and Ferrell co-hosted HBO's broadcast of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as their characters Tish and Cord.[13]
== Personal life ==
Shannon married artist Fritz Chesnut on May 29, 2004.[14] They have two children: daughter Stella (b. 2003) and son Nolan (b. 2005).[15]
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1989	The Phantom of the Opera 	Meg (New York) 	
1995	Return to Two Moon Junction 	Traci 	
1996	Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace 	Homeless Lady 	
1997	Dinner and Driving 	Arguing Woman in Cafe 	
1998	Happiness 	Nancy 	
1998	A Night at the Roxbury 	Emily Sanderson 	
1998	The Thin Pink Line 	Aanl 	
1998	Daydream Believer 	Susan Bradley 	Short film
1999	Analyze This 	Caroline 	
1999	Never Been Kissed 	Anita 	
1999	My Neighbors the Yamadas 	Matsuko Yamada (English version, voiceover)	Japanese animated film
1999	Superstar 	Mary Katherine Gallagher 	
2000	My 5 Wives 	Dr. Van Dyke 	
2000	How the Grinch Stole Christmas 	Betty Lou Who 	
2001	Wet Hot American Summer 	Gail von Kleinenstein 	
2001	Osmosis Jones 	Mrs. Boyd 	
2001	Serendipity 	Eve 	
2001	Shallow Hal 	Mrs. Mary Larson 	
2002	The Santa Clause 2 	Tracy 	
2003	American Splendor 	Stage Actor Joyce 	
2003	My Boss's Daughter 	Audrey Bennett 	
2003	Good Boy! 	Mrs. Baker 	
2005	Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie 	Jackie Frost 	Voice only
2006	Shut Up and Sing 	Trish 	
2006	Scary Movie 4 	Marilyn 	
2006	Marie Antoinette 	Aunt Victoire 	
2006	Little Man 	Soccer Mom 	
2006	Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	Mrs. Dennit 	
2006	Gray Matters 	Carrie 	
2006	Air Buddies 	Molly 	Voice only
2007	Year of the Dog 	Peggy Spade 	
2007	Evan Almighty 	Eve Adams 	
2008	Snow Buddies 	Molly 	
2008	Igor 	Eva 	
2009	What Goes Up 	Penelope Little 	
2011	Bad Teacher 	Melody Tiara 	
2012	Casa de Mi Padre 	Sheila 	
2012	The Five-Year Engagement 	Onion Chef 	
2012	Hotel Transylvania 	Wanda 	Voice only
2013	Scary Movie 5 	Heather Darcy 	
2013	Trust Me 	Janice 	
2014	Life After Beth 	Geenie Slocum 	
2015	Me and Earl and the Dying Girl 	Denise Kushner 	
2015	Addicted to Fresno 	Margaret 	
2015	Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant 	Emily McCoy 	
2015	Hotel Transylvania 2 	Wanda 	Voice only
2016	Other People 	Joanne Mulcahey 	Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
Nominated—AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
2016	Miles 	Pam Walton 	
2017	The Little Hours 	Sister Marea 	
2017	Fun Mom Dinner 	Jamie 	
2017	We Don't Belong Here 	Deborah 	
2017	The Layover 	Nancy 	
2018	Private Life 	Cynthia 	
2018	Half Magic 	Mistress Valesca 	
2018	Wild Nights with Emily 	Emily Dickinson 	
2018	Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation 	Wanda 	Voice Only
2020	Disney In The House 	Dianne Bear 	Voice
=== Television ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1991 	Twin Peaks 	Judy Swain 	1 episode
1992–1993 	In Living Color 	Officer Trainee 	5 episodes
1993 	General Hospital 	Surrogate Mother #2 	1 episode
1994 	The John Larroquette Show 	 	1 episode
1994 	Sister, Sister 	Cashier 	1 episode
1994 	Ellen 	Woman 	1 episode
1995–2001 	Saturday Night Live 	Various 	116 episodes
1997 	The Single Guy 	Melody Pugh 	1 episode
1997 	Seinfeld 	Sam 	1 episode
1999–2004; 2018	Will and Grace 	Val Bassett 	6 episodes
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (2018)
2000 	SNL Fanatic 	Anna Nicole Smith 	TV short
2001 	Saturday Night Live Primetime Extra 1 	Elizabeth Taylor 	TV short
2002 	Sex and the City 	Lily Martin 	3 episodes
2003 	Johnny Bravo 	Multiple Voices 	1 episode
2003 	Ed 	Linda Berringer 	1 episode
2003 	The Music Man 	Mrs. Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn	TV movie
2004 	The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve 	Angie 	TV movie
2004 	Scrubs 	Denise Lemmon 	1 episode
2004–2006 	Cracking Up 	Lesley Shackleton 	7 episodes
2005–2007 	American Dad! 	Kristy 	3 episodes
2006 	My Gym Partner's a Monkey 	Pretties 	1 episode
2006 	The Amazing Screw-On Head 	Patience the Vampire (voice) 	1 episode, unsold pilot
2007 	30 Rock 	Katherine Catherine 	1 episode
2007 	Saturday Night Live 	Herself (host) 	1 episode
2007 	Pushing Daisies 	Dilly Balsam 	1 episode
2007 	The Mastersons of Manhattan 	Amanda Masterson 	TV movie
2007 	More of Me 	Alice McGowan 	TV movie
2008–2009 	Kath & Kim 	Kath 	18 episodes
2009 	The New Adventures of Old Christine 	Jeannie 	1 episode
2010 	Glee 	Brenda Castle 	2 episodes
2010 	Neighbors from Hell 	Tina Hellman (voice) 	10 episodes
2011, 2013 	The Middle 	Janet 	2 episodes
2011–2012 	Up All Night 	Nancy 	2 episodes
2012 	Web Therapy 	Kirsten Noble 	2 episodes
2012 	Partners 	Cassandra 	1 episode
2013 	Doc McStuffins 	Rita (voice) 	1 episode
2013 	Happily Divorced 	Peggy 	1 episode
2013 	Enlightened 	Eileen Foliente 	Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
2013 	Hannibal 	Kidnapper 	1 episode
2013 	Jessie 	Col. Beverly Shannon 	1 episode
2013 	Super Fun Night 	Jane Spencer 	1 episode
2013 	Getting On 	Phyllis Marmatan 	3 episodes
2013–2017 	Bob's Burgers 	Millie 	4 episodes
2013–2014 	Raising Hope 	Maxine 	2 episodes
2014 	Bambi Cottages 	Cathleen Burke 	TV movie
2014 	The Spoils of Babylon 	Meredith Sennheiser 	2 episodes, TV miniseries
2014 	Benched 	Judge Conner 	1 episode
2014–2015 	The Millers 	Miss Pam 	2 episodes
2015 	Mulaney 	Markie 	1 episode
2015 	The Spoils Before Dying 	Tricksy 	2 episodes, TV miniseries
2015 	Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp	Gail Dana Starfield 	7 episodes
2016 	Animals. 	Olivia (voice) 	1 episode
2016 	Childrens Hospital 	Paula Reilly 	1 episode
2016–present 	Divorce 	Diane 	10 episodes
2017 	Life in Pieces 	Allie 	Episode: "Chef Rescue Negotiator Necklace"
2017 	Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later 	Gail Dana Starfield 	3 episodes
2018 	The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish	Tish Cattigan 	Amazon Video coverage
2018 	The Royal Wedding Live with Cord & Tish! 	Tish Cattigan 	HBO coverage
2019 	Teenagers 	Ms. Jamie 	10 episodes
=== Web series ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2010	Web Therapy 	Kirsten Noble	3 episodes
2013	Ghost Ghirls 	Joy Button 	3 episodes, streaming on Yahoo! Screen
2016	Rhett and Link's Buddy System	Rhonda 	1 episode, streaming on YouTube Premium
== Saturday Night Live characters ==
=== Original characters ===
* Mary Katherine Gallagher, Shannon's best known character. An odd, outcast student at a Catholic school who enjoyed performing in the choir and school plays. Shannon starred in a 1999 feature film based on the character.
* Sally O'Malley, a proud 50-year-old dancer with a bouffant hairdo, who wore tight red pants and proclaimed how much she loved to "kick, stretch and kick!"
* Circe Nightshade, co-host of "Goth Talk" (with Chris Kattan).
* Miss Colleen, co-host of "Dog Show" (with Will Ferrell).
* Elizabeth, one of the "Southern Gals".
* Helen Madden, an overly exuberant self-proclaimed "Joyologist", who appeared on talk shows with the trademark catchphrase "I love it, I love it, I love it!"
* Veronica Kilvere, an airhead fashion model who hosts the "Veronica & Co." talk show.
* Janette Blow, wife of Joe Blow (played by Colin Quinn) on "The Local News" public-access television cable TV talk show.
* Terri Rialto, co-host of the NPR radio show "Delicious Dish" (with Ana Gasteyer).
* Margaret Healy, a woman who enjoys doing lots of voices and accents.
* Jeannie Darcy, an unfunny mullet-haired stand-up comedian, who ended almost every joke with the phrase "Don't get me started, don't even get me started!"
Category:1964 birthsCategory:American people of Irish descentCategory:Actresses from Cleveland, OhioCategory:American film actressesCategory:American television actressesCategory:American voice actresses
Category:American sketch comediansCategory:Living people
Category:Teenagers (Series)
Category:Bob's Burgers
Category:American Dad!
Category:My Gym Partner is a Monkey
Category:Igor
Category:Hotel Transylvania
Category:Johnny Bravo