Melissa Anne Villaseñor ( ; born October 9, 1987) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, impressionist, artist, singer, and musician. Villaseñor was a cast member on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sketch comedy series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' from

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

. Her other credits include voice work on ''

Adventure Time ''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...

'', '' OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes'', '' Family Guy'', and '' TripTank''.

Early life

Villaseñor was born in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 census figure. Whittier was incorporated in ...

, in Los Angeles County, on October 9, 1987, the daughter of Mexican parents Guadalupe "Lupe" Peralta and Miguel "Michael" Humberto Villaseñor. She is of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

, and indigenous Mexican descent,Stated on '' Finding Your Roots'', February 1, 2022. with roots in Jalisco and Aguascalientes,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. (She also has 2% Sub-Saharan African DNA.) Villaseñor and actor

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on '' Saved by the Bell'', '' Saved by the Bell ...

—whose Mexican ancestry was also explored on the same episode of '' Finding Your Roots—''are genetically connected to director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. She attended the Catholic

Ramona Convent Secondary School Ramona Convent Secondary School is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school for girls grades 9–12, located in Alhambra, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. Sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. Established in 1 ...

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11 ...

. At 15, she started performing stand-up comedy at the Laugh Factory Comedy Camp in Hollywood.

Career

Villaseñor was a semifinalist on the sixth season of '' America's Got Talent''. Previously, she was selected for the New Faces lineup in the 2010 Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival. She has also done voice work for the animated shows ''

'', '' Family Guy'', and '' TripTank''. She appeared on the second season of HBO's '' Crashing''. Villaseñor first auditioned for the late night sketch comedy/variety show ''

'' in 2009, where she did several impressions but was not hired. Villaseñor was introduced as a featured player on the October 1, 2016 episode of ''

'', during the show's

to 47th season. alongside

Mikey Day Michael William Day (born March 20, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host of the Netflix show '' Is It Cake?'' He joined ''Saturday Night Live'' as a writer in its 39th season, became a featured player in i ...

and Alex Moffat. Her debut was an impression of

Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Silverman was a writer and performer on ''Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced '' The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 to ...

in the ''

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, th ...

: Political Edition'' sketch. She is the second Latina cast member after Noël Wells, who is a quarter Mexican, and the first Latina to be promoted to repertory status. After she became a cast member, she deleted almost 2,000 old tweets, that she had been posted mostly in 2010 and 2011, which some critics called racist. ''SNL'' and Villaseñor initially declined to comment on the accusation, but in September 2018, Villaseñor explained that she was "trying to be edgy" when she posted them, and that she did not regret deleting them. She told

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's '' Weekend Edition Saturday'', "I'm flawed like everyone else, and yeah, I just wanted to make sure I was perfect." She was promoted to the cast's repertory players in season 44 in 2018. Villaseñor left the show at the end of the 47th season in 2022, after six years as a cast member. Her debut album, ''Dreamer'', a

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and c ...

-influenced work, was released in October 2019. She is also an illustrator. She helped Rob Cantor create his viral "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song" video to promote his album ''Not a Trampoline'', in which she sings impressions of Britney Spears,

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

, and Björk. She hosted the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards, and voiced Robin in the radio drama podcast '' Batman: The Audio Adventures''. Villaseñor describes herself as a comedian and impressionist. She has performed impressions for '' America's Got Talent'', '' First Impressions'', her

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel, and ''SNL'' including Björk,

Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and '' The Royal ...

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, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez,

Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her character work and celebrity impressions on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (2012–2022), of which she was a cas ...

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, Britney Spears,

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...

Ana Navarro Ana Violeta Navarro-Cárdenas (née Navarro Flores;Stated on ''Finding Your Roots'', November 14, 2017 born December 28, 1971) is a Nicaraguan-American political strategist and commentator. She appears on various television programs and news ou ...

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Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...

, Dua Lipa and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Filmography

Discography

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Villasenor, Melissa 1987 births Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from California American actresses of Mexican descent American film actresses American impressionists (entertainers) American sketch comedians American stand-up comedians American television actresses American voice actresses American women comedians American women podcasters American podcasters Comedians from California Hispanic and Latino American actresses 21st-century American comedians American ukulele players 21st-century American singers Songwriters from California 21st-century American women writers America's Got Talent contestants