Ana Kristina Gasteyer (; born May 4, 1967) is an American actress, comedian and singer. She was a cast member on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's ''

Suburgatory ''Suburgatory'' is an American television sitcom created by Emily Kapnek that aired on ABC from September 28, 2011, to May 14, 2014. The series originally aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30 Central following '' The Middle''. The title is a ...

,'' TBS's '' People of Earth'', NBC's '' American Auto'', and the film ''

Mean Girls ''Mean Girls'' is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey. It stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, and Fey. The film follows Cady Heron (Lohan), a naïve t ...

''.

Early life

Gasteyer was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, the daughter of Mariana (née Roumell), an artist, and Phil Gasteyer, a

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

who later became the mayor of

Corrales, New Mexico Corrales is a village in southern Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. First farmed by Tiquex Pueblo people, chosen due to its proximity to the Rio Grande, as documented by Hispano farmers of Nuevo México in the late 1500s. Despite be ...

. Gasteyer grew up on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

, three blocks from the Capitol. Her maternal grandparents were Romanian and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. As a child, Gasteyer was friends with Amy Carter, daughter of then-president

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, whom she bonded with through the violin. She has spoken of how she spent the night at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

as a child, watched ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' with the Sadat family, and saw President Carter "laughing hysterically" as he watched

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

portray him on ''SNL''. She graduated from Sidwell Friends School. She enrolled as a music major at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, and graduated from

Northwestern University School of Communication Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest chartered university in Illinois. Chartered by the Illinois ...

in 1989.

Career

Gasteyer developed comedy experience with the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

improv Improv may refer to: *Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention **Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy) **Musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of im ...

–

group The Groundlings. She played small roles on ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' (as a doomed customer of The Soup Nazi) as well as on the shows ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 epis ...

'', ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'', '' Hope & Gloria'', and ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

''. In 1996, she joined the cast of ''

.'' Among her most popular characters on the show were high school music teacher Bobbie Mohan-Culp; Margaret Jo McCullen, the

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

host of '' Delicious Dish;'' folk singer Cinder Calhoun who sang feminist songs at

Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride (CEO), Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during ...

; and her impressions of

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail business woman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality, she gained success through a variety ...

and

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

. In 2000, she and

Chris Parnell Thomas Christopher Parnell ( ; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Parnell found wider success during his tenure as a cast member on ...

auditioned to succeed Colin Quinn as co-anchors of the news parody segment ''Weekend Update'', but the positions went to

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...

and

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...

. 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 Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera ' ...

) in the feature film ''

'', written by ''SNL'' castmate

. The film also featured other former ''SNL'' castmates, including Fey,

Tim Meadows Tim Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000. For his work on ''S ...

, and

Amy Poehler Amy Meredith Poehler ( ; born September 16, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. Known for her roles in sketch comedy, sitcoms and comedy films, she has earned acclaim and several accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award (out of 26 nom ...

. Gasteyer appeared in the 2005 Showtime musical film ''

Reefer Madness ''Reefer Madness'' (originally made as ''Tell Your Children'' and sometimes titled ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'', and ''Love Madness'') is a 1938/1939 American exploitation film about drugs, revolving around the me ...

'' as Mae, the doomed girlfriend of Jack and owner of the Reefer Den. Gasteyer starred in a revival of ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'' on Broadway as Mrs. Peachum, along with Jim Dale,

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor, writer and presenter. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and an Olivier Award. He re ...

, and

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

. The production ran from March 24 through June 25, 2006. On June 24, 2005, Gasteyer originated the role of Elphaba in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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 Eden Erica Espinosa (born February 2, 1978) is an American actress and singer who is best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles, and San Francisco productions of the musical '' Wicked''. In 2022, she was nominated f ...

. 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 Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

musical '' Passion'' at

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed Shakespeare ...

from October 2, 2007, through November 11, 2007. She was originally cast as Gloria in the 2008

Encores! Encores! is a Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, Tony-honored concert series dedicated to reviving United States, American Musical theatre, musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, E ...

Summer Series production of ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., d ...

,'' 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 ''The First Wives Club'' is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. The film stars Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton as three divorcées who seek retributi ...

'' 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 ''Girl Crazy'' is a 1930 musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Co-leads Ginger Rogers and Ethel Merman made their stage debuts in the first production and Rogers became an overnight sta ...

,'' running from November 19 to 22, 2009. She returned to ''Saturday Night Live'' for a special

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

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 ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...

'' as Larry David's girlfriend. From 2011 to 2014, Gasteyer co-starred as Sheila Shay on the ABC comedy series ''

,'' 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 The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

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 New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

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 Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about the nativity of J ...

''Sugar & Booze'' which was later accompanied by an

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

Original comedy piece titled ''Holiday Greetings from Sugar and Booze'', featuring Gasteyer along with

Maya Rudolph Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress and comedian. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). During her tenure on the show, she appeared in supporting roles in ...

Oscar Nunez Óscar Núñez (born November 18, 1958), sometimes credited as Oscar Nunez, is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as the Dunder Mifflin accountant Óscar Martínez on NBC's ''The Office''. The accolades he has recei ...

, 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

comedy pilot '' American Auto'', written by Justin Spitzer. The show's production was delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and skipped the step to premiere in the 2021–2022 broadcast season. In September and October 2020, she voiced a

red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzz ...

named Nut in an

adult animated An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and ...

series titled '' Magical Girl Friendship Squad''. In 2024, Gasteyer starred as Queen Aggravain alongside

Sutton Foster Sutton Lenore Foster (born March 18, 1975) is an American actress. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical seven times, winning in 2002 for her role as ...

, Will Chase, Brooks Ashmanskas, Daniel Breaker, and

Michael Urie Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC comedy drama television series ''Ugly Betty'' and Brian on the Apple TV+ series '' Shrinking'', a role for which he won ...

in a Broadway revival of ''

Once Upon a Mattress ''Once Upon a Mattress'' is a musical theater, musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway theat ...

''. The Broadway production ran from July through November 2024 at the Hudson Theatre. It played 128 performances. The show subsequently played a limited run in Los Angeles with the Center Theatre Group following its Broadway closing.

Personal life

Gasteyer married her husband, Charlie McKittrick, in 1996. They live in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

with their two children.

''Saturday Night Live'' characters

Original characters

* Bobbie Mohan-Culp, the operatic-voiced high school music teacher (with

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

) * Margaret Jo McCullen, co-host of the

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

radio show '' Delicious Dish'' (with Molly Shannon) * Gemini's Twin singer Jonette (with

) * Cinder Calhoun, a politically correct

singer * Fast-talking

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

VJ Kincaid * Daytime

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

hostess of ''Pretty Living'', Gayle Gleeson

Celebrity impressions

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Web

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gasteyer, Ana 1967 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Living people Actresses from Washington, D.C. American impressionists (entertainers) American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American voice actresses American people of Romanian descent American people of Greek descent Northwestern University School of Communication alumni Sidwell Friends School alumni American women comedians American film actresses American sketch comedians American women singers Comedians from Washington, D.C.