Crista Flanagan (born February 24, 1976) is an American actress and comedian, best known for her work as a cast member on the

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series ''

MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...

'' from 2005 to 2009, various roles in films made by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, and her recurring role as Lois Sadler on the AMC series ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its ...

''.

Early life

Flanagan was born in Mount Vernon, Illinois, the daughter of Bonnie Jerdon and David Flanagan. She received a bachelor of science in theatre from the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

and a master of fine arts from the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

, where she sharpened her theatrical skills in plays including '' Fool for Love'', ''The Time of Our Life'', '' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'', ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' ( opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It pre ...

'', and ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells ...

''. Her extensive background in theater led to the development of Flanagan's one-person show titled ''But wait…I have Impressions!''

Career

''MADtv''

Flanagan officially joined the cast of ''MADtv'' in 2005 as a featured performer, for the 10th season, then became a repertory cast member at the beginning of the following season. Her frequent impersonations were of Alex Hooser, Ellen Pompeo,

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Patricia Arquette Patricia Tiffany Arquette (born April 8, 1968) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut as Kristen Parker in '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987). Her other notable films include '' True Romance'' (1993), '' Ed ...

(as Allison DuBois from '' Medium''), Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, and

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(as herself and as

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from the Disney Channel show of the same name). Crista had a long-standing gag with fellow cast member

Bobby Lee Robert Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on ''MADtv'', and he co-starred in the ABC single-camera sitcom series '' Splitting Up Together'' alongs ...

, where their behind-the-scenes characters had a love/hate relationship. This relationship can be seen in the "Secret Santa" skit, where Bobby proposes to Crista, to which she replies, "I cannot marry someone I have a restraining order against." This can also be seen in the "Celebrity Triathlon" skit, where Crista slams the door after Bobby asks for her help, and she makes reference to not helping him dig up a dead body, but reluctantly agrees to help him train.

Characters

Impressions

* Alex Hooser *

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* Angela Cartwright *

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* Cheryl Hines *

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(then Ellen Page) (as Juno MacGuff) * Ellen Pompeo (as Meredith Grey) *

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(as

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) * Gilbert Gottfried *

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(as Claire Bennet) *

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Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...

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* Lindsay Lohan *

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* Lo Bosworth * Mary Murphy *

Meredith Vieira Meredith Louise Vieira (born December 30, 1953) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. She is best known as the original moderator of the daytime talk show '' The View'' (1997–2006), the original host of the syndicated ...

* Michelle Ryan *

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in a loose parody of

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's " Everytime We Touch" * Natalie Maines (of the

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) *

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Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film '' Perfect Pie'' (20 ...

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(as Opie from ''

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'') *

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* Tracy Hutson * Vanna White * Vivian Vance (as Ethel Mertz from ''

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'') * Whitney Port

After ''MADtv''

After ''MADtv'', Flanagan's most notable television role was the recurring role of Lois Sadler on the drama series ''Mad Men'', on which she appeared for the first three seasons from 2007 to 2009. She has also appeared on ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televis ...

'', ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

'', and '' ER'', and had a recurring role on '' You've Got a Friend (TV program)''. She partnered up with the team behind Ask a Ninja to create a video podcast called ''Hope is Emo''. Flanagan played the role of

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in the 2007 film, '' Epic Movie''. She later appeared as Ugly Betty/Oracle in the "sequel" ''

Meet the Spartans ''Meet the Spartans'' is a 2008 American parody film written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. The film is mainly a parody of the 2006 film ''300'', although it also references many other films, TV shows, people and pop cultura ...

'', and in '' Disaster Movie'' played Juney, a parody of '' Juno'', and Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. She also appeared in Seltzer and Friedberg's 2010 project, '' Vampires Suck'', as Eden Sullen. With the release of '' Best Night Ever'' in 2013, she became the most recurring actress in Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer films. She posed nude in the August 2010 issue of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

''.Starpulse
"'Mad Men's' Crista Flanagan Gets Naked For Playboy"
, July 15, 2010 She appeared in an episode of ''

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013 and is currently available in Paramount+. It focuses on the Hollywood mis ...

'' as an evil producer named Kennedy. Crista plays the title character in ''Hope Is Emo'', an Internet comedy

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

that satirizes the life of a struggling emo girl named Hope. The series was created by Crista and the Ask a Ninja' team at Beatbox Giant Productions.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
''Suburban Blight'' Review
(Crista Flanagan played Wilma)

Crista Flanagan's TV roles and appearances {{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, Crista 1976 births Actresses from Illinois American musical theatre actresses American stand-up comedians American television actresses Living people People from Mount Vernon, Illinois University of California, Irvine alumni University of Evansville alumni American women comedians 21st-century American actresses American sketch comedians Comedians from Illinois Comedians from California 21st-century American comedians American impressionists (entertainers)