Ana Gasteyer

Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known as a cast member on the sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002 and for co-starring as Sheila Shay on the ABC sitcom Suburgatory. Early life Gasteyer was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Mariana Roumell-Gasteyer, an artist, and Phil Gasteyer, a lobbyist who later became the mayor of Corrales, New Mexico. Her maternal grandparents were Romanian and Greek. She graduated from Sidwell Friends School and Northwestern University. While a teenager, she was a talking head on an uncommercial segment (“What is a friend?” Her answer: “Someone you can be weird with.”) of the short-lived PBS show Powerhouse. During her freshman year, she lived on the fourth floor of Willard Residential College on campus and majored in voice. She later became a theater major. Career Gasteyer developed comedy experience with the famed 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 Gasteyer joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. Among her most popular characters were high school music teacher Bobbie Mohan-Culp, National Public Radio Delicious Dish host Margaret Jo McCullen, Lilith Festival feminist singer Cinder Calhoun, and her impression of Martha Stewart. In 2000, she and Chris Parnell auditioned to succeed Colin Quinn as co-anchors of the news parody segment Weekend Update, but the positions ultimately went to Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon. After six seasons, Gasteyer left SNL in 2002. Since then, she has appeared in various television programs and films as well as in 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. She also appeared in the 2005 Showtime movie musical 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. The production opened July 13, 2005. Gasteyer was nominated for a Jefferson Award for her performance.[7] 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. Personal life Gasteyer and her husband, Charlie McKittrick, have two children, a daughter, Frances, born in June 2002, and a son, Ulysses, born in March 2008.