Kristen Wiig: SNL's New Female Veteran

With the departure of Amy Poehler last month, Ms. Wiig has become, during only her fourth season, the most veteran female cast member on the show. Aside from standouts like Gilda Radner, "SNL" has not been known for developing female comedy brands until the Tina Fey era. In the last live broadcast, in December, Ms. Wiig appeared in every sketch but one. Though she may pop up as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or the financial adviser Suze Orman when the show returns live next Saturday, she will most likely, at some point, put aside the impressions and take on a warbly voice and an ugly knit to play someone more everyday.

"There's something about a Christmas sweater that will always make me laugh," she said in a recent interview in a cafe near her home on the Upper West Side, which is woefully devoid of tacked-on flair.

So too is Ms. Wiig, who describes herself as shy and never thought of herself as funny -- still doesn't, in some ways.

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Comments

[ccmd]

she's awesome!!! i loved her as the crazy mccain rally lady and in knocked up!!!

[katedog]

SNL has been dead for years.

[djf1970]

I switch off most of her sketches half way through. She is incredibly annoying.

[katedog]

I agree. All of her characters seem to start from the same spazzed out mold.

[robXdion]

No one will ever top her nervous travel agent character. That is just ridiculous!

[mediamarv]

Just saw her in the film "Ghost Town" for the first time... I think she's talented and has a "character actress veracity" that should do her well. Not quite Tina Fey's looks, so it will be interesting to see how she is used in upcoming skits.

[OKC Mateo]

This is the chick that "Joe The Plumber" banged!!! LOL

[ctekin]

The women of SNL are great. Kristen is funny, and not to be too male or diminish her talent by saying this, but she is a total hottie. I miss Tina Fey and I am going to miss Amy Poehler, and I REALLY miss Maya Rudolph, but it is a relief to have Kristen around still. And it seems like the new ones may have some promise as well - I forget her name but she did the Arianna impression - she is great too!

Welcome back SNL (it was shaky there for a couple of years).

[Ms Fu]

In almost every skit Kristen Wiig is in, she makes me laugh so much my sides ache. I appreciate her originality.

[pinksghetti]

She is so funny!!! I like her and Amy Pohler because they both don't mind acting goofy and immature (which I really like because I'm that way too). As a woman I would like to see more women embrace their inner child because when need to have fun too.

[michaelbisson]

You don't need stamps, you need stermps. They're just like stamps, but bigger.

what a funny lady, eh?

[gerontion72]

funny and hot

definitely a rare combination

[tazmopoliskepticalopsis]

I love Kristen Wiig!

I am so glad that she is finally getting the recognition she deserves.

She's not a "comedian" or "wit" per se (like Tina Fey), but she's an extremely talented comic actress. She reminds me a lot of Catherine O'Hara in that she completely inhabits the characters she creates. I would love to see Kristen in one of Christopher Guest's mockumentaries.

[klondiker]

Kristen Wiig is AMAZING! Her characters - Target Lady, Suze Orman, the nervous travel agent, the weird sister from the Lawrence Welk show, Penelope (the one-upper) - are all classics!! I hope her career follows the same trajectory as Tina Fey or Amy Poehler; she's definitely got talent!

[AndThenOneDay]

'Penelope' was one-upping Lebron James at a charity event or something. "I was the MVP of every game last season, sooooo....." She's a scream.

[obamasandiego]

I like her. She's funny!

[scriptshaker]

I love me some Kristen Wiig. I might take a few hits for this, but I'd love to see her paired up somehow with Mad TV's Mo Collins (Mad TV sucks ass, but I dig Mo). Wiig definitely has "it" and it's good to see her some recognition.