Nora Dunn

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Dunn at the Laws of Attraction priemere.

Nora Dunn (born April 29, 1952) is an Irish-American actress and comedian best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live. She was born in Chicago, Illinois.

A member of the famed The Second City comedy troupe, Dunn joined SNL in 1985 with the return of Lorne Michaels as executive producer. The 1985–86 season proved to be a ratings disaster, and she was one of only five cast members who were not fired at its end (the others were newcomers Jon Lovitz, A. Whitney Brown, Dennis Miller, and longtime on/off feature player, Al Franken). As part of the 1986–87 cast including newcomers Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, and Kevin Nealon, Dunn would be part of what was considered the show's second golden age.

Although she never became one of its breakout stars, she was known backstage as a dependable supporting player. Her characters included one half of "The Sweeney Sisters" alongside Hooks, as well as talk show host Pat Stevens (which became a popular recurring role starting in the low-rated 1985-1986 season), melodramatic French hooker Babette, and film buff Ashley Ashley from the "Actors on Film" sketch from the 1985-1986 season. Her many impressions included Ann Landers, Imelda Marcos, Liza Minnelli, Tyne Daly, Joan Baez, Martina Navratilova, and Cokie Roberts.

Dunn made headlines in 1990 when she, along with original musical guest Sinéad O'Connor, boycotted an episode which was hosted by comedian Andrew Dice Clay when they found his misogynistic humor offensive. Soon after, she left the show.

Since then, in addition to numerous feature film roles, she has gone back to television with reoccurring roles on Sisters from 1993-1996 and The Nanny from 1998-1999.

[edit] Recurring Characters on SNL

Ashley Ashley, a pretentious film critic from the recurring sketch, "Actors on Film" (her partner was Jimmy Chance, played by Robert Downey, Jr.)
Babette, a melodramatic French prostitute
Pat Stevens, a model turned talk show host
Denise Venetti, host of "Learning To Feel"
Dr. Norma Hoeffering, a lesbian psychiatrist who writes male-bashing self-help books
Liz Sweeney, one half of a pair of singing sisters (the other half played by Jan Hooks)
Loose Chang, Ching Chang's (Dana Carvey) love interest
Mrs. Campbell, Wayne Campbell's (Mike Myers's) mom