| Kristen Wiig | |
|---|---|
Kristen Wiig, 2009 |
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| Born | Kristen Carroll Wiig August 22, 1973 Canandaigua, New York, U.S.[1] |
| Occupation | actress/comedienne |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Spouse | Hayes Hargrove (2005-2009)[2] |
| Partner | Brian Petsos (2009-present)[3] |
| Website | |
| kristenwiig.com | |
Kristen Carroll Wiig (born August 22, 1973) is an American film and television actress, comedian, and writer who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings,[1][4] and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of the Conchords, Adventureland, and Paul. Her voice acting credits include "Ruffnut" in How to Train Your Dragon and "Lola Bunny" in the series The Looney Tunes Show.
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Wiig was born in Canandaigua, New York, the daughter of Laurie J. (née Johnston), an artist, and Jon J. Wiig, who ran a lake marina in Upstate New York.[5][6] Her father is of Norwegian and Irish ancestry and her mother is of English and Scottish descent.[7] The name "Wiig" hails from the area of Sogn og Fjordane in Norway.[8] She moved with her family to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at the age of three. Wiig later moved to Rochester, New York, where she attended and graduated from Brighton High School.[9] Wiig went on to attend the University of Arizona with a major in art.[10] She took an acting class in university to fulfill a course requirement; her teacher suggested she continue to act.[10] She dropped out and relocated to Los Angeles, where she joined The Groundlings while working odd jobs to support herself.[10]
Wiig's work has mostly been in comedy, including performing at the Empty Stage Comedy Theatre.[11] In 2003, she appeared in the Spike TV show The Joe Schmo Show, a spoof of reality television, in which she played "Dr. Pat", the quack marriage counselor.[11]
Wiig debuted on Saturday Night Live shortly into its 31st season, on November 12, 2005.[4] She survived an SNL budget cut,[12] becoming a full member of the repertory cast at the beginning of the show's 32nd season in 2006. Her characters include Penelope, a neurotic attention-seeker; Kat, half of the musical duo Garth and Kat (frequently appearing on Weekend Update alongside Fred Armisen); Dooneese Merrill on the Lawrence Welk show; Mindy Grayson in the Secret Word sketches, Gilly, a highly mischievous schoolgirl; Sue, who can't control her excitement over surprises; The Target Lady, a clerk at the chain store and a kitsch collector; Shanna, an attractive and ditzy girl whose actions and stories gross people out; Cheryl Brown, a TV host for shows that give away big prizes that is always more excited about the prize than the winners; Judy Grimes, a nervous travel agent; Toni Ward, predatory host of the Cougar Den; and Aunt Linda, a hard-to-please movie critic, both frequently appearing on Weekend Update. She has also played real-life people such as Suze Orman, Kathie Lee Gifford, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Christine O'Donnell, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
Wiig was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series[13] for her work on Saturday Night Live for 2009,[14] 2010 and 2011.[15]
In December 2009, she headlined in the Christmas special SNL Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas, which featured new sketches with her character Gilly and highlights of older clips.
Following Amy Poehler's departure in the 34th season to work on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, Wiig was the only female regular cast member on SNL until Abby Elliott was promoted to a repertory player in the show's 36th season.
In December 2008, Wiig was featured in Entertainment Weekly's list of 15 Great Performances for her various impersonations on Saturday Night Live[16] and in April 2009, Wiig was featured in EW's list of the 25 Funniest Women in Hollywood.[17] She also has a role as the voice of Lola Bunny in the series The Looney Tunes Show, which premiered in 2011.
Wiig made her big screen debut in Judd Apatow’s 2007 comedy Knocked Up as a passive-aggressive assistant. She also performed in Jake Kasdan's Walk Hard, another Apatow-produced film, and in David Koepp's Ghost Town. Wiig has also appeared in Greg Mottola's Adventureland, Mike Judge's Extract, and in Whip It, Drew Barrymore's directorial debut. Wiig also had a lead role in Greg Mottola's Paul. Wiig also appeared as the yoga teacher in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall".
In 2010, she appeared in the films MacGruber, the animated comedy Despicable Me, and Andrew Jarecki's All Good Things.
In 2011, she starred in the film Bridesmaids, which she co-wrote with fellow Groundlings performer Annie Mumolo for Universal Pictures, released on May 13, 2011.[18] The film became both a critical and box office success, receiving two nominations for Best Picture-Musical or Comedy and Wiig herself was nominated for Best Actress-Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy at the 69th Golden Globe Awards.
Kristen Wiig was married to actor Hayes Hargrove from 2005 until 2009.
Kristen Wiig won Best Female Comedy Actress at the 1st Annual Comedy Awards in 2011.[19] She was also named one of PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities of 2011.[20]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Joe Schmo Show | Dr. Pat | TV Series: 9 Episodes |
| 2004 | Life, Death, and Mini-Golf | Debbie | |
| 2005–present | Saturday Night Live | Various | TV Series Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series (2009–11) Won – The Comedy Awards – Television Comedy Actress (2011) |
| 2006 | The Enigma with a Stigma | Tux Shop Employee | |
| 2006 | Unaccompanied Minors | Carole Malone | |
| 2007 | Knocked Up | Jill | |
| 2007 | 30 Rock | Candace Van der Shark | TV Series Episode: Somebody to Love |
| 2007 | Meet Bill | Jane Whitman | |
| 2007 | The Brothers Solomon | Janine | |
| 2007 | Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | Edith Cox | |
| 2008 | Semi-Pro | Bear Handler | |
| 2008 | Forgetting Sarah Marshall | Yoga Instructor | Unrated Version Only |
| 2008 | Pretty Bird | Mandy | |
| 2008 | Ghost Town | Surgeon | |
| 2008 | Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday | Various | TV Series: 6 Episodes |
| 2009 | Flight of the Conchords | Brahbrah | TV Series Episode: "Love is a Weapon of Choice" |
| 2009 | Adventureland | Paulette | Nominated – Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast |
| 2009 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Pudgy Beaver Mom | Voice Only |
| 2009 | One Night Only | Karen | Short film |
| 2009 | Whip It! | Maggie Mayhem | |
| 2009 | Extract | Suzie | |
| 2009–2010 | Bored to Death | Jennifer Gladwell | TV Series: 3 Episodes[21] |
| 2010 | The Cleveland Show | Mrs. Stapleton | TV Series: 1 Episode Voice Only |
| 2010 | How to Train Your Dragon | Ruffnut | Voice Only |
| 2010 | Date Night | Haley Sullivan | |
| 2010 | MacGruber | Vicki St. Elmo | |
| 2010 | Despicable Me | Miss Hattie | Voice Only |
| 2010 | All Good Things | Lauren Fleck | |
| 2011 | Paul | Ruth Buggs | |
| 2011–present | The Looney Tunes Show | Lola Bunny | Voice Only |
| 2011 | Bridesmaids | Annie | Also Writer/Producer Pending - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 2011 | The Simpsons | Calliope Juniper | TV Series:[22] 1 Episode Voice Only |
| 2011 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Madame Hag | Voice Only |
| 2012 | Friends with Kids | Missy | Actor |
| 2012 | How To Train Your Dragon 2 | Ruffnut | Voice role |
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