| Laraine Newman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Laraine Newman March 2, 1952 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Years active | 1975-present |
Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American comedienne, actress, and writer, and was part of the original Saturday Night Live cast.[1]
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Newman was born on March 2, 1952, in Los Angeles, California,[2] the granddaughter of a Jewish cattle rancher from Arizona.[3] She is the youngest of four children and a twin. Her sister, Tracy Newman is an Emmy Award winning Television writer. Newman attended Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California. Newman married actor-writer-director, Chad Einbinder in 1991. They have two daughters, Lena (born 1991) and Hannah (born 1995).
She began her comedy career as a founding member of The Groundlings and is best known for being an original cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live, appearing on the show from its inception in 1975 through 1980. She originated the characters of Sheri The Valley Girl and Connie Conehead, among others.
Newman's post-SNL film career has been in supporting roles and as a voice artist on television and features. She made appearances on such programs as Laverne & Shirley, as Donut Rooter in Devo's We're All Devo VHS, According to Jim, St. Elsewhere, Amazing Stories, Friends, The Tick, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Histeria!, Wayside, Kid vs. Kat, Danny Phantom, Catdog, As Told By Ginger, Rugrats (in "All Growed Up", an episode which would form the basis of the spinoff All Grown Up!, for which she also provided voice work), 7th Heaven, The Flintstones, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Metalocalypse. Most recently she appeared in an episode of Entourage and Brothers & Sisters, provided voice work for WALL-E, Battle for Terra, Ponyo, Jungle Junction, Cars, Up!, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc. She made a guest voice appearance in SpongeBob SquarePants.
She voiced the Wicked Witch of the West in Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz, an animated direct-to-DVD midquel/parallel of the classic 1939 film.
Newman also works as a writer and editor. She is a contributing editor for the online magazine: One For The Table, and she is an occasional contributor to the Huffington Post.[4] She has contributed articles for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Believer and McSweeney's. She wrote the foreword to the book version of the UCB Production "Worst Laid Plans".