Birth Name : Kristen Carroll Wiig
Height : 5' 5" (1.65 m)
Also Credited As:Kristen Carroll Wiig
Born:Kristen Carroll Wiig on August 22, 1973 in Rochester, New York, USA
Job Titles:Actress, Comedian, Impressionist
As one of the stars during the later years of "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ), Kristin Wiig created numerous hilariously offbeat characters - from serial braggart Penelope to mischievous grade-schooler Gilly - that had the live audience and viewers at home laughing before she could deliver a punch line. Wiig immersed herself not only in her subtly deranged original characters, but also in her spot-on celebrity impersonations that ranged from politician Nancy Pelosi's deadpan stare to Kathie Lee Gifford's belligerent morning show antics. Wiig's comic wit and charm also translated successfully on the big screen, with hilarious appearances as a snotty television executive in "Knocked Up" (2007) and a loopy yoga instructor in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (2008). Like "Saturday Night Live" legends Gilda Radner, Molly Shannon and Tina Fey before her, Wiig made her own mark in the world of comedy and proved that being seriously funny was not just a man's game.kristen wiig snl kristen wiig funny kristen wiig extract kristen wiig vanity fair kristen wiig gilly kristen wiig gq.
Kristen Carroll Wiig was born on Aug. 22, 1973 in Canandaigua, NY. She spent her teen years in Rochester with her artist mother - her parents divorced when Wiig was nine - and her mentally handicapped older brother. After attending the University of Arizona, Wiig headed further west to California after getting bit by the acting bug at 23. Wiig was a member of renowned comedy theater troupe The Groundlings, where she quickly rose up the ranks and became a Main Company player within a year. Her improv theater training at The Groundlings, which launched the careers many "SNL" players over the decades, including Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, and Lisa Kudrow, helped Wiig land a role in the pseudo-reality series "The J Schmo Show" (Spike TV, 2003-04). On the show, she played Dr. Pat Lane, also referred to as "the Quack," who pretended to counsel a man who believed he was starring in a reality show.
The actress spent a couple of years acting in little-seen independent movies, like "Life, Death and Mini-Golf" (2004), while making several guest appearances on television, including a 2004 episode of "The Drew Carey Show" (ABC, 1995-2004). Wiig made a huge career stride when "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels asked her to join the long-running show midway through the 2005-06 season. The actress quickly made an impression on viewers with her offbeat and unforgettable character sketches, from the jumpy store clerk "Target Lady" to the precociously evil grade-schooler Gilly. Another one of Wiig's most memorable characters was the fast-talking one-upper Penelope, a character the actress said was inspired by someone she knew in real life. Penelope's widespread appeal with audiences made the role a possible candidate for a feature film vehicle.
Her uncanny celebrity impersonations lifted Wiig from a series player to breakout star. Like "SNL" alum Will Ferrell, Wiig was not content in simply caricaturing a star's personality; she worked hard to embody every detail and mannerism - an eye roll here, a nervous tic there - with each character. Among Wiig's many targets were Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, financial advisor Suze Orman and actress Jaime Lee Curtis. The New York Post summed up Wiig's performances as "playing outrageous versions of people we've all had the misfortune to encounter." Wiig, who was the sole female regular cast member for the show's 34th season, said "Saturday Night Live" opened a lot of doors for her, especially when she parlayed her success to a career on the big screen, which took off after a scene-stealing performance in Judd Apatow's "Knocked Up." She played a snide, buttoned-up television executive who bosses Katherine Heigl's character around. Apatow was so impressed by Wiig that he cast her in his fictional biopic "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (2007), where she played John C. Reilly's perpetually pregnant wife. Wiig and Reilly's comedy theater training played a huge role on set, with both actors incorporating lots of improv in their scenes.
It was only a matter of time until Wiig acted opposite Ferrell, who was the poster boy for character-driven comedies. The actress played a bear handler opposite Ferrell in the critically derided "Semi-Pro" (2008), which focused on an aging basketball player's return to glory in the 1970s. Also that year, Wiig played a yoga instructor in another Apatow-produced romantic comedy, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," which she followed in a turn as a surgeon opposite Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear in the supernatural comedy "Ghost Town." Continuing a busy 2008, the actress showed her versatility in the indie drama "Pretty Bird." In describing to Cinema Blend what it was like to step outside the comedy box, she said that "I [got] to cry and make out with Billy Crudup."
Even though "Saturday Night Live" took up most of her schedule, Wiig made 2009 another banner year. She created the role of Brahbrah, a woman who catches the eye of "The Flight of the Conchords" (HBO, 2007- ) stars Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie. She also starred in the coming-of-age comedy "Adventureland," playing the manager of a local amusement park who hires a down-on-his-luck teen (Jesse Eisenberg) to operate one of the carnival game booths. Wiig's "Saturday Night Live" costar Bill Hader played her husband. The actress was seen in two more movies that year, including "Whip It" (2009), directed by Drew Barrymore, in which Wiig portrayed a roller derby athlete named Malice in Wonderland, and in the workplace comedy "Extract" (2009), opposite Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman from writer-director Mike Judge. In July 2009, Wiig received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on "Saturday Night Live," a category that had her competing against friend and series alum Amy P hler. Wiig found herself in Emmy contention the following year after receiving a nod in the same category.
Significant Others
* Husband: Hayes Hargrove. Married in 2005; separated
Education
* Brighton High School, Rochester , New York, 1991
* University of Arizona, Tucson , Arizona
Milestones
* 2003 Cast in the first season of the Spike TV spoof show, The Joe Schmo Show
* 2004 Appeared in the indie films, June and Life, Death & Mini-Golf
* 2005 Joined NBC s Saturday Night Live as regular cast member; earned an Emmy nomination (2009, 2010) for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
* 2006 Cast in Paul Feig s Unaccompanied Minors
* 2007 Appeared in the quirky comedy Meet Bill with Sudeikis and Aaron Eckhart
* 2007 Co-starred with Will Forte and Will Arnett in the comedy, Brothers Solomon
* 2007 Played Katherine Heigl s boss at E! in the Judd Apatow comedy, Knocked Up
* 2007 Portrayed first wife Edith in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, a parody of Walk the Line
* 2008 Co-starred as Ricky Gervais self involved surgeon in the comedy Ghost Town
* 2009 Co-starred with Bill Hader, as husband and wife amusement park managers in Adventureland
* 2009 Played Jason Bateman s wife in Mike Judge s Extract
* 2009 Played Malice in Wonderland, Ellen Page s mentor, in Drew Barrymore s directorial debut Whip It
* 2010 Co-starred with Will Forte in MacGruber, based on the SNL sketch of the same name
* 2010 Voiced the character of Miss Hattie in the animated film Despicable Me
* Nominated for the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
* Performed as part of the Groundlings comedy troup in Los Angeles
* Performed in The Perks, a featured show at the Empty Stage Comedy Theatre
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