Without a doubt, Saturday Night Live line-up. An incredibly gifted and versatile comedienne, McKinnon has an impressive range and a natural talent for voices, accents, and characters. Impressively physical and with one of the most expressive faces in recent comedy history, this multi-talented actress has become an essential part of each show and an absolute fan favorite.
Known mostly for her wide repertoire of zany characters and political figures impersonations, McKinnon has also achieved fame with her takes on several mainstream idols, both male and female, further cementing her place as SNL's current and definitive star.
Somebody's Mom, Deenie
The success of any given Weekend Update character has to do with their appeal to the audience, as much as their chemistry with the anchors. Indeed, the most successful and recurring Update guests, be it Stefon or Bennett Brauer, are the ones that find a way to also connect with the anchor.
As Someone's Mom Deenie, McKinnon walks a fine line between flirting with and grossing out Colin Jost. Whenever she shows up, she brings a container filled with foul dishes, like Brussels sprouts with imitation crab, which she will aggressively eat as she recaps any given show. Since she doesn't know the names of any of the actors, she'll call them by movies they've been in, or physical descriptions (too-tanned guy, curly-hair). The idea is simple, but McKinnon's execution is flawless.
Barbara DeDrew
One of McKinnon's most chaotic characters, Barbara DeDrew works at a feline adoption center called Whiskers R We. The sketch features her and another female character, presumably her lover or girlfriend, as they film a commercial to the center.
The two describe the cats, one by one, making absurd claims about them, such as saying they're masters of psychological manipulation, or into gaslighting. They'll also make ridiculous cat puns, and the girlfriend will fondle Barbara's breasts instead of the cat. In response, Barbara tries to hide the fact she's a lesbian and keep the commercial going.
Kellyanne Conway
Despite McKinnon's steady presence on SNL for several years, it wasn't until the 2016 election that she really shot to stardom, thanks to her impersonations of several key political figures in the race. One of them was Kellyanne Conway, at the time, manager of the Trump campaign.
Once Trump was elected, McKinnon kept playing her opposite Alec Baldwin's Trump, mocking her new role as counselor to the president. In one infamously memorable skit, McKinnon portrayed Conway as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, from It. Titled "Kellywise," the skit was both praised and attacked, and it currently has 19 million YouTube views.
Justin Bieber
McKinnon's ridiculous take on Justin Bieber is both hilarious and surprisingly accurate. Whether mocking the pop singer's Calvin Klein ads, or his irresponsible, reckless attitude, the actress plays Bieber as a childish, somewhat brutish young man, desperate to seem grown-up and experienced. She purposely mispronounces his words, exaggerating his ignorance.
Her physicality for the role is impressive, with her flailing her arms and she is hunching and jumping around, sometimes even running around the set, screaming. Whenever her Bieber shows up, the audience goes crazy, for they know there's about to be some massive laughs.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Another example of McKinnon's excellent chemistry with Colin Jost, her take on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a delight to witness. Adopting a high-pitched voice, McKinnon's savage, no-prisoners attitude provided the sketch with a lot of its most hilarious moments.
Once again, her performance is incredibly physical and a tribute to how tough and resistant the real RBG was. In all her appearances, she says shady things about the political situation at the moment, often delivering the catchphrase, "You just got GinsBURNED!" She then proceeds to stand up and do an energetic dance, culminating with her taking her seat and posing for a little while, before continuing.
Colleen Rafferty
The sketch "Close Encounter" begins like any other, with an extraordinary situation happening to ordinary folks. After being abducted by aliens, three friends get interviewed by the government. Two of them, played by host Ryan Gosling and underrated gem, Cecily Strong, had a wonderful, life-changing experience. The third, McKinnon's Colleen Rafferty, got the short end of the stick. The aliens watched her pee, slapped her breasts and then dropped her onto the roof of a Long John Silver's.
McKinnon's delivery made Bobby Moynahan, Aidy Bryant, and especially Gosling, break character. At one point, the host had to have his line prompted by Cecily Strong, the one cast member who managed to finish the skit without corpsing. Rafferty made several more appearances on the show, but none came close to her first, a sketch that will go down in SNL history as one of the very best.
Elizabeth Warren
The rise of Elizabeth Warren's popularity provided McKinnon with yet another grand opportunity to shine. Playing the Democrat with all the energy of a cool aunt, McKinnon quickly added one more triumph to her already crowded gallery of political figure impersonations.
In one of her most memorable moments in the show, McKinnon paid homage to RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Sasha Velour's wig reveal. Overdoing Warren's most approachable qualities and adopting a low, hoarse voice, McKinnon's impression is hilarious without ever seeming insulting.
Jeff Sessions
One of the most impressive impressions in her collection, McKinnon is able to perfectly capture and satirize Jeff Sessions' entire persona, in a unique, almost perfect way. With an extremely thick Southern accent and the attitude of a court jester who's been given too much power, her Sessions makes outlandish, racist and offensive claims that somehow still prove to be uproarious.
Buried under a great deal of makeup and prosthetics, McKinnon literally disappears into the character. Her bonkers, chaotic take on the man often veers into the extreme, playing him like an actual rodent who somehow became a man.
Ellen DeGeneres
At the very beginning of her SNL tenure, McKinnon portrayed a flawless version of the talk show host, quickly proving she was someone to be watched. Greatly exaggerating Ellen's "nice" persona, McKinnon goes overboard with the dancing, talking and gestures, delivering all with an insanely high amount of energy and enthusiasm.
One of the two characters that certified her as the star she is today, McKinnon's Ellen has made multiple appearances throughout her time on the show. The actress even thanked the host when she accepted her first Emmy Award for Outstanding ing Actress in a Comedy, in 2016.
Hillary Clinton
If there's a character that's most often associated with Kate McKinnon, it's undoubtedly Hillary Clinton. Despite being already successfully played by another of SNL's most talented comics, Amy Poehler, McKinnon gave her performance a fresh, zany twist during the 2016 Presidential Bash.
McKinnon does very little in of physical characterization, and even with her voice. Instead, she simply captures the essence of Hillary Clinton and runs with it. Throughout most of her appearances, she took the opportunity to mock and call-out the severe sexism that still dominated American politics, delivering an astute, relevant and truly hilarious take on one of the most important and influential figures in modern-day history.