Ana Gasteyer

Ana Gasteyer
Gasteyer in 2026
Ana Gasteyer
Born	Ana Kristina Gasteyer 5/4/1967
Birthplace	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress, comedian, singer
Known for	Saturday Night Live, Mean Girls, Suburgatory, American Auto
Education	Northwestern University (BA)
Children	2

Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002, where she became recognized for her musical impressions and recurring characters. Beyond sketch comedy, Gasteyer has built a body of work spanning film, television sitcoms, and the Broadway stage, with credits including the film Mean Girls (2004), in which she played Mrs. George, and lead roles on the sitcoms Suburgatory, People of Earth, and American Auto.

In addition to her screen work, Gasteyer has pursued a parallel career in musical theater, having appeared in Broadway productions of Wicked, The Threepenny Opera, and The Royal Family. In 2026 she received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the Broadway premiere of Schmigadoon! at the Nederlander Theatre.

Early life

Gasteyer was born on May 4, 1967, in Washington, D.C. She grew up in the Washington area, where she developed an interest in music and performance from an early age. Her childhood was shaped by exposure to classical music training and theater, both of which informed her later career as a vocalist and comedic performer. In interviews, she has cited her early musical education, including formal voice training, as foundational to the kinds of characters and impressions she would later perform on Saturday Night Live.

Gasteyer's family background was middle class, and her parents encouraged her artistic pursuits. By her teenage years she was performing in school and community theater productions, and her vocal abilities became a defining feature of her early performances.

Education

Gasteyer attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. At Northwestern, she was involved in the school's theater and performance community, which has produced a number of comedians and actors who later went on to careers in television and film. While a student, Gasteyer became involved in improv and sketch comedy, performing with student groups that drew from the same traditions as the Chicago improv scene.

After graduating, she relocated to Los Angeles, where she joined The Groundlings, the Los Angeles–based improv and sketch comedy troupe whose alumni have included many Saturday Night Live cast members. Her work with The Groundlings led directly to her being recruited for SNL.

Career

Saturday Night Live (1996–2002)

Gasteyer joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1996 and remained on the show for six seasons, departing in 2002. During her tenure she became known for a series of recurring characters and impressions, many of which drew on her vocal training. Her impressions included singer-songwriter performances and political figures, and she was a regular presence in the show's musical sketches.

Among her best-known recurring characters were Margaret Jo McCullen, one of the hosts of the public-radio cooking parody "Delicious Dish," performed alongside Molly Shannon; Bobbi Mohan-Culp, half of a married pair of middle-school music teachers performed with Will Ferrell; and Cinder Calhoun, a folk singer character. Her time on SNL established her in American comedy and led to film and television roles that often emphasized her singing voice and her ability to play comedically heightened characters.

Gasteyer's SNL run overlapped with that of Rachel Dratch, and the two have remained close friends for nearly three decades since first meeting through the show and the Chicago improv scene.

Film work

Following her departure from SNL, Gasteyer transitioned into film roles. She appeared in the 2004 film Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey, in which she played Mrs. George, the mother of Rachel McAdams's character Regina George. The role became one of her most widely recognized film performances and has remained a touchstone of her screen career.

She has continued to take supporting roles in films and television movies, often in comedic projects. Her film work has tended to complement her television and stage work rather than serve as her primary medium.

Television

After SNL, Gasteyer became a recurring presence on American sitcoms and comedies. She had a starring role on the ABC sitcom Suburgatory, where she played Sheila Shay, a suburban neighbor of the show's main characters. The series ran for three seasons.

She subsequently starred on the TBS comedy People of Earth, a series about a support group for people who believed they had been abducted by aliens. She later joined the cast of the NBC workplace comedy American Auto, created by Justin Spitzer, in which she played Katherine Hastings, the CEO of a fictional Detroit-based automobile manufacturer. Promotional and production stills from American Auto have featured her alongside co-stars including Harriet Dyer.

Gasteyer has also made guest appearances on numerous series, including the TV Land comedy Younger, created by Darren Star, which she joined as a guest star. She has also guest-starred on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Stage and musical theater

Parallel to her television work, Gasteyer has developed a substantial career in musical theater. She took over the role of Elphaba in the Broadway production of the musical Wicked, drawing on her training as a singer.

In 2006 she appeared in a Broadway revival of The Threepenny Opera alongside cast members including Cyndi Lauper and Alan Cumming. She also appeared in an Encores! production of Girl Crazy alongside Marc Kudisch, Wayne Knight, and Becki Newton.

In 2009, she appeared in the Broadway revival of George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's The Royal Family, which closed at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in December of that year.

Gasteyer has also developed a cabaret act featuring a satirical lounge-singer character named September L. Davis, which she has performed in venues in New York and elsewhere.

Schmigadoon! (2026)

In 2026, Gasteyer joined the cast of the Broadway premiere of Schmigadoon!, a stage adaptation of the Apple TV+ musical-comedy series that parodied the conventions of classic Broadway musicals. The production opened at the Nederlander Theatre on April 20, 2026, with a cast that also included Brad Oscar, Ann Harada, and Ivan Hernandez.

Gasteyer's performance in Schmigadoon! included the number "Tribulation," which she later performed on The Tonight Show. Her work in the production earned her a Tony Award nomination, with fellow SNL alum Rachel Dratch also receiving a nomination in the same category for a different production, leading to extensive press coverage of the two longtime friends competing for the same award.

Schmigadoon! was among the productions that won at the 2026 Tony Awards, in a ceremony that also honored Laurie Metcalf. Gasteyer did not win in her category, and shortly after the ceremony her cabaret character September L. Davis appeared in a video addressing the loss and teasing a return to the New York stage.

Other work

In addition to her acting career, Gasteyer has appeared in advertising campaigns and as a spokesperson. In 2013, she partnered with Weight Watchers Online in a national advertising campaign. She has also released music as a vocalist, with her recordings catalogued in music industry databases.

Personal life

Gasteyer is married and has two children. She has generally kept her family life out of the press, although she has spoken in interviews about balancing her stage and television career with raising children. She has maintained a residence in the New York area, where her Broadway work has been based.

Gasteyer has spoken publicly about her longstanding friendship with fellow Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch, whom she has known for more than 27 years. The two remain part of a group chat with former SNL cast members and have publicly supported one another's careers, including during the 2026 Tony Awards season, when both were nominated.

Recognition

Gasteyer's most prominent recognition to date came with her 2026 Tony Award nomination for her performance in the Broadway premiere of Schmigadoon! The nomination came nearly three decades after she first rose to national prominence on Saturday Night Live, and was the subject of extensive press coverage that linked her recent stage work to the ongoing presence of SNL alumni on Broadway.

Her SNL tenure itself was the basis of her early industry recognition, with her characters becoming recurring features of the show during her six-season run. Her musical theater work has also been recognized within the Broadway community: she has been cast in revivals of canonical works including The Threepenny Opera and The Royal Family, and has played one of the leading roles in Wicked, one of the longest-running musicals in Broadway history.

Profiles of Gasteyer have appeared in publications including her alma mater's Northwestern Magazine, which featured her in a 2005 profile, and The New York Times, which covered her advertising work. Her career has also been the subject of retrospective coverage examining the lasting cultural footprint of her SNL era cast.

External links

• Mean Girls movie clips on snip.ninja