Saturday Night Live Alumni - The Ladies Quiz

Answer: Gilda Radner

The fantastic Gilda Radner was on the show from 1975 to 1980 and brought to life characters such as Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna. Confused and angry little old lady Litella's catchphrase was "never mind". In 1979 Gilda Radner had a one-woman Broadway show that was successful called "Gilda Radner - Live from New York" and was in the play "Lunch Hour".

She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1986 and tragically passed away in 1989. News of her passing made its way to Steve Martin, who was in rehearsal as the guest host for the season finale and instead of his monologue, a videoclip of him and Gilda Radner dancing was played instead, introduced by a visibly upset Martin.

After her death, a series of clubhouses called Gilda's Club were opened in the US and Canada, for individuals living with cancer, their friends and family.

Answer: Tina Fey

Tina Fey broke into comedy as a member of "The Second City", a Chicago-based improv group. She joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in 1998, first as a writer and then head writer. She also co-anchored the Weekend Update segment and played Sarah Palin as a cast member and then in a recurring role after she left the show.

She wrote the screenplay for the movie "Mean Girls", which she also acted in. She wrote and starred in the TV show "30 Rock", wrote "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and wrote an autobiography called "Bossypants".

She has co-hosted the Golden Globe awards several times with Amy Poehler and in 2010 was the youngest person to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Answer: Maya Rudolph

Maya Rudolph was a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" from 2000 to 2007. Prior to joining the show, she was a member of an alternative rock band called The Rentals and was a member of the improv troupe The Groundlings. On "Saturday Night Live" she was known for her ability to portray numerous accents and characters and for her impressions.

After leaving the show, she was in the movie "Bridesmaids" with Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy and she has had small roles in numerous TV shows. She played the judge on the comedy "The Good Place" from 2018 to 2020.

Answer: Jan Hooks

Jan Hooks was a member of the show from 1986 to 1991. She was considered for the show in 1985 but was passed over for Joan Cusack. Long time fans of the show will remember that awful 1985/86 season when actors were brought on as cast members, chosen over unknown comedians.

This unfunny season included Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr. Thankfully the next season the show included actual comedians and Jan Hooks joined. Her most famous character was Candy Sweeney and she had many impressions, including Nancy Reagan, Sinead O'Connor and Tammy Faye Bakker.

After "Saturday Night Live" she joined the TV show "Designing Women" for two seasons. Sadly, she passed away in 2014 of throat cancer.

Answer: Molly Shannon

Unlike many cast members who started in improv comedy, Molly Shannon started her career with a bit part in a horror film remake of "Phantom of the Opera". She had some minor roles in the TV show "In Living Color" and was asked to join "Saturday Night Live" partway through 1995 after Janeane Garofalo left the show.

She created so many memorable characters, including Mary Katherine Gallagher, the Catholic school girl who enjoyed melodramatic monologues and had the disgusting habit of smelling her armpits when she got nervous. Shannon has been in numerous movies, both during and after her time as a cast member of the show.

In 2017 she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film "Other People." In between all that, she also found time to write a children's book called "Tilly the Trickster."

Answer: Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus started as a member of "The Second City", the Chicago based improv group that includes Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Bob Odenkirk, Steve Carell, Shelley Long and Chris Farley amongst its alumni. Louis-Dreyfus was on "Saturday Night Live" from 1982 to 1985.

Some of her memorable characters are April May June the televangelist and Patty Lynn Hunnsucker, a teenager. After leaving, she starred as Elaine Benes on the sitcom "Seinfeld" for nine seasons, appearing in every episode except for three.

She then went on to star in "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Veep." She's appeared in several films including "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." She has won numerous awards including eleven Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, nine Screen Actors Guild Awards, five American Comedy Awards, and two Critics' Choice Television Awards.

She also has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and has been inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Answer: Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman started her comedy career as a stand-up comedienne in New York City and joined "Saturday Night Live" for the 1993-1994 season. She was fired after eighteen weeks and none of the skits that she actually wrote made it to air. After "Saturday Night Live" she starred in the sketch comedy show "Mr. Show" hosted by and starring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.

She has also been in a number of movies, including the independent film "Who's the Caboose" and in the animated movie "Wreck It Ralph." From 2007 to 2010 she starred in and produced "The Sarah Silverman Show" for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award.

In 2008 she appeared on "The Jimmy Kimmel Show" who was her boyfriend at the time and performed a song with Matt Damon about them having an affair.

This went viral on the Internet and Kimmel responded with a song about having an affair with Ben Affleck. The songs are inappropriate but funny, pretty much summing up Silverman's style.

Answer: Kristen Wiig

Kristen Wiig started her career as a member of The Groundlings improv troupe and "The Joe Schmo Show". She joined "Saturday Night Live" in 2005 and left in 2012 and during her time there, created approximately twenty characters. Some memorable characters include Gilly the terrible school girl and Dooneese, one of the singing Maharelle sisters who has some obvious deformities and sings inappropriate lines to their songs. Wiig has acted in numerous movies, debuting in "Unaccompanied Minors" and co-writing and starring in "Bridesmaids." She plays the villain in "Wonder Woman 1984", released in 2020.

She's won two Women Film Critics Circle Awards, an MTV Movie Award, an Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award and a Golden Raspberry (for Worst Supporting Actress for "Zoolander 2").

Answer: Leslie Jones

Leslie Jones had a pretty rocky introduction to "Saturday Night Live". While in college, she contemplated being a lawyer and studied computer science and business accounting. She won a "Funniest Person on Campus" contest and moved to Los Angeles where she tried stand-up but was not particularly successful.

At one point, she opened for Jamie Foxx and was booed. After calling "Saturday Night Live" unfunny, she auditioned when the show was looking for more black performers and she was successful. She was on the show from 2014 to 2019 and was nominated for an Emmy for her work on the show.

She starred in the 2016 version of "Ghostbusters" and hosted a whole series of live tweets and videos during the 2016 summer Olympic Games which went viral.

Answer: Amy Poehler

Like many "Saturday Night Live" cast members, Amy Poehler got her start in improv, first with "The Second City" in Chicago and then with the "Upright Citizens Brigade" which she co-founded. She was a cast member of "Saturday Night Live" from 2001 to 2008 when she left to join the TV show "Parks and Recreation", playing the role of Leslie Knope.

She's been in many movies including "Mean Girls", "Baby Mama" and "Blades of Glory". In 2001 she set up her own production company called "Paper Kite Productions" and co-created and produced the animated show "The Mighty B!" about a badge-obsessed girl scout.

As of 2019, every one of the staff of "Paper Kite Productions" was female.