Melissa Villaseñor

Melissa Villaseñor ( ; born October 9, 1987) is an American comedian, actress, musician and illustrator. First garnering attention for her stand-up shows and impressions, Villaseñor found wider success when she was hired to join the cast of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live ahead of the show's 42nd season in 2016. She then departed SNL at the end of the 47th season in 2022, after six seasons as a cast member.

Early life and education Melissa Villaseñor was born in Whittier, California, in Los Angeles County, on October 9, 1987, the daughter of Mexican parents Guadalupe "Lupe" Peralta and Miguel "Michael" Humberto Villaseñor. She is of Spanish, Basque, and indigenous Mexican descent, with roots in Jalisco and Aguascalientes, Mexico. Villaseñor is distantly related to director Alejandro González Iñárritu (a relation she and actor Mario Lopez share, as explored on their episode of Finding Your Roots).

Villaseñor attended the Catholic Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California. As she described to Dana Carvey in interview, she got her start performing stand-up comedy at the age of 15, while at a Laugh Factory Comedy Camp (in Hollywood). Villaseñor later briefly attended Fullerton College.

Career

Villaseñor was a semifinalist on the sixth season of America's Got Talent. She appeared on the second season of HBO's Crashing.

Villaseñor first auditioned for the late night sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live in 2009, where she did several impressions but was not hired. Villaseñor was introduced as a featured player on the October 1, 2016 episode of Saturday Night Live, alongside Mikey Day and Alex Moffat. Her debut was an impression of Sarah Silverman in the Family Feud: Political Edition sketch. She is the second Latina cast member after Noël Wells, who is a quarter Mexican, and the first Latina to be promoted to repertory status. Villaseñor appeared between the show's 42nd and 47th seasons.

After she became a cast member, she deleted almost 2,000 old tweets, that she had posted mostly in 2010 and 2011, which some critics called racist. SNL and Villaseñor initially declined to comment on the accusation, but in September 2018, Villaseñor explained that she was "trying to be edgy" when she posted them, and that she did not regret deleting them. She told NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, "I'm flawed like everyone else, and yeah, I just wanted to make sure I was perfect."

She was promoted to the cast's repertory players in season 44 in 2018. She is also an illustrator.

She hosted the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards, and voiced Robin in the radio drama podcast Batman: The Audio Adventures.

In June 2023, it was announced that she would voice Nellie Ramírez-Humphrey in Primos.

Villaseñor describes herself as a comedian and impressionist. She has performed impressions for America's Got Talent, First Impressions, her YouTube channel, and SNL including Björk, Owen Wilson, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Ana Navarro, Sia, Natalie Portman, Sarah Silverman, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Filmography

Film + Year Title Role Notes 2010 The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It Sara 2016 Laid in America Ms. Hopkins 2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet Taffyta Muttonfudge (voice) 2025 Dog Man Realtor (voice) Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie Sunflower (voice) 2026 Hoppers Ellen (voice) Toy Story 5 Karen Beverly (voice) TBA Post-production

Television + Year Title Role Notes 2011 America's Got Talent Herself/contestant Semi-finalist 2016–2022 Saturday Night Live Herself/various Main role; 122 episodes The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special Television special 2017–2019 OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Drupe, Punching Judy, Potato, Ginger, Mega Football Baby, Shy Ninja, additional voices 25 episodes 2018–2019 American Dad! Various voices 2 episodes 2020 Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens Performer Episode: "Paperwork" Summer Camp Island Psychic (voice) Episode: "Susie and Ramona Chapter 1: Susie's Ark" 2021 36th Independent Spirit Awards Herself (host) Television special Archibald's Next Big Thing Is Here Toothy, Hazel (voice) 2 episodes Crank Yankers Jennifer Lopez Episode: "Adam Carolla, Punkie Johnson & Melissa Villaseñor"Q-Force Various voices 10 episodes Jellystone! Susan (voice) Episode: "El Kabong's Kabong is Gone" 2023 Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Akna (voice) Recurring role; 23 episodes 2025 Win or Lose Veronica (voice) Secondary role Krapopolis Helen, Grandma (voice) Episode: "Love Week"Love, Death & RobotsThermostat (voice)Episode: "Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners" Red Spike World Poppy Arzake (voice) Main role

Discography