Molly Shannon

Molly Shannon (born September 16, 1964)

Shannon appeared in supporting roles in several films, including Happiness (1998), A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Never Been Kissed (1999), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Wet Hot American Summer (2001), Serendipity (2001), Osmosis Jones (2001), My Boss's Daughter (2003), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), More of Me (2007), Evan Almighty (2007), and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015). She appeared in the animated films Igor (2008) and Hotel Transylvania (2012). On television, Shannon had roles in Enlightened (2013), Divorce (2016–2019), The Other Two (2019–2022), The White Lotus (2021), I Love That for You (2022), and Only Murders in the Building (2024), winning her first Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for the lattermost.

Early life Shannon was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, to an Irish-American Catholic family. Her maternal grandparents were born in Ireland, with her grandfather being from Cloghmore, Achill, Mayo.

On June 1, 1969, when Shannon was four years old, she and her older sister survived a car crash that killed her younger sister, her cousin, and her mother. Her father, Jim, was driving the family home from an all-day party during which he drank alcohol and subsequently took a nap. The crash occurred 90 minutes into the drive later that evening when the car struck a solid steel light pole (since that time, most light poles have been converted to breakaway poles to reduce injuries). Contrary to published articles that Jim had been driving drunk, there was no BAC report taken. In her memoir, Hello, Molly!, Shannon writes: "There is no way to know exactly what happened that night, though my gut tells me he fell asleep at the wheel."

Shannon attended high school in Ohio, and she attended New York University, where she studied drama and graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1987.

Career Before Saturday Night Live, Shannon worked as a hostess at Cravings restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, and as a food demo girl at Gelson's supermarket in Marina Del Rey. She auditioned for her first big film role and was cast, playing the supporting part of Meg in the 1989 horror film remake of The Phantom of the Opera, with Robert Englund. In 1991, she had a brief appearance in the second season of Twin Peaks as "the happy helping hand lady", and in 1993, she appeared with minor roles in three episodes of In Living Color, the first in a fake TV commercial with Shawn Wayans playing Chris Rock, the second in a sketch with Jim Carrey, playing LAPD Sergeant Stacey Koon, and third being a parody of Star Trek.

Shannon's major break came in February 1995, when she was hired as a featured player on Saturday Night Live to replace Janeane Garofalo, who had left mid-season. Shannon was one of the few cast members to be kept (along with David Spade, Norm Macdonald, Mark McKinney and Tim Meadows) when Lorne Michaels overhauled his cast and writers for season 21 (1995–96).

She appeared in a 1997 episode of Seinfeld titled "The Summer of George", where she played Sam, the co-worker who drove Elaine Benes crazy because she did not swing her arms while walking. She appeared in Sheryl Crow's video for the song "A Change (Will Do You Good)" and played the recurring role of loony neighbor Val Bassett, Grace Adler's nemesis, on Will & Grace, appearing in five episodes over the sitcom's eight-season run. In 1998, she played the role of Emily Sanderson in the film A Night at the Roxbury, featuring Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan who were also cast members of SNL at the time. She appeared in Sex and the City in a number of episodes.

In 1999, Shannon starred in Superstar, a feature film based on her character Mary Katherine Gallagher, an awkward Catholic school student who aspires to be a musical superstar. Shannon had created the character while a student at NYU, and had expanded on her in a series of SNL sketches prior to the film.

During her run on SNL, Shannon starred in the films Never Been Kissed (1999), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Osmosis Jones (2001) and Serendipity (2001). Shannon left SNL in 2001. In 2003, she appeared in the romantic comedy My Boss's Daughter and the television remake of The Music Man.

In 2004, she starred in a short-lived Fox network television series Cracking Up. That same year, she guest starred in an episode of Scrubs and starred as Mrs. Baker in the film Good Boy! In 2006, Shannon was featured in the Sofia Coppola-directed movie Marie Antoinette as Aunt Victoire. The next year, Shannon guest-starred on ABC's Pushing Daisies, and appeared in the film Evan Almighty. At that time, Shannon also made a move to drama, appearing in Mike White's film Year of the Dog in 2007. In 2013, Shannon joined White again, playing his love interest Eileen in the HBO show Enlightened, for which she was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding guest actress.

Shannon hosted Saturday Night Live on May 12, 2007, making her the second former female cast member to host (after Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the first one to have been a cast member for Lorne Michaels (Louis-Dreyfus was a cast member under Dick Ebersol).

Shannon at the Orange County, California, Children's Book Festival on October 2, 2011, promoting her first children's book, Tilly the Trickster.

In 2008, Shannon starred as Kath in the American version of the Australian sitcom Kath & Kim.

In early 2010, Shannon was cast in a recurring role on the Fox television series Glee as Brenda Castle, an astronomy and badminton teacher who has a rivalry with main character Sue Sylvester.

She returned to Saturday Night Live for a special Mother's Day episode on May 8, 2010, and the October 2010 reunion special "Women of SNL".

Shannon replaced Katie Finneran in the role of Marge McDougall in the Broadway revival of Promises, Promises on October 12, 2010, and remained through its closure on January 2, 2011, along with co-stars Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth.

Shannon's first children's book, Tilly the Trickster, was released September 1, 2011.

In spring 2012, she has replaced Pauley Perrette as the spokesperson for Expedia.

In 2015, Shannon starred in the Sundance premiere of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. The following year, in 2016, Shannon co-starred in the HBO comedy Divorce opposite Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church.

Shannon won the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the highly acclaimed drama, Other People. She had two films premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival: The Little Hours and Fun Mom Dinner.

In 2018, Shannon co-hosted the Rose Parade with Will Ferrell on Amazon Prime Video in character as fictional local television personalities, Tish and Cord. In 2018, Shannon and Ferrell co-hosted HBO's broadcast of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as their characters Tish and Cord. Also in 2018, Shannon co-starred in the critically acclaimed Netflix film Private Life, playing prickly Cynthia.

Shannon released Hello, Molly!: A Memoir in 2022. In that same year she Shannon co-starred in the Showtime comedy television series I Love That for You alongside fellow former SNL alum Vanessa Bayer. Shannon joined the cast of the Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building for its fourth season in 2024.

Saturday Night Live characters Mary Katherine Gallagher: Shannon's best known character. An odd, outcast student at a Catholic school who enjoyed performing in the choir and school plays. Shannon starred in the 1999 feature film Superstar based on the character. Sally O'Malley: a proud 50-year-old dancer ("I'm FIFTY!") with a bouffant hairdo, who wore tight red pants and proclaimed how much she loved to "kick, stretch and kick!" Circe Nightshade: co-host of "Goth Talk" (with Chris Kattan). Miss Colleen: co-host of "Dog Show" (with Will Ferrell). Elizabeth: one of the "Southern Gals." Helen Madden: an overly exuberant self-proclaimed "Joyologist", who appeared on talk shows with the trademark catchphrase "I love it, I love it, I love it!" Veronica Kilvere: an airhead fashion model who hosts the "Veronica & Co." talk show. Janette Blow: wife of Joe Blow (played by Colin Quinn) on "The Local News" public-access television cable TV talk show. Terri Rialto: co-host of the NPR radio show "Delicious Dish" (with Ana Gasteyer). Margaret Healy: a woman who enjoys doing many voices and accents. Jeannie Darcy: an unfunny mullet-haired stand-up comedian, who ended almost every joke with the phrase "Don't get me started, don't even get me started!"

Celebrity impressions

Personal life Shannon married artist Fritz Chesnut on May 29, 2004. They have two children.

Filmography

Film YearTitleRoleNotes 1989 The Phantom of the Opera Meg (New York) 1994Return to Two Moon Junction Traci 1996 Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace Homeless Lady 1997 Dinner and Driving Arguing Woman in Cafe 1998 Happiness Nancy A Night at the Roxbury Emily Sanderson The Thin Pink Line Aanl 1998 Daydream Believer Susan Bradley Short film 1999 Analyze This Caroline Never Been Kissed Anita My Neighbors the Yamadas Matsuko Yamada Japanese animated film; English version, Voiceover, 2005 Superstar Mary Katherine Gallagher 2000 My 5 Wives Dr. Van Dyke How the Grinch Stole Christmas Betty Lou Who 2001 Wet Hot American Summer Gail von Kleinenstein Osmosis Jones Mrs. Boyd Serendipity Eve Shallow Hal Mrs. Mary Larson 2002 The Santa Clause 2 TracyCameo 2003 Seeing Double Jo American Splendor Stage Actor Joyce My Boss's Daughter Audrey Bennett Good Boy! Mrs. Baker 2005 Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie Jackie Frost Voice role 2006 Shut Up and Sing (aka The Wedding Weekend) Trish Scary Movie 4 Marilyn Marie Antoinette Aunt Victoire Little Man Soccer Mom Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Mrs. Dennit Gray Matters Carrie Air Buddies Molly Voice role; Direct-to-video 2007 Year of the Dog Peggy Spade Evan Almighty Eve Adams 2008 Snow Buddies Molly Voice role; Direct-to-video Igor Eva Voice role 2009 What Goes Up Penelope Little 2011 Bad Teacher Melody Tiara 2012 Casa de Mi Padre Sheila The Five-Year Engagement Onion Chef Hotel Transylvania Wanda Voice role 2013 Scary Movie 5 Heather Darcy Trust Me Janice 2014 Life After Beth Geenie Slocum 2015 Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Denise Kushner Addicted to Fresno Margaret Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant Emily McCoy Hotel Transylvania 2 Wanda Voice role; Cameo appearance 2016 Other People Joanne Mulcahey Miles Pam Walton 2017 The Little Hours Sister Marea Fun Mom Dinner Jamie We Don't Belong Here Deborah The Layover Nancy 2018 Private Life Cynthia Half Magic Mistress Valesca Wild Nights with Emily Emily Dickinson Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Wanda Voice role 2019 Sextuplets Linda Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Joline 2020 Promising Young Woman Mrs. Fisher Horse Girl Joan 2022 Hotel Transylvania: Transformania Wanda Voice role Spin Me Round Deb Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special Herself Stand-up special 2023 A Good Person Diane 2025 Driver's Ed Principal Fisher 2026 People We Meet on Vacation Wanda Balls Up Burgess

Television YearTitleRoleNotes 1991 Twin Peaks Judy Swain 1 episode 1992–1993 In Living Color Officer Trainee 5 episodes 1993 General Hospital Surrogate Mother #2 1 episode 1994 The John Larroquette Show Vivian 1 episode Sister, Sister Cashier 1 episode Ellen Woman 1 episode 1995–2001 Saturday Night Live Various 117 episodes 1997 The Single Guy Melody Pugh 1 episode Seinfeld Sam 1 episode 1999–2004;2018–2020 Will & Grace Val Bassett 8 episodes 2000 That '70s Show Tiffany 1 episode SNL Fanatic Anna Nicole Smith TV short 2001 Spin City Deborah 1 episode Saturday Night Live Primetime Extra 1 Elizabeth Taylor TV short 2002 Sex and the City Lily Martin 3 episodes It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie Herself (cameo) TV movie 2003 Johnny Bravo Multiple voices 1 episode Ed Linda Berringer 1 episode The Music Man Mrs. Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn TV movie2004 12 Days of Christmas Eve Angie TV movie Scrubs Denise Lemmon 1 episode 2004 Cracking Up Lesley Shackleton 7 episodes 2005–2007 American Dad! Christie White 3 episodes 2006 My Gym Partner's a Monkey Pretties 1 episode The Amazing Screw-On Head Patience the Vampire Voice role; unsold pilot 2007 30 Rock Katherine Catherine 1 episode Pushing Daisies Dilly Balsam 1 episode The Mastersons of Manhattan Amanda Masterson TV movie More of Me Alice McGowanTV movie 2007, 2023 Saturday Night Live Herself Host; 2 episodes 2008–2009 Kath & Kim Kath 18 episodes 2009 The New Adventures of Old Christine Jeannie 1 episode 2010 Glee Brenda Castle 2 episodes Neighbors from Hell Tina Hellman Voice role; 10 episodes 2011, 2013 The Middle Janet 2 episodes 2011–2012 Up All Night Nancy 2 episodes 2012 Web Therapy Kirsten Noble2 episodes Partners Cassandra 1 episode 2013 Doc McStuffins Rita Voice role; 1 episode Happily Divorced Peggy 1 episode Enlightened Eileen Foliente 4 episodes Hannibal Kidnapper 1 episode Jessie Col. Beverly Shannon 1 episode Super Fun Night Jane Spencer 1 episode Getting On Phyllis Marmatan 3 episodes 2013–2022 Bob's Burgers Millie Voice role; 8 episodes 2013–2014 Raising Hope Maxine 2 episodes 2014 Bambi Cottages Cathleen Burke TV movie The Spoils of Babylon Meredith Sennheiser 2 episodes, TV miniseries Benched Judge Conner 1 episode 2014–2015 The Millers Miss Pam 2 episodes 2015 Mulaney Markie 1 episode The Spoils Before Dying Tricksy 2 episodes, TV miniseries Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp Gail Dana Starfield 7 episodes 2016 Animals. Olivia Voice role; 1 episode Childrens Hospital Paula Reilly 1 episode 2016–2019 Divorce Diane Main role 2017 Life in Pieces Allie 1 episode Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later Gail Dana Starfield 3 episodes 2018 The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish Tish Cattigan Amazon Video coverage The Royal Wedding Live with Cord & Tish! Tish Cattigan HBO coverage Spy Kids: Mission Critical Murna Voice role; 12 episodes 2019–2023 The Other Two Pat Dubek Main role 2020 Better Things Herself 1 episode 2021 The White Lotus Kitty Patton 2 episodes 2022 I Love That for You Jackie Stilton Main role 2024 Only Murders in the Building Bev Melon Recurring role The Simpsons Katya Voice role; 1 episode 2026 The Hawk Stacy Main Role

Web series YearTitleRoleNotes 2010 Web Therapy Kirsten Noble 3 episodes 2013 Ghost Ghirls Joy Button 3 episodes, streaming on Yahoo! Screen 2016 Rhett & Link's Buddy System Rhonda 1 episode, streaming on YouTube Premium

Music videos YearTitleArtistRole 2017 "Swish Swish" Katy Perry feat. Nicki Minaj Coach Molly

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2016 AARP Movies for Grownups Awards Best Supporting Actress Other People 2016 Awards Circuit Community Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2012 Behind the Voice Actors Awards Best Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film Hotel Transylvania 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Actress – Comedy Superstar 2001 Favorite Supporting Actress – Comedy How the Grinch Stole Christmas 2013 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series Enlightened 2019 Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series The Other Two 2021 2018 FilmOut San Diego Best Actress Wild Nights with Emily 2016 Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Female Other People 2022 Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series I Love That for You 2016 Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Other People 2019 International Online Cinema Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series The Other Two 2022 1998 National Board of Review Awards Best Acting by an Ensemble Happiness 1997 Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Host or Performer in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Series Saturday Night Live 2000 2018 Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Will & Grace 2020 2021 Pena de Prata Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series The Other Two Best Guest Actor or Actress in a Drama or Limited Series The White Lotus Best Ensemble in a Limited Series or Anthology Series or TV Special 2000 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program Saturday Night Live 2013 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Enlightened 2018 Will & Grace 2018 Provincetown International Film Festival Excellence in Acting Award 2016 Savannah Film Festival Spotlight Award 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Only Murders in the Building 2006 TV Guide Awards Editor's Choice Will & Grace 2016 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Other People