Earlier this month, NBC announced it was adding impressionist, comedian and America’s Got Talent Season finalist Melissa Villaseñor as the first Latina cast member of the long-running comedy sketch show. Who is this multi-talented Latina? Here are the essentials.
1. Melissa Villaseñor is of Mexican descent and was born on October 9, 1987 in Whittier, California.
2. It took nine years after Villaseñor first auditioned for Saturday Night Live to land her dream job.
“SNL is one of the main reasons why I started comedy at 15 and I pray to be there someday when I am ready,” she wrote on her Facebook page when she was told she didn’t get selected to join the cast in 2009.
3. In 2011, she was a top 16 finalist on Season 6 of "America's Got Talent." Villaseñor impressed the show's judges with her rapid-fire impersonations of Barbara Walters, Natalie Portman, Miley Cyrus and Christina Aguilera and many more.
4. Her voice credits include Cartoon Network's, Adventure Time. Her credits also include work on Family Guy, Comedy Central's Trip Tank, and has headlined over 100 clubs and colleges around the country.
6. She has had two different one woman shows both directed by Ron Lynch at Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood.
7. She is a master impressionist. Her Owen Wilson impersonation is, well, awesome.
8. Melissa recently partnered with Broadway Video's latest network Mas Mejor, the premium comedy studio powered by Latino voices. As part of her ongoing series, "Daily Itineraries," her impression of Jennifer Lopez is hilarious. Watch below!
9. For her SNL debut on October 1, 2016, Villaseñor appeared in the sketch, “Family Feud, Political Edition,” The Feud bit pitted Trump and Hillary supporters against one another in the classic game show set-up, giving her the chance to unpack her spot-on Sarah Silverman impression.
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