All of Kate McKinnon’s shows, projects, and performances are destined to be incredibly funny, captivating, and heartfelt. While for audiences, her work is a chance to escape life’s worries and enjoy art, for her, it’s her life’s work. A comedian, writer, and voice actor, Kate never stops growing and conquering new heights. Read more on newyorkski.info.
Making a Dream Come True
Kate McKinnon’s success story is incredibly fascinating because she has been able to do what she loves her entire life. This luck is backed by hard work, talent, and years of honing her skills. The most interesting part is that Kate started working in her field right after college, but she had been paving her way since she learned to talk. The future star was born and raised on Long Island in Sea Cliff. This is where she spent her childhood and youth, and she went to New York City to conquer the stage, a city she wouldn’t trade for any other. Kate McKinnon credits her success to her family, who supported her in everything. It’s no surprise she grew into such a creative person, as both her mother and father, as well as her younger sister, deeply valued art and chose related professions. While her mom pointed her toward theater, her dad encouraged her imagination, and her sister became Kate’s partner for many years to come.
From a young age, Kate combined many seemingly contradictory qualities. She was incredibly creative, artistic, and active, yet she also enjoyed being alone, preferred reading, and was a diligent student. With her family, the young actress would impersonate many celebrities, rewatch her favorite movies countless times, memorize her characters’ lines, and accompany it all with playing musical instruments, which she was very good at. Since McKinnon was a shy child, impersonating different characters helped her connect with other kids through humor. This is how young Kate found her passion and discovered many advantages in it. In kindergarten, in school, and everywhere she went, she was perfect at portraying different characters and continued to reveal more of her talent on stage.
Kate McKinnon decided to continue her journey at Columbia University, where she studied theater. It was there that she solidified her love for acting on stage, participated in many shows, developed her improvisation skills, and met talented people. The actress considers the greatest blessing of her life to be that she never had to work a job she hated, as she was hired for The Big Gay Sketch Show right after university. At the time, it was everything the actress had dreamed of—she could do what she loved without hiding her homosexuality. Kate simply described her success by saying she couldn’t believe someone was paying her to do funny voices. In reality, it was all preceded by a massive casting call, sleepless nights of rehearsals, endless work, and non-stop filming. McKinnon impressed the show’s creators with her professionalism, wit, talent, and charisma. She had to juggle her final year of university with her new job, but the fatigue was a joy for her, and the project launched her career. 
Saturday Night Live (SNL)
Kate McKinnon’s life’s work can easily be called Saturday Night Live, the show that brought the actress fame, numerous awards, amazing people, invaluable experience, and unforgettable emotions. And she has achieved so much, constantly expressing her admiration for the show and its creators. It all started in April 2012 when Kate joined the cast of the comedy show, a spot she would hold for many years. But at the beginning of their journey together, no one could have predicted such success and the impact the cast members would have on each other. For example, for Kate, the decision to audition for the show was the most painful and, at the same time, the quickest decision of her life, as she had to say goodbye to a stable life and dive into the unknown. But as time has shown, the risk was well worth it.
The actress quickly got into the rhythm of SNL and found another family. Just a year later, she was nominated for an Emmy for the first time, and over the course of her time on the show, she won two of them along with many other awards. Kate gave the show many famous impersonations: Hillary Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres, Justin Bieber, Angela Merkel, and others. She also created original characters who will forever be associated with her, such as the eccentric Colleen Rafferty. This role became incredibly important to Kate because she found many similarities with her own personality. All the pieces just fell into place. The script didn’t need changes, the character was perfectly written, and McKinnon felt the role. The comedy star was skilled at building her characters from the ground up, starting with the voice and ending with the appearance. She had a clear vision of the hairstyle, clothes, backstory, and intonation. Kate’s colleagues noted her talent as a writer and her unique acting quirks. She is very tactile on stage and feels a connection with the audience. Most importantly, she understands the importance of comedy in bringing people together.
McKinnon dedicated 10 years of her life to SNL, and it was a wonderful period. She left the show in 2022 with tears in her eyes, as it was difficult for her to leave the incredible people and the job she loved so much. The farewell to Lorne Michaels, the cast, and the audience was a special moment. She said goodbye to the audience as Colleen Rafferty, who finally made it onto a spaceship.
Kate’s Personality
Kate McKinnon has an incredibly contradictory personality; the actress on stage and in real life are two different people in one body. Those who knew her as a child and know her now can confidently say that she carried many of her childhood traits into adulthood. From a young age, Kate found her own formula for existing in the world and she sticks to it to this day. The truth is, she is a very quiet and calm person. As she herself says, no one would ever recognize her as the funny comedian. To interact with the world, McKinnon began making people laugh. For the actress, it’s always easier to share something intimate with a hundred people in an audience than with her close friends. She transforms into different characters and forgets all her worries. That’s when Kate can be someone else and express everything she’s thinking. In school, her teachers were even concerned that the young comedian would lose the connection between fantasy and reality. But McKinnon stayed true to herself and turned her passion into her profession. After work, she still prefers silence with a good book.
Kate McKinnon is also distinguished by her incredible desire to perform. She enjoys the creative process, teamwork, collaborative brainstorming, and rehearsals. The actress manages to work hard while also taking an outside look at everything that’s happening. That’s why it’s so hard for her to leave a good project. Her departure from SNL was difficult, as she stayed on the show even when she had a lot of other work. She only left the comedy show because her health could no longer handle the demanding schedule.
The actress remains for many people the beloved eccentric she considers herself to be. She carefully crafts her characters, and not many people can get to the core of her personality. However, her close colleagues and friends have succeeded. For her farewell, the SNL team wrote a sketch for her that included the line, “I’ve always felt like an alien on this planet anyway.” The line moved Kate deeply because it was exactly what she had been thinking. The actress is also incredibly empathetic and doesn’t hold back her emotions, which she happily shares with the public.
Other Projects
While The Big Gay Sketch Show was McKinnon’s first experience and SNL was her longest project, the actress has many other works under her belt. Her talent for masterful voice work couldn’t go unnoticed by film companies. She has lent her voice to many cartoon and TV show characters, including Finding Dory, The Simpsons, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, and The Angry Birds Movie. She is also recognizable for her roles in famous films, where she usually plays a fun and quirky woman. Her appearances in Ted 2, Ghostbusters, Office Christmas Party, and The Spy Who Dumped Me brought her great popularity. This work has earned her many award nominations, honors, and a wider audience. Ever since Kate McKinnon became a star, she has appeared in various advertising campaigns and other media projects.
Despite all her accomplishments, Kate is not content with just working on other people’s projects, as she also has significant writing potential herself. Together with her sister, she created the web series Notary Publix and the audio series Heads Will Roll, which were the result of the comedians’ long-held dreams. A project the actress had been nurturing for an especially long time was a children’s book about a mad scientist and children who explore the world together. This led to the novel The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science.
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- https://www.etonline.com/kate-mckinnon-wants-your-head-in-first-look-at-new-audible-series-exclusive-124329