Cecily Strong
| Cecily Strong | |
|---|---|
Strong at the 74th Annual Peabody Awards
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| Birth name | Cecily Legler Strong[1] |
| Born | February 8, 1984 Springfield, Illinois, US |
| Medium | Television, film |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Genres | Satire, political satire, news satire, improvisational comedy, sketch comedy |
| Subject(s) | American politics, American culture, current events, pop culture, mass media, news media |
| Notable works and roles | Saturday Night Live |
Cecily Legler Strong (born February 8, 1984)[2][3] is an American actress, voice actress, and comedian, known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, having joined the show in 2012.[4]
Contents
Early life
Strong was born in Springfield, Illinois, and was raised in Oak Park, Illinois.[5] She is the daughter of Penelope and Bill Strong, who worked as an Associated Press bureau chief and is now managing partner at a Chicago public relations firm.[2][6] Strong's parents are divorced. She has a younger brother.[7] Strong grew up adoring SNL as a child, reenacting sketches with her friend[8] and watching old SNL commercials on VHS frequently. "I had a tape of the best commercials, and I wore it out, every day." She has stated that she was inspired by Phil Hartman.
She attended Oak Park and River Forest High School before eventually transferring for her senior year to the Chicago Academy for the Arts, where she graduated in 2002.[7] After high school, Strong attended the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and studied to become an actress, graduating in 2006 with a BFA in theatre.[9][10][11] After graduating from CalArts, Strong returned to Chicago, where she studied at the Second City Conservatory and iO Chicago.
Career
Strong performed regularly at The Second City and iO Chicago.[7] She also appeared at the Chicago Sketch Fest, Chicago Just for Laughs, New York Sketchfest, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[10] In Chicago, Strong has also performed at the Goodman Theater, Bailiwick Theater, and Mercury Theater and with the all-female improv troupe Virgin Daiquiri.[12]
Saturday Night Live
On September 15, 2012, Strong made her debut as a featured player on Saturday Night Live.[10][13][14] Strong co-anchored the recurring Weekend Update segment with Seth Meyers, beginning with the season 39 premiere. Strong later co-anchored with Colin Jost,[15] and was replaced on Weekend Update with writer Michael Che, beginning with the season 40 premiere in September 2014, but remained a part of the regular cast.[16]
Strong's recurring characters include a ditzy, unnamed pseudo-activist known as "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party",[17] Dana (one half of a pair of retail employees who always insult their coworkers out of fear of being fired), Kyra from "The Girlfriends Talk Show", and an unnamed blond former porn star-turned-model/commercial actress who hawks elegant items. Her celebrity impressions include Allison Williams, Anjelica Huston, Ariana Grande, Sofia Vergara, Brooke Baldwin, Fran Drescher, Jill Kelley, Khloe Kardashian, Lydia Callis, Lana Del Rey, Paula Broadwell, Megyn Kelly, Alanis Morissette, Gloria Estefan, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, Sarah Koenig, Rachel Maddow, Melania Trump, Carly Fiorina, and Michelle Rodriguez.[citation needed]
Other work
Strong served as the featured entertainer at the 2015 White House Correspondents' Association dinner. She lambasted the various news organizations in attendance, politicians of all persuasions, and President Obama. She also took shots at the US Secret Service, host location the Washington Hilton, Brian Williams, Sarah Koenig, and the state of Indiana.[18]
In 2016, she appeared in a commercial for Old Navy,[19] alongside other SNL cast members Nasim Pedrad and Jay Pharoah.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Other Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | How to Sponsor a Uterus | Karen Rigsby | Short film |
| 2015 | The Bronze | Janice Townsend | |
| 2015 | Slow Learners | Amber the ex | |
| 2015 | The Meddler | Jillian | |
| 2015 | Staten Island Summer | Mary Ellen | |
| 2016 | The Boss[20] | Dana Dandridge | |
| 2016 | Ghostbusters | TBA | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Other Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Mad TV | Recurring Extra | Recurring role |
| 2012–present | Saturday Night Live | Herself, Various | Main cast |
| 2012 | Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday | Various | 2 episodes |
| 2013–2015 | The Awesomes | Various Voices | 13 episodes |
| 2015 | White House Correspondents' Dinner | Herself (host) | TV special |
| 2016 | Angie Tribeca | Samantha Stevens | Episode: "Tribeca's Day Off" |
References
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- ↑ Reed, Ryan (September 12, 2014). "'SNL' Replaces Cecily Strong as 'Weekend Update' Anchor". Rolling Stone.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Cecily Strong’s harshest burns in her White House correspondents’ dinner speech from Washington Post, 26 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015
- ↑ http://www.campaignlive.com/article/old-navy-enlists-snl-alums-improvise-series-online-spots/1393554
- ↑ Mike Fleming Jr "Cecily Strong Joins Melissa McCarthy Comedy ‘Michelle Darnell’" from Deadline.com, 28 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015
External links
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Weekend Update anchor with Seth Meyers 2013–2014 |
Succeeded by Cecily Strong and Colin Jost |
| Preceded by
Seth Meyers and Cecily Strong
|
Weekend Update anchor with Colin Jost March 1 – May 17, 2014 |
Succeeded by Colin Jost and Michael Che |
- Pages containing links to subscription-only content
- Articles with unsourced statements from September 2014
- 1984 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American actresses
- Actresses from Illinois
- American impressionists (entertainers)
- American television actresses
- American women comedians
- California Institute of the Arts alumni
- Actors from Oak Park, Illinois
- People from Springfield, Illinois
- American sketch comedians
