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Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress and comedian. She is perhaps best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Born in Washington, D.C., Gasteyer graduated from Sidwell Friends School and Northwestern University. She got her role on SNL due to her experience with the famed Los Angeles improv-sketch comedy group called The Groundlings. She can also be seen as a customer in the famous "Soup Nazi" episode of Seinfeld, which was taped shortly before she secured her SNL gig.

On Saturday Night Live

Gasteyer joined the case of Saturday Night Live in 1996. She created several well-known SNL characters during her time on SNL, including:

• Middle-school music teacher Bobbie Moughan-Culp (opposite Will Ferrell)
• NPR radio co-host Margaret Jo McCullen of Delicious Dish (opposite Molly Shannon)
• Fast-talking MTV VJ Kincaid
• Daytime talk show hostess of Pretty Living
• A member of the music trio Gemini's Twin (together with Maya Rudolph)
• Lilith Fair poetess Cinder Calhoun

Gasteyer was also known for her accurate impressions of:

• Martha Stewart
• Céline Dion
• Katherine Harris
• Joy Behar
• Joan Rivers
• Sally Jesse Raphael
• Kathy Griffin
• Barbra Streisand (auditioning for Star Wars)
• Helen Thomas
• Hillary Rodham Clinton

Since Saturday Night Live

Ana left SNL in 2002. Since then, she has appeared in various television programs and films as well as in stage productions.

In 2004, Ana played the mother of the main character Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) in the feature film Mean Girls, written by SNL castmate Tina Fey. The film also featured other former SNL castmates, including Fey, Tim Meadows, and Amy Poehler. She also appeared in Reefer Madness.

Recently, Gasteyer starred as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the sit-down production of the musical Wicked at the Oriental Theater in Chicago, Illinois.

After Wicked, Gasteyer starred in a revival of The Threepenny Opera on Broadway as Mrs. Peachum, along with Jim Dale, Alan Cumming, and Cyndi Lauper.

Gasteyer is currently starring as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway for a limited engagement of thirteen weeks beginning October 10, 2006. She is starring alongside Kate Reinders, who Gasteyer starred with in the Chicago production.

Personal life

Gasteyer and her husband, Charlie McKittrick, have a daughter, Frances. Ana was pregnant (with Frances) during her final season on SNL (a first for a female castmember on SNL).

External links

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