Last month, lesbian queen of all the land Kate McKinnon exited Saturday Night Live after 10 years. With a promising career outside the acclaimed comedy sketch show, McKinnon is sure to become even more of a household name like other SNL alumni. McKinnon was a fan favorite from the start, whether she impersonated a celebrity, politician, or a character of her own imagination. While her impersonations appeared in many sketches, her characters appeared on The Weekend Update many times, cementing her ability to make everyone on the set break character.
Debette Goldry first appeared on SNL in 2016 on the skit “Actress Round Tables”. The co-CEO of Whiskers R We, Barbara DeDrew appeared a total of eight times during McKinnon’s run on SNL. She only appeared once, but Cecelia Gimenez is regarded as one of McKinnon’s best characters. Appearing six times between 2015 and 2017, Olya Povlatsky was a great guest on Weekend Update. Colleen Rafferty hardly needs any introduction and is one of McKinnon’s best characters. Her impressions of every politician are impeccable, but her best one is of 2016 presidential candidate Hilary Clinton. Finally, a Weekend Update favorite during the pandemic, Dr. Wenowdis made Colin Jost break every time.
7 Debette Goldry
A fan favorite impersonation is of famous actress Debbette Goldry. She is often on panels discussing old Hollywood alongside younger actresses, portrayed by SNL peers, giving a more colorful commentary. Like in this skit with Aidy Bryant, Leslie Jones, and Cecily Strong on SNL’s YouTube. Debette cannot remember anyone’s name on the panel, calling Marion Cotillard “Macaroni Cocoa Cabana”. In other skits, she is shocked that her fellow panelists don’t have to do degrading things or endure the misogyny like she did in the olden days.
6 Barbara DeDrew
Another skit character McKinnon portrays is Barbara DeDrew, an employee for a cat adoption agency. The skits mimic pet adoption moments on news channels, with Barbara’s co-workers, typically the host of the show, having a feline-themed name. Like when Tiffany Haddish hosted, her feline-themed name was Claw-dia. Barbara is a beloved character because each cat she presents for adoption is made into a cute joke. In one skit with SNL alum Kristen Wiig, she tells the viewers that you can tell the cat is Himalayan because you can find "him-a-layin’" on the couch. While McKinnon is typically causing others to break on SNL, these skits often leave her breaking character.
5 Cecilia Gimenez
Our first Weekend Update character is Cecilia Gimenez. Cecelia masterfully came into fans hearts with her restoration of the painting, Ecce Homo, a painting of Jesus Christ. Based on real events, the fresco was ruined during restoration and was referred to by many names like “Potato Jesus”, according to The Travel Blogs. McKinnon reprised the role of Cecelia in 2017 over the controversy of the Cristiano Ronaldo bust made in Portugal. Though the real Cecelia had nothing to do with the botched bust of the famed soccer player, the genius SNL is the return of a character that could have been a one-time appearance. During Weekend Update, Cecilia discusses the perfection of the bust then reaches over to Colin Jost to make him laugh.
4 Olya Povlatsky
Our second Weekend Update commentator is Olya Pavlotsky. Olya is from a Russian village so small and terrible that everyone wants to die. Her first appearance on Weekend Update is with host Seth Meyers, discussing the meteor that hit Russia. When Cecily Strong was the host of Weekend update, she returned and criticized the attacks on Ukraine back in 2014. Each appearance McKinnon makes as Olya perfectly challenges the way Russians are portrayed in the media, while also relying on those tropes. For example, one of SNL’s cold opens featured Beck Bennet portraying the Russian president calling upon a Russian citizen who happened to be Olya. The sketch relies upon the tropes used to portray Russians while balancing the gravity of the emotions Americans were feeling at the time with perfect comedic timing from McKinnon.
3 Colleen Rafferty
A fan favorite is the alien abductee, Colleen Rafferty. Colleen first appeared in a cold open, discussing a vastly different experience with intelligent life than her fellow abductees. With such an iconic character, it was only appropriate for McKinnon to say goodbye to SNL as Colleen. According to People, McKinnon said, “Well, Earth, I love you. Thank you for letting me stay awhile,” before delivering the “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” line. On SNL’s YouTube page is the first appearance of McKinnon as Colleen alongside Cecily Strong and, host for the evening, Ryan Gosling. Not only did McKinnon break character, she caused Gosling and Aidy Bryant, who is a government official in the scene, to break character the most.
2 Hilary Clinton
McKinnon portrayed Hilary Clinton the most during the 2016 presidential election. Before portraying the political icon, McKinnon told Yahoo! Entertainment that she wanted to portray Clinton as an experienced politician who is also a Midwestern sweetie. One of the most iconic portrayals of Clinton was when McKinnon, in the trademark pantsuit, goes to a bar and asks the barkeep for a drink. The barkeep, Val, is the indelible Clinton herself. Another iconic portrayal of Clinton features McKinnon and Amy Poehler, both as Clinton. The skit shows Poehler warning Clinton of repeating past mistakes, mimicking the ghost of Christmas past from A Christmas Carol.
1 Dr. Wenowdis
The best character McKinnon portrayed is Doctor Wenowdis, Greek for "we know this." Dr. Wenowdis is a medical correspondent on Weekend Update that comments "we know this" while Jost explains medical situations. One appearance of Dr. Wenowdis clarifies a lot of the misconceptions surrounding COVID-19. Dr. Wenowdis gives Jost a medical exam, causing Jost to break character, saying, “Kate? Are you okay?” Dr. Wenowdis is to Jost what Stefon, played by SNL alum Bill Hader, was to Seth Meyers. The character is meant to inform, but typically causes one or, more often, both comedians to break down in laughter. While Dr. Wenowdis may have been a comic relief to the pandemic, they will forever remain one of McKinnon’s best characters due to her genius comedic timing and physicality while performing.