Cecily Strong

Cecily Strong

Strong at the 74th Annual Peabody Awards
Birth name Cecily Legler Strong[1]
Born (1984-02-08) February 8, 1984
Springfield, Illinois, US
Medium Television, film
Years active 2005–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]

Early life

Strong was born in Springfield, Illinois, and was raised in Oak Park, Illinois.[5] She is the daughter of Penelope Strong and Bill Strong, who worked as an Associated Press bureau chief and is now managing partner at a Chicago public relations firm.[2][5] Strong's parents are divorced. She has a younger brother.[6] Strong grew up adoring SNL as a child, reenacting sketches with her friend[7] and watching old SNL commercials on VHS. "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 transferring for her senior year to the Chicago Academy for the Arts, where she graduated in 2002.[6] She then studied acting at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), graduating in 2006 with a BFA in theatre.[8][9][10] 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.[6] Strong has performed on a "cruise ship with fellow Second City members for four months" . She appeared at the Chicago Sketch Fest, Chicago Just for Laughs, New York Sketchfest, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival,[9] at the Goodman Theater, Bailiwick Theater, the Mercury Theater, and with the all-female improv troupe Virgin Daiquiri.[11]

Saturday Night Live

Strong debuted as a featured player on Saturday Night Live on 15 September 2012.[9][12][13] Strong co-anchored the recurring Weekend Update segment with Seth Meyers, beginning with the season 39 premiere. Strong later co-anchored with Colin Jost,[14] and was replaced on Weekend Update with writer Michael Che, beginning with the season 40 premiere in September 2014. However, she remained a part of the regular cast.[15]

The moment that largely defined Strong as a hit on Saturday Night Live was from Strong's character in “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party”. Colin Jost, who succeeded Seth Meyers on “Weekend Update," also co-writes with Strong "non sequiturs and risqué malapropisms, “Porn Stars”: “Herpes handbags! One out of every four people has it—and so should you.”

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",[16] Dana (one 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, Michelle Rodriguez, Erin Burnett, Gloria Borger and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Other work

Strong was 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.[17]

In 2016, she appeared in a commercial for Old Navy,[18] alongside other SNL cast members Nasim Pedrad and Jay Pharoah. That year, Strong also joined the climate change documentary show Years of Living Dangerously as a celebrity correspondent.[19] In 2016, she guest starred in an episode of Angie Tribeca and Scream Queens.

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 Jennifer Lynch
2017 The Female Brain Zoe
2018 Plus One

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"
2016 Years of Living Dangerously Herself TBD
2016 Netflix Presents: The Characters Herself Episode: "Natasha Rothwell"
2016 Superstore Missy Jones Episode: "Olympics"
2016 Scream Queens Catherine Hobart Episode: "Scream Again"

References

  1. ↑ "St. Andrew's; Spring 1984" (PDF). St. Andrew's School Magazine. Spring 1984. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 Dettro, Chris (January 19, 2013). "New SNL Comedian has shallow Springfield roots". The State Journal-Register. Springfield, Illinois. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2013. Strong's father, Bill Strong, was the Associated Press bureau chief at the Statehouse when Cecily was born in February 1984.
  3. ↑ "Happy Birthday Cecily Strong!!". Saturday Night Live official Twitter page. February 8, 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  4. ↑ Metz, Nina (September 10, 2012). "Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, Cecily Strong join cast of 'SNL'". Chicago Tribune.
  5. 1 2 "Cecily Strong to co-anchor SNL's 'Weekend Update'". Sj-r.com. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013. (subscription required)
  6. 1 2 3 Gomez, Luis (June 14, 2013). "Interview: 'SNL' star Cecily Strong returns home amid dream year". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Cecily Strong Is Being Serious". The New York Times. February 7, 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "CalArts Grad Cecily Strong Added to Cast of 'SNL'". SCV News. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 "Cast Bios". Cecily Strong. NBC. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  10. ↑ Fretts, Bruce (November 8, 2013). "Meet Saturday Night Live's New "Weekend Update" Anchor Cecily Strong". TV Guide. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Cecily Strong". Tumblr. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  12. ↑ Levin, Gary (September 10, 2012). "'Saturday Night Live' adds three new cast members". USA Today.
  13. ↑ "'Saturday Night Live' adds 3 performers for upcoming season after departures of Wiig, Samberg". The Washington Post (The Associated Press). September 10, 2012.
  14. ↑ Morgan, Richard (May 9, 2014). "Cecily Strong and Colin Jost Are Newest 'Weekend Update' Anchors on 'Saturday Night Live'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  15. ↑ Reed, Ryan (September 12, 2014). "'SNL' Replaces Cecily Strong as 'Weekend Update' Anchor". Rolling Stone.
  16. ↑ Fishman, Elly (February 20, 2013). "Questions for Saturday Night Live's Cecily Strong". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  17. ↑ Cecily Strong’s harshest burns in her White House correspondents’ dinner speech, Washington Post, 26 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015
  18. ↑ "Old Navy enlists SNL alums to improvise series of online spots". Campaign Live. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  19. ↑ "David Letterman Will Explore Climate Change For National Geographic Docu-Series". Variety. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  20. ↑ Mike Fleming Jr. "Cecily Strong Joins Melissa McCarthy Comedy ‘Michelle Darnell’", Deadline.com, 28 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5198446/

External links

Media offices
Preceded by
Amy Poehler		 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
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