Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970)[1] is an American actress, screenwriter, and producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. McCarthy was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016, and she has been featured multiple times in annual rankings of the highest-paid actresses in the world.[2][3][4] In 2020, The New York Times ranked her #22 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.[5]
McCarthy began appearing in television and film in the late 1990s and first gained recognition for her role as Sookie St. James on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000–2007). She played Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? (2007–2009) before starring as Molly Flynn on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly (2010–2016), for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011. McCarthy's appearances as a host on Saturday Night Live (2011–2017) led to a win for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2017.
McCarthy gained critical acclaim for her performance in the comedy film Bridesmaids (2011) (opposite Kristen Wiig), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She went on to star in several commercially successful comedies, including Identity Thief (2013), The Heat (2013), Tammy (2014), St. Vincent (2014), Spy (2015), and The Boss (2016). In 2018, McCarthy received critical acclaim for her portrayal of writer Lee Israel in the biographical film Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has since starred in the drama miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers (2021) and played Ursula in the musical fantasy film The Little Mermaid (2023).
McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone are the founders of the production company On the Day Productions, under which they have collaborated on several comedy films including Life of the Party (2018), Super Intelligence (2020), and Thunder Force (2021). In 2015, she launched her own clothing line for plus-sized women, named Melissa McCarthy Seven7, and she received a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She made her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live on October 1, 2011, the second episode of Season 37 with musical guest Lady Antebellum, where she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
She returned to Saturday Night Live to hosting for the 2nd time on April 6, 2013, the seventeenth episode of Season 38 with musical guests Phoenix, a French pop rock band.
She returned to Saturday Night Live to hosting for the 3rd time on February 1, 2014, the thirteenth episode of Season 39 with musical guests Imagine Dragons.
She returned to Saturday Night Live again to hosting for the 4th time on February 13, 2016, the thirteenth episode of Season 41 with musical guest Kanye West.
She returned to Saturday Night Live once again to hosting for the 5th time on May 13, 2017, the twentieth episode ans of Season 42, thus making her a five-time host to enter the Five-Timers Club with musical guest HAIM. She made 4 cameo appearances as Sean Spicer during the "Sean Spicer Press Conference" sketch on February 4, 2017, February 11, 2017, April 15, 2017 and May 13, 2017. She has been nominated for an Emmy award every time she hosted SNL and won in 2017.
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- Characters
- Sheila Kelly
- Donna
- Gay Fontaine
- Barb Kelner
- Impressions
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.jpg "SNL Melissa McCarthy (2013).jpg (32 KB)")
