Sasheer Zamata (born Sasheer Moore; May 6, 1986) is an American actress and stand-up comedienne. Zamata is best known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live for 3½ seasons from 2014 to 2017. She joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in mid-season 39.[1] Since her departure from SNL, she has garnered wider attention for her leading roles in the TV series Woke (2020–2022) and the ABC comedy series Home Economics (2021–present).
Biography[]
Sasheer Zamata was born Sasheer Moore on May 6, 1986, in Indianapolis, Indiana. She attended Pike High School, and the University of Virginia, graduating with a degree in drama in 2009. Zamata performed regularly with the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York and made television appearances on shows such as Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, and stars in the webseries, Pursuit of Sexiness.
In the wake of Zamata's hiring, two new Afro-American female writers, LaKendra Tookes and Leslie Jones, joined the writing staff.
Zamata is SNL's fifth female African-American cast member, the first black female cast member to be younger than the show itself, and the first African-American female cast member hired since Maya Rudolph, who departed mid-2007 through the show's 33rd season.
Zamata is also the first cast member to have been selected from an audition exclusively for one group of people. Zamata debuted on SNL as a featured player in the January 18, 2014 episode hosted by Drake, in which she impersonated Rihanna. She was promoted to repertory player in the first episode of Season 41.< Some of her recurring characters include Janelle, a teenage girl who hosts a YouTube channel called How 2 Dance with Janelle but is unaware of how her developing sexuality is coming off to viewers, and Keeley, a contestant on an African-American centric version of Jeopardy! called Black Jeopardy! Some of her celebrity impressions have included the aforementioned Rihanna, Michelle Obama, Kerry Washington, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Solange Knowles, Diana Ross, Lupita Nyong'o, and Taraji P. Henson. She left the show in 2017 after the season 42 finale.
Impressions/Characters[]
Characters[]
- Janelle
Impressions[]
- Rihanna
- Michelle Obama
- Solange Knowles
- Nicki Minaj
- Beyoncé Knowles
- Diana Ross
- Taraji P. Henson
- Kerry Washington (as Olivia Pope on Scandal)
- Eartha Kitt
- Lupita Nyong'o
SNL Career[]
- 2014-2015: Featured Player (first episode: January 18, 2014)
- 2015-2017: Repertory Player
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
Zamata's name comes from an alien flower-like crystal in the Star Trek episode "By Any Other Name".
References[]
External links[]
- Official website
- Zamata on Twitter
- Official page at the Uptight Citizens Brigade website