Kristen Wiig
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Kristen Carroll Wiig was born on August 22, 1973 in Canandaigua, New
York, to Laurie J. (Johnston), an artist, and Jon J. Wiig, a lake
marina manager. She is of Norwegian (from her paternal grandfather),
Irish, English, and Scottish descent. The family moved to Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, before settling in Rochester, New York. When Wiig was
9 years old, her parents divorced and she lived with her mother and
older brother Erik.
After graduating from Brighton High School in Rochester, Wiig attended
the University of Arizona as an art student. She took her first acting
class, as an elective, and was soon encouraged by her teacher to pursue
acting. Years later, she moved to Los Angeles and Wiig worked as a main
company member of the Los Angeles-based improv and sketch-comedy troupe
The Groundlings. As a Groundlings alumna, she joins the ranks of such
SNL cast mates as Maya Rudolph,
Will Ferrell,
Phil Hartman, and
Jon Lovitz.
Wiig made her big-screen debut to universal high praise as
Katherine Heigl's passive-aggressive
boss in Judd Apatow's smash-hit comedy
Knocked Up (2007). Additional film
credits include Drew Barrymore's
directorial debut, Whip It (2009),
starring Elliot Page;
Greg Mottola's
Adventureland (2009), with
Ryan Reynolds,
Kristen Stewart and
Jesse Eisenberg;
David Koepp's
Ghost Town (2008), with
Ricky Gervais; and
Jake Kasdan's
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007),
another Apatow-produced film, in which she starred opposite
John C. Reilly. She has also
guest-starred on the Emmy-winning NBC series
30 Rock (2006), the HBO series
Bored to Death (2009), with
Jason Schwartzman, and
Flight of the Conchords (2007).
Wiig joined the cast of
Saturday Night Live (1975)
in 2005, and was known for playing such memorable characters as the
excitable Target clerk, Lawrence Welk singer Doonese, the hilarious
one-upper Penelope, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Suze Orman, among
others. Wiig earned four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting
Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show. She left the show
in the spring of 2012.
In 2011, Wiig co-wrote and starred in
Bridesmaids (2011), along with
Melissa McCarthy,
Maya Rudolph, and
Rose Byrne. The film was a box office hit and
won several awards, plus earned two Oscar nominations (Best Supporting
Actress and Best Original Screenplay), and two Golden Globes
nominations (Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical and Best Actress).
Wiig also appeared in such notable films as
Greg Mottola's
Paul (2011), opposite
Simon Pegg and
Nick Frost;
Andrew Jarecki's
All Good Things (2010), opposite
Ryan Gosling,
Kirsten Dunst and
Frank Langella; DreamWorks Animation's
How to Train Your Dragon (2010),
with Gerard Butler and
Jay Baruchel; the Universal Pictures'
animated feature film
Despicable Me (2010), starring
Steve Carell and
Jason Segel; and
Jennifer Westfeldt's
Friends with Kids (2011),
opposite Jon Hamm,
Megan Fox,
Adam Scott,
Maya Rudolph and Westfeldt.
York, to Laurie J. (Johnston), an artist, and Jon J. Wiig, a lake
marina manager. She is of Norwegian (from her paternal grandfather),
Irish, English, and Scottish descent. The family moved to Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, before settling in Rochester, New York. When Wiig was
9 years old, her parents divorced and she lived with her mother and
older brother Erik.
After graduating from Brighton High School in Rochester, Wiig attended
the University of Arizona as an art student. She took her first acting
class, as an elective, and was soon encouraged by her teacher to pursue
acting. Years later, she moved to Los Angeles and Wiig worked as a main
company member of the Los Angeles-based improv and sketch-comedy troupe
The Groundlings. As a Groundlings alumna, she joins the ranks of such
SNL cast mates as Maya Rudolph,
Will Ferrell,
Phil Hartman, and
Jon Lovitz.
Wiig made her big-screen debut to universal high praise as
Katherine Heigl's passive-aggressive
boss in Judd Apatow's smash-hit comedy
Knocked Up (2007). Additional film
credits include Drew Barrymore's
directorial debut, Whip It (2009),
starring Elliot Page;
Greg Mottola's
Adventureland (2009), with
Ryan Reynolds,
Kristen Stewart and
Jesse Eisenberg;
David Koepp's
Ghost Town (2008), with
Ricky Gervais; and
Jake Kasdan's
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007),
another Apatow-produced film, in which she starred opposite
John C. Reilly. She has also
guest-starred on the Emmy-winning NBC series
30 Rock (2006), the HBO series
Bored to Death (2009), with
Jason Schwartzman, and
Flight of the Conchords (2007).
Wiig joined the cast of
Saturday Night Live (1975)
in 2005, and was known for playing such memorable characters as the
excitable Target clerk, Lawrence Welk singer Doonese, the hilarious
one-upper Penelope, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Suze Orman, among
others. Wiig earned four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting
Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show. She left the show
in the spring of 2012.
In 2011, Wiig co-wrote and starred in
Bridesmaids (2011), along with
Melissa McCarthy,
Maya Rudolph, and
Rose Byrne. The film was a box office hit and
won several awards, plus earned two Oscar nominations (Best Supporting
Actress and Best Original Screenplay), and two Golden Globes
nominations (Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical and Best Actress).
Wiig also appeared in such notable films as
Greg Mottola's
Paul (2011), opposite
Simon Pegg and
Nick Frost;
Andrew Jarecki's
All Good Things (2010), opposite
Ryan Gosling,
Kirsten Dunst and
Frank Langella; DreamWorks Animation's
How to Train Your Dragon (2010),
with Gerard Butler and
Jay Baruchel; the Universal Pictures'
animated feature film
Despicable Me (2010), starring
Steve Carell and
Jason Segel; and
Jennifer Westfeldt's
Friends with Kids (2011),
opposite Jon Hamm,
Megan Fox,
Adam Scott,
Maya Rudolph and Westfeldt.