Silke Jasso
Straight, gay, or however you identify yourself, it’s hard not to be in love with Kate McKinnon. Since joining the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2012, the comedian has blown us away with spot-on, sidesplitting impressions of everyone from Hillary Clinton to Justin Bieber to Kellyanne Conway to Ellen DeGeneres to Robert Durst to Jeff Sessions… the list goes on.
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Her hilarious-yet-somehow-empathetic impressions and delightful characters have won the hearts of fans and earned her plenty of accolades — including two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and the American Comedy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
But despite being one of comedy’s most brilliant and beloved minds, McKinnon has managed to keep her personal life shielded largely from the Hollywood limelight. She explained her reasoning in an interview with GQ: “I just… I decided in my mid-20s that I didn’t feel comfortable sharing personal details like I had in the previous few years. And I just have run with that ever since.”
Fair enough. But since we’re such big fans, we’ll run you through everything we do know about Kate McKinnon:
Meet Kate McKinnon: The Pre-Saturday Night Live Days
Kathryn McKinnon Berthold was born in 1984 in Sea Cliff, New York to Laura Campbell and Michael Thomas Berthold. Kate has a younger sister, Emily. Her father died when she was 18 years old. After graduating from North Shore High School in 2002, she headed to Columbia University in New York City.
After graduating, McKinnon came aboard as an original cast member on The Big Gay Sketch Show in 2007. The next year, she began performing in the famous Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York. McKinnon also lent her voice to a number of series, including The Venture Bros., Robotomy, and Ugly Americans.
Kate McKinnon on SNL
McKinnon joined the cast of SNL in 2012. In 2016, she became the first SNL actor to win an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series since 1993 (and then she did it again in 2017). She has been nominated for Emmy awards several times, including once for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics along with four of her SNL co-writers for the song “(Do It On My) Twin Bed“.
Currently, McKinnon is NBC show’s longest-running female cast member. Offset, McKinnon has starred in a number of movies. Among her most notable roles was Dr. Jillian Holtzmann in the 2016 reboot Ghostbusters, alongside co-stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Leslie Jones. Her other film credits include Balls Out, Finding Dory, Office Christmas Party, Rough Night, and The Spy Who Dumped Me.
In 2019, Kate teamed up with her younger sister Emily to release an Audible audio series “Heads Will Roll.” Last year, the comedian announced she was exiting SNL to join their ventures. Alongside Pete Davidson and Aidy Bryant, the stars left some big shoes to be filled.
Kate McKinnon’s Girlfriend Jackie Abbott
We met Kate McKinnon’s girlfriend Jackie Abbott when they attended the 2017 Emmy Awards show together. Jackie Abbott is an American actress, photographer, and clown. We know from her website that she has a BFA in Drama from NYU, and has appeared in a number of commercials, independent films, and theater productions. She’s also into Argentine tango and Capoeira.
Though both ladies have managed to keep their relationship under the radar and off social media, McKinnon did open up about her sexuality during her speech at the 2020 Golden Globe awards. As she presented Ellen DeGeneres with the Carol Burnett Award for Achievement, McKinnon praised DeGeneres for the good she’s done for the LGBT community. “She risked her entire life and her entire career in order to tell the truth, and she suffered greatly for it,” McKinnon said. “Of course, attitudes change, but only because brave people like Ellen jump into the fire to make them change.”
