The Women of SNL Are the Funniest People in the Room

“Hello to meet you.” That was the weird greeting I gave Tina Fey when she hosted Saturday Night Live’s 2013 season premiere. It was my first week at the show and I was terrified just being in the building, much less meeting someone I admired so fiercely. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to work with several more of the unfathomably talented women who have helped define SNL’s half century on the air. And while my greetings have improved, the thrill of working alongside them has never faded.

When Maya Rudolph hosted in 2021, I played Sean Evans to her Beyoncé in a Hot Ones parody. Sitting across from her at a bar table, I had a front-row seat to her wondrously unhinged performance. As Maya downed milk like a madwoman, I became so enraptured by how funny she was that I fully forgot I was in a sketch. So much so, I was legit confused when the camera cut back to me.

In my defense, it’s quite easy to become spellbound by the women of SNL. From Roseanne Roseannadanna to the Sweeney Sisters, from Schweddy Balls to Bronx Beat, from Dooneese’s tiny clapping hands to Debbie Downer announcing, “By the way, it’s official, I can’t have children”—their legacy is a mighty one.

The women in the current cast are undoubtedly keeping that legacy intact. I think I speak for all my fellow gentleman castmates when I say that it’s an honor to be outshined by them every Saturday. Each one is unique in their point of view and what they bring to the show, yet alike in their collective fearlessness on-camera and their kindness off-camera. Needless to say, I love all of these whip-smart, enchanting goofballs dearly.

The reason ELLE approached me to interview them is clear: Bowen Yang was busy. And though my prior journalistic career consisted solely of a piece for my high school yearbook, I eagerly took this assignment on, channeled my inner Diane Sawyer, and set my sights on the six lovely women of Saturday Night Live.

Jacket, Etro. Earrings, Cartier.

Heidi Gardner

Mikey Day: What SNL moment amazes you?

Heidi Gardner: There are too many things that happen at SNL within even a 10-minute period to fully be able to even process how cool what we’re doing is. At the finale of my first season, I turned a corner, and there was Steven Spielberg, and he said, “Hi, Heidi, it’s nice to meet you.” And as I was shaking his hand, I saw Leonardo DiCaprio walk behind him. I was like, No, that’s too much at once.

MD: Were you an imaginative kid?

HG: I remember playing pretend a lot by myself. But once I started going to school, I got really good at prank calls, and that was my in at sleepovers. I’d call people acting like the DJ from the big pop radio station in Kansas City and say, “We’re doing a trivia question for the day to win you a pair of free Chiefs tickets: Who starred opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic?” And then everyone would say, “Kate Winslet.” And I’d say, “Okay, come on down to the station to pick up your free Chiefs tickets.” I would do these at sleepovers over and over, probably 20 calls a night.

It turns out, my mom was the radio host’s travel agent. He came to book a ticket, and my mom was like, “How are things at the station?” And he said, “Good, but some idiot keeps calling people and telling them they won free Chiefs tickets, and we have lines down the block and we don’t have the tickets.” My mom knew it was me, and she came home and she was like, “It ends today.”

MD: You’re a fearless performer—I don’t know if there’s anything you wouldn’t do. Are you afraid of anything?

HG: I’m such a people pleaser that I would probably say yes to anything. But what I have a fear of is ketchup. We rehearsed a sketch with a burger once, and that thing was covered in ketchup. I hadn’t had ketchup since I was probably five years old, but I did it.

Jacket, pants, Stella McCartney. Tank, Ralph Lauren. Socks, shoes, Loro Piana.

Jane Wickline

MD: What does the SNL 50th anniversary mean to you as a cast member?

Jane Wickline: I remember watching the 40th with my whole family when I was 15, and it was just such a big event. So it feels unreal to be part of the next milestone.

MD: Which past SNL woman inspires you?

JW: I think about Vanessa Bayer all the time. Her run on the show lined up with my first memories of it. I feel like she’s one of those people who know how to make every​thing funny.

MD: You started out on TikTok. How did that help your comedy writing?

JW: Yes, I was a pandemic TikToker. I started doing it because I really loved writing sketches, and I was sad that because of COVID, my sketch group in college was paused. TikTok had all these fun tools that I’d never seen before, and it felt like a very fun, low-stakes way to just throw stuff out there and try things out. It ended up being really great because I had two years out of nowhere for writing and putting out sketches, and I probably wouldn’t have gotten to do that otherwise.

Jacket, pants, earrings, Schiaparelli.

Ashley Padilla

MD: How has SNL shaped the landscape of comedy, particularly for women?

Ashley Padilla: It’s given women a voice to do their bits and be ugly and funny, at a time when things like that probably weren’t being written for them. If I want to pitch this heinous-creature character, I can do it. We get to speak for ourselves. I was just thinking about that: How cool is it that we get to pitch an idea, and there’s a chance it could be produced and made? It’s incredible.

MD: Who do you admire most among the former women of SNL?

AP: Kristen Wiig comes to my brain immediately because she’s a huge part of why I wanted to do this show. She plays characters. She’s funny. She doesn’t take it too seriously. So she’s a really big deal to me. When I met her, she hugged me and said, “Make sure you have fun.” That is such a thing people forget—that we got into it to have fun.

From left: On Ashley Padilla: Top, pants, Issey Miyake. Shoes, Giuseppe Zanotti. On Jane Wickline: Coat, sweater, pants, Loro Piana. Watch, Cartier. On Chloe Fineman: Dress, shoes, Chanel. Watch, Cartier. On Ego Nwodim: Coat, belt, Miu Miu. Shoes, Khaite. On Heidi Gardner: Jacket, skirt, Max Mara. Shoes, Giuseppe Zanotti. On Sarah Sherman: Top, skirt, Khaite. Earrings, Cartier. Shoes, Giuseppe Zanotti.

MD: What was the most surreal moment that struck you so far?

AP: It’s definitely a daily thing. You’ll be stressed, like, I don’t know if that line works, and then you’ll look up and realize, Oh, that’s where they do the monologue, and we’re just standing here rehearsing. I didn’t, like, cry or anything [when I got the job]. It wasn’t
until I watched Kenan [Thompson] do the audience warm-up song. He has been on the show forever, and has every reason to phone it in, and yet he shows up and gives 110 percent to an audience. I just started to cry. I was like, This is beautiful. Yes, it’s a massive, iconic TV show, but also it’s a theater, and we’re doing it for the audience. No one on TV sees that part. It just felt really personal and sweet, and homey.

Shirt, skirt, belt, shoes, Bottega Veneta. Necklace, Cartier.

Chloe Fineman

MD: What does the 50th season milestone mean to you personally?

Chloe Fineman: The coolest part of this season is getting to learn from and work with all of our comedy heroes. We’ve gotten to watch Dana Carvey’s magic, and hear him say, “I’m gonna go all out for air.” And Martin Short—seeing him is a master class. Watching Andy Samberg get a note on [one of his sketches], I was like, Whoa, this is crazy. If I get a note, I’m always like, Oh God. But everyone does, and it’s these superstars, and they keep being superstars. We all have gone through the same machine, so it’s inspiring to see how people make the absolute most of it, and also how much fun they have. It’s been a lesson. I feel like I’m having a lot more fun this year because of all those people.

MD: You’re a master of impressions. Do you ever wonder what the people you impersonate think of them?

CF: Yes. Nicole Kidman—I’m dying to know if she’s seen my impression of her. At this point, how can you not? I’m tagging her; I’m doing it on the show; I’m doing it off the show. That’s one where I’m hoping I didn’t upset her. Her, and Meryl Streep. A while ago, Reese Witherspoon asked me to moderate a Legally Blonde reunion, which was crazy. And as I was talking to her, she was like, “Okay, I feel like you’re doing me right now.” It’s hard not to. When I see Drew Barrymore, I’m like, [Drew voice] “Oh my God, hi!” You kind of slip into it.

MD: What sketch are you most proud of?

CF: I really loved playing Jennifer Coolidge with Dana Carvey and Ariana Grande. It was the last sketch before Stevie Nicks went on. It was obviously a really fun sketch, but what really tickled me was, there was an audio issue in the studio, so I did this weird, witchy thing where I prayed to Stevie Nicks. I was onstage dressed as Jennifer Coolidge, in full prosthetic boobs, being like, Oh God, please let the audio work—to Stevie Nicks.

On Nwodim: Dress, shoes, Loewe. Socks, Falke.

Ego Nwodim

MD: What does the 50th season mean to you?

Ego Nwodim: Getting on SNL is near impossible, and to be around during its 50th birthday seems like two impossibilities in one. I think the 50th season represents the show’s resilience, and ability to remain relevant and reflect the times we’re in. In some ways, people tune in to know what’s going on in the world right now. Like, Weekend Update is not real news. But it’s not not real news.

MD: You and Heidi used to share a dressing room. What was that like?

EN: It bonded us, big-time. We are so very close in real life. We both say it’s crazy to make a best friend at this age—not crazy, but you just don’t expect to. But in that dressing room, a true American friendship was born.

MD: When you’re dating, do you find dudes try to be funny to impress you?

EN: The best thing a guy could do is just be himself. I’ve had guys try to be funny. I’ve also had guys who are pretty cool, who have been able to say, “Hey, you’re a professional comedian. I’m going to leave that to you.” I am a person who appreciates earnest exchanges, so I don’t have to always be on. So when a guy who’s not particularly funny is really trying, I think, You shouldn’t do that. I say that lovingly. I’m around the funniest people in the world all day long, six days a week, and sometimes I’m like, Yeah, don’t put that pressure on yourself.

Top, Missoni. Brief, Max Mara. Tights, Emilio Cavallini. Earrings, Cartier.