Kate McKinnon's Best Celebrity Impressions on 'Saturday Night Live'
Real talk: I tried ranking Kate McKinnon‘s best celebrity impressions from Saturday Night Live, and I couldn’t do it. They’re all just so funny and good that placing one on top of the other felt wrong. Yes, McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton impersonation is arguably her signature—and very spot-on—but her Justin Bieber is also iconic. And her Betsy DeVos. And her Ellen DeGeneres! Plus, there are a slew of lesser-known impressions no one talks about but really should. See where I ran into trouble? So instead of ranking McKinnon’s impersonations, let’s just enjoy these 10—presented in no order—that encompass so much of why she’s a comedic genius.
Betsy DeVos: McKinnon has stepped into the current Secretary of Education’s shoes three times. My personal favorite? Her appearance on Weekend Update, where she tossed in a “potential grizzlies” reference and said Louisiana schools should have crocodile crossing guards.
Frances McDormand: McDormand took home the Best Actress Oscar for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri earlier this year, and with that came McKinnon’s impression of her on Saturday Night Live. The comedian playfully poked at McDormand’s acceptance speech (which was awesome, revisit it here) during a Celebrity Family Feud parody sketch.
Ellen DeGeneres: The dancing, the hair, the voice: It’s all so uncanny that if you close your eyes (and maybe have a glass of wine), you’ll think you’re actually listening to Ellen DeGeneres.
Rudy Guiliani: Interestingly, McKinnon revealed to Seth Meyers back in May that playing Guiliani came naturally to her. “Turns out, it wasn’t as hard as I thought because we have something in common, which is that we both go like this,” McKinnon said, before crossing her eyes. “I’ve been [crossing my eyes] for a long time.”
Penélope Cruz: McKinnon played Cruz during her first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live—in a skit alongside Sofia Vergara—and she didn’t disappoint. Pantene shampoo has never been funnier.
Jeff Sessions: “In collusion, happy Thanksgiving, everyone,” McKinnon-as-Sessions says in this sketch, below—one of more than a dozen she’s done impersonating him. All the bits she does as the United States Attorney General aren’t political, though; she also quips about eating cats and playing dead. Where TF is her Emmy? (Oh wait, she already has two.)
Ruth Bader Ginsberg: Four words, people: You just got Gins-berned.
Kellyanne Conway: McKinnon’s done her Conway impression on multiple occasions, and each time it kills. The most memorable one, however, might be when she riffed off Glenn Close’s character in Fatal Attraction. “I’m not going to be ignored, Jake,” she says to Jake Tapper (played by Beck Bennett).
Hillary Clinton: McKinnon’s Clinton might be the only impression on this list that will make you both laugh and cry. When it was funny, it was very funny. (“Citizens! You will elect me!”) But it also was devastating, especially right after the 2016 election. (That “Hallelujah” cold open is still haunting.)
Justin Bieber: McKinnon first did Bieber in 2014, but her impression didn’t gain a cult following until the next year, when she spoofed the pop singer’s Calvin Klein ad. Three years later, and it’s still just as funny…especially the drum sequence.
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