| Melissa Villaseñor | |
| Birth Date: | 9 October 1987 |
| Birth Place: | Whittier, California, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Fullerton College |
| Active: | 2010–present |
| Birth Name: | Melissa Anne Villaseñor |
Melissa Anne Villaseñor (; born October 9, 1987) is an American comedian, actress, musician, and illustrator. First garnering attention for her stand-up shows and impressions, Villaseñor found wider success when she was hired to join the cast of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live ahead of the show's 42nd season in 2016. She then departed SNL at the end of the 47th season in 2022, after six seasons as a cast member.[1]
Villaseñor was born in Whittier, California, in Los Angeles County, on October 9, 1987,[2] the daughter of Mexican parents Guadalupe "Lupe" Peralta and Miguel "Michael" Humberto Villaseñor. She is of Spanish, Basque, and indigenous Mexican descent,[3] with roots in Jalisco and Aguascalientes, Mexico.[3] [4] [5] Villaseñor and actor Mario Lopez—whose Mexican ancestry was also explored on the same episode of Finding Your Roots—are both distantly related to director Alejandro González Iñárritu.[6]
She attended the Catholic Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California.[7] She briefly attended Fullerton College.[8] At 15, she started performing stand-up comedy at the Laugh Factory Comedy Camp in Hollywood.[9]
Villaseñor was a semifinalist on the sixth season of America's Got Talent. Previously, she was selected for the New Faces lineup in the 2010 Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival. She has also done voice work for the animated shows Adventure Time, Family Guy, and TripTank.[10] She appeared on the second season of HBO's Crashing.[11]
Villaseñor first auditioned for the late night sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live in 2009, where she did several impressions but was not hired.[12] Villaseñor was introduced as a featured player on the October 1, 2016 episode of Saturday Night Live, alongside Mikey Day and Alex Moffat. Her debut was an impression of Sarah Silverman in the Family Feud: Political Edition sketch.[13] She is the second Latina cast member after Noël Wells, who is a quarter Mexican,[14] and the first Latina to be promoted to repertory status.[15] Villaseñor appeared between the show's 42nd and 47th seasons.[16]
After she became a cast member, she deleted almost 2,000 old tweets, that she had posted mostly in 2010 and 2011, which some critics called racist. SNL and Villaseñor initially declined to comment on the accusation,[4] [17] [18] but in September 2018, Villaseñor explained that she was "trying to be edgy" when she posted them, and that she did not regret deleting them. She told NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, "I'm flawed like everyone else, and yeah, I just wanted to make sure I was perfect."[19]
She was promoted to the cast's repertory players in season 44 in 2018.[19] Villaseñor left the show at the end of the 47th season in 2022, after six years as a cast member.
Her debut album, Dreamer, a pop-punk/power pop-influenced work, was released in October 2019.[20] [21] She is also an illustrator.[20]
She helped Rob Cantor create his viral video "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song" to promote his album Not a Trampoline, in which she sings impressions of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Björk.[22]
She hosted the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards,[23] and voiced Robin in the radio drama podcast .
In 2023, it was announced that she would voice Nellie Ramírez-Humphrey in Primos.[24]
Villaseñor describes herself as a comedian and impressionist.[25] She has performed impressions for America's Got Talent, First Impressions, her YouTube channel, and SNL including Björk, Dolly Parton, Owen Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig,[26] Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ana Navarro, Sia, Natalie Portman, Macaulay Culkin, Sarah Silverman,[27] Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[28]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It | Sara | [29] | |
| 2016 | Laid in America | Ms. Hopkins | ||
| 2017 | Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown | Tawny (voice) | Direct-to-video[30] | |
| 2018 | Ralph Breaks the Internet | Taffyta Muttonfudge (voice) | [31] | |
| 2019 | Toy Story 4 | Karen Beverly (voice) | [32] | |
| 2020 | Hubie Halloween | Cat Owner Karen | [33] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | America's Got Talent | Herself/contestant | Semi-finalist | |
| 2012 | Family Guy | Nora Ephron (voice) | Episode: "" | |
| 201216 | Adventure Time | Slime Princess, Moniker, Sveinn and Additional voices | 11 episodes | |
| 201416 | TripTank | Various (voice) | 4 episodes | |
| 2015 | Pickle and Peanut | Darla (voice) | Episode: "Francine/Cell Phone Tree" | |
| 2016 | First Impressions | Herself/contestant | Episode: "Yvette Nicole Brown"[34] | |
| 20162022 | Saturday Night Live | Herself/various | Main role; 122 episodes | |
| 2017 | F Is for Family | Additional voices | 2 episodes[35] | |
| 2016 | Jeff & Some Aliens | Julie, Adele (voice) | Episode: "Jeff & Some Preteen Girls" | |
| 201719 | OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes | Drupe, Punching Judy, Potato, Ginger, Mega Football Baby, Shy Ninja, additional voices | 25 episodes | |
| 2017 | The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special | Additional voices | Television special | |
| 2018 | Crashing | Herself | Episode: "NACA" | |
| 2018 | Barry | Waitress | Episode: ""[36] | |
| 2018–19 | American Dad! | Various voices | 2 episodes | |
| 2019 | Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee | Herself | Episode: "Melissa Villaseñor"[37] | |
| 2020 | Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens | Performer | Episode: "Paperwork"[38] | |
| 2020 | Summer Camp Island | Psychic (voice) | Episode: "Susie and Ramona Chapter 1: Susie's Ark" | |
| 2021 | 36th Independent Spirit Awards | Herself (host) | Television special[39] | |
| 2021 | Archibald's Next Big Thing Is Here | Toothy | Episode: "The Tooth Pirate/Zups" | |
| 2021 | Crank Yankers | Jennifer Lopez | Episode: "Adam Carolla, Punkie Johnson & Melissa Villaseñor" | |
| 2021 | Q-Force | Various voices | 10 episodes | |
| 2021 | Jellystone! | Susan (voice) | Episode: "El Kabong's Kabong is Gone" | |
| 2021–22 | Amphibia | Ally (voice) | 3 episodes | |
| 2022 | Reindeer in Here | Candy (voice) | Television special[40] | |
| 2023 | Akna (voice) | Recurring role; 23 episodes | ||
| 2023 | Night Court | Gabby | Episode: "When Abby Met Gabby" | |
| 2023 | Is It Cake? | Herself / Judge | Episode: "That 90's Cake" | |
| 2023 | Candy Cuffs, Babette, Heckler #1 (voice) | 2 episodes | ||
| 2024 | Rock Paper Scissors | Pencil (voice) | Recurring role; 23 episodes | |
| 2024 | Primos | Nellie Ramirez-Humphrey (voice) | Recurring role[41] | |
| 2024 | Ariel | Navi (voice) | Recurring role[42] | |
| 2024 | Max & the Midknights | Millie (voice) | Episode: "Meet the Midknights" |