Melissa Villaseñor

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Melissa Villaseñor
File:Melissa Villasenor (Sad People Talking) 6843626905.jpg
Villaseñor in February 2012
Birth name Melissa Anne Villaseñor
Born (1987-10-09) October 9, 1987 (age 37)
Whittier, California, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
  • music
Education Fullerton College
Years active 2010–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Website melissavillasenor.com

Melissa Anne Villaseñor (/ˌviːjəsɪnˈjɔːr/ VEE-yə-SIN-yor; born October 9, 1987) is an American comedian and actress. 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]

Early life

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] (She also has 2% Sub-Saharan African DNA.[3]) 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 G. 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]

Career

File:Melissa Villasenor - 8518178624.jpg
Villaseñor in 2013

Villaseñor was a semifinalist on the sixth season of America's Got Talent.[5] 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, and appeared between the show's 42nd and 47th seasons.[13] alongside Mikey Day and Alex Moffat. Her debut was an impression of Sarah Silverman in the Family Feud: Political Edition sketch.[14] She is the second Latina cast member after Noël Wells, who is a quarter Mexican,[15] and the first Latina to be promoted to repertory status.[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 "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song" video 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 Batman: The Audio Adventures.

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, Owen Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig,[26] Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ana Navarro, Natalie Portman, Macaulay Culkin, Sarah Silverman,[27] Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[28]

Filmography

Melissa Villaseñor film work
Year Title Role Notes
2010 The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It[29] Sara
2016 Laid in America[5] Ms. Hopkins
2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet[30] Taffyta Muttonfudge (voice)
2019 Toy Story 4[31] Karen Beverly (voice)
2020 Hubie Halloween Cat Owner Karen
Melissa Villaseñor television work
Year Title Role Notes
2011 America's Got Talent[5] Herself/contestant Semi-finalist
2012 Family Guy[29] Nora Ephron (voice) Episode: "Tom Tucker: The Man and His Dream"
2012–16 Adventure Time[29] Slime Princess, Moniker, Sveinn and Additional voices 11 episodes
2014–16 TripTank[29] Various (voice) 4 episodes
2015 Pickle and Peanut[29] Darla (voice) Episode: "Francine/Cell Phone Tree"
2016 First Impressions[32] Herself/contestant Episode: "Yvette Nicole Brown"
2016–2022 Saturday Night Live[29][19] Herself/various 122 episodes
2017 F Is for Family[33] Additional voices 2 episodes
2017–19 OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes[19] Drupe, Punching Judy, Potato, and Additional Voices 25 episodes
2017 The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special Additional voices Television special
2018 Crashing[11] Herself Episode: "NACA"
2018 Barry[34] Waitress Episode: "Chapter One: Make Your Mark"
2018–19 American Dad![33] Various voices 2 episodes
2019 Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee[35] Herself Episode: "Melissa Villaseñor"
2020 Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens[36] Performer Episode: "Paperwork"
2020 Summer Camp Island Psychic (voice) Episode: "Susie and Ramona Chapter 1: Susie's Ark"
2021 36th Independent Spirit Awards Herself (host) Television special[37]
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
2021–22 Amphibia Ally (voice) 3 episodes
2022 Reindeer in Here Candy (voice) Television special[38]
2023 Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Akna (voice) 23 episodes
2023 Night Court Gabby Episode: "When Abby Met Gabby"
2023 Is It Cake? Herself / Judge Episode: "That 90's Cake"
2023 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Candy Cuffs / Babette / Heckler #1 (voice) Episodes: "The Winter King" and "Jerry"
2024 Primos Nellie Ramirez Humphrey (voice) 30 episodes (ordered)

Discography

California (single)

  • Released: June 19, 2021
  • Format: Digital

Dreamer

  • Released: October 9, 2019
  • Format: Digital
  • Label: Mira Bonita Productions
  • Tracks: "Sweet Melissa", "Dreamin' You Up", "This Time Last Year", "Quiet", "Old Me", "Love Again", "Mom", "Shine", "Sponge and Rock"

Leap

  • Released: December 19, 2013
  • Format: Digital
  • Tracks: "Puzzle Piece", "Leap into My Heart", "Free", "Rabbit Hole"

References

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External links

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  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Stated on Finding Your Roots, February 1, 2022.
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  15. ↑ "SNL Hires its First Latina Cast Member, and She's From L.A.", LA Weekly. 12 September 2016.
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  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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