| Melissa Villaseñor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Melissa Anne Villaseñor |
| Born: | October 9, 1987 |
| Birth Hometown: | Whittier, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | comedienne, impressionist, actress, singer, artist |
| Years active: | 2010-present |
| Known for: | being on Saturday Night Live |
| Website/URL: | https://www.melissavillasenor.com/ |
Melissa Anne Villaseñor (/ˌviːjəsɪnˈjɔːr/ VEE-yə-sin-YOR; born October 9, 1987) is an American actress, stand-up comedian, impressionist, visual artist, and singer. She was a cast member on Saturday Night Live, having joined in the 42nd season in 2016; Prior to all of this, she was a contestant on the sixth season of America's Got Talent. Her other credits include voice work on the CBS Christmas special Reindeer in Here, commercials for JCPenney where she played obsessed JCP shopaholic Penny James, several episodes of OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes and Adventure Time.
Early life[]
Villaseñor was born and raised in Whittier, California, and attended the Catholic Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California. She is of Mexican descent. At fifteen, Villaseñor started stand-up at the Laugh Factory Comedy Camp in Hollywood, California.
Career[]
Villaseñor was a semi-finalist in season 6 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. Villaseñor appeared on the second season of HBO's Crashing.
Villaseñor also makes visual art and plays the ukulele, and released her debut musical album Dreamer in October 2019.
Villaseñor helped Rob Cantor create his viral "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song" video to promote his album, Not a Trampoline; she sang impressions of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Björk.
She hosted the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards on April 22.
In 2022, she played Penny James, a JCPenney shopper & superfan in commercials for JCPenney.
In December of 2022, she provided the voice of Candy, the Snowgirl in the hit CBS Animated Christmas Special, Reindeer in Here.
Saturday Night Live[]
Villaseñor was introduced as a featured player on the October 1, 2016, episode of SNL, alongside Mikey Day and Alex Moffat. Her debut was an impression of Sarah Silverman in the Family Feud: Political Edition sketch. Villaseñor is the second Latina cast member after Noël Wells, who is a quarter Mexican, and the first Latina to be promoted to repertory status. She was promoted to the cast of repertory players in season 44. She previously auditioned for the show in 2009. She did several impressions but was not hired. Instead, Nasim Pedrad and Jenny Slate were hired.
Celebrity Impressions[]
Villaseñor describes herself as a comedian and impressionist. She has performed various impressions for America's Got Talent, First Impressions, her YouTube channel, and SNL including Björk, Owen Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Kristen Wiig, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Sarah Silverman, Lady Gaga and Dolly Parton.
Personal Life[]
After Villaseñor became a cast member of SNL in 2016, she deleted tweets she had previously written that some viewed as racist. Most of the tweets uncovered by media publications had been posted in 2010 and 2011. Villaseñor wrote tweets such as, "A bossy black lady at my temp looks exactly like steve erkel. Ugly". SNL and Villaseñor declined to comment on the alleged racist tweets. Villaseñor defended the tweets as "trying to be edgy," and said she did not regret the deletions. In 2018, she told Elizabeth Blair on Weekend Edition Saturday, "I'm flawed like everyone else, and yeah, I just wanted to make sure I was perfect."
Gallery[]
_6843626905.jpg "Melissa Villasenor (Sad People Talking) 6843626905.jpg (9 KB)")
Videos[]
America's Got Talent[]
Her JCPenney Commercials[]
Shows Appeared[]
External Links[]
- Her Official Site
- Her Facebook Page
- Her Twitter Page
- Her Instagram Page
- Her Instagram Art Page
- Her YouTube Page