While “SNL” has long turned out a number of male comedy stars, it arguably had fewer successful female alums until recent breakouts like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Former cast member Maya Rudolph hasn’t yet scored a blockbuster film or TV show, but she’s got another shot this weekend with likely hit “Bridesmaids.” Joining her in the gross-out comedy is current “SNL” star Kristen Wiig, who co-wrote and produced the film. Before you see how these two late night vets work together on the big screen, take a look at some of “SNL’s” most successful female alums.
AP
2 of 6
Julia Louis-Dreyfus was on “Saturday Night Live” from 1982-1985 before going on to win an Emmy, a Golden Globe and two SAG awards for her role as Elaine Benes in “Seinfeld.” After scoring her second Emmy for “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” which was cancelled last season, Louis-Dreyfus is now set to play the vice president in HBO’s new comedy series “Veep.” Here, she strikes a pose at an event honoring Julie Andrews in Los Angeles.
London Entertainment / Splash
3 of 6
Original cast member Jane Curtin appeared on “SNL” from 1975-1980. Since then, she’s won two Emmys for her work as “Allie” in “Kate & Allie,” played a human amongst aliens in “3rd Rock from the Sun” and turned in memorable performances in films like “I Love You, Man” and the “SNL” sketch-based “Coneheads.” Curtin, pictured here in 2005, recently finished filming “I Don’t Know How She Does It” with Sarah Jessica Parker and Christina Hendricks.
SGranitz/WireImage.com
4 of 6
Amy Poehler became a hit at the box office when she was still a star of the small screen on “SNL.” She co-starred with pal and then-castmate Tina Fey in “Mean Girls, which made $129 million worldwide, and paired up with her again in 2008’s “Baby Mama,” which grossed $64 million worldwide, more than double its budget. Since 2009, she’s starred in and produced NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.” Here she gets glammed up for this year’s Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
WireImage
5 of 6
What hasn’t Tina Fey done since leaving “SNL”? After co-writing the classic teen comedy “Mean Girls,” Fey left “SNL” in 2006 to develop “30 Rock.” She now stars in, writes and executive produces the NBC hit, for which she’s won two Emmys, two Golden Globes and three SAG awards, sadly not in the 2011 ceremony that she’s pictured arriving at here. Fey’s also continued to make big-screen, box-office hits like “Date Night” and “Megamind.”
FilmMagic
6 of 6
Joan Cusack was barely on “SNL,” only starring in the disastrous 1985-1986 season before she and most of the cast, including Robert Downey, Jr, were fired. Since leaving the show, though, she’s had an illustrious film career in which she’s earned two Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe nod. She’s also had memorable parts in classics like “Working Girl” and “Broadcast News.” Unfortunately her latest film, “Mars Needs Moms,” the premiere of which she’s at here, was a box-office bomb.–By Hilary Lewis
WireImage
