These Are the Black Women That Have Made SNL, The Comedic Icon It Is.....
Saturday Night Live has proved to be the catapult for many comedians successful careers. People such as Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan , and Eddie Murphy have greased the stage at one point in their careers. However , in the decades- long history of the show, there weren’t many Black female cast members. As Leslie Jones said farewell to the show ( and Ego Nwodim assumed the lone Black woman position) , it begs the question of the lack of diversity when it comes to Black women.
With that, who are the Black women that have graced SNL’s stage? Where are they now and will there be more Black women added to the cast in the future? Let’s take a stroll down memory lane!
Leslie Jones
Leslie Jones via Perez Hilton
Jones tweeted her appreciation to the cast saying "I know you will be as excited as I am when you see some of the amazing projects and adventures that I have coming up very soon! Love you all!! #iamnotdeadjustgraduating." She even has three projects in the works including Queenpins, the rendition of Coming 2 America, and I Am Maurice.
Maya Rudolph
Maya Rudolph via Deadline
Rudolph may be one of the most recognized black women from SNL. In a New York Times article, she addressed being a bi-racial actress and the effects it had on her career, including the struggles with her hair that would arise behind the scenes.
"My hair was natural when I started Saturday Night Live, but it was so thick to get under the wigs...every [expletive] Friday night, we’d hear some [expletive] white guy walking down the hall going, ‘Is something burning in here? What’s burning?’"
Even though this happened, Rudolph nonetheless had a great experience on the show. Since SNL, she continued her comedian prowess with her own show with Martin Short, Maya & Marty, and starred in The Good Place, Big Mouth, and Big Hero 6: The Series.
Yvonne Hudson
Yvonne Hudson via BET
At first, Hudson was an uncredited actress on the show. However, she was also the first black female cast member ( you go girl)! She she joined the SNL cast officially during the show's sixth season in the early 80s. Towards the end of the season, She was one of the many that was fired but still appeared in some of the sketches as an extra. After she left the show it seemed as if she completely left the show business with her only credit on the IMBD site as a production assistant for Motown returns to the Apollo back in 1985 .
Ego Nwodim
Ego Nwodim via Baltimore Sun
Now as the only Black woman on the series ( previous work includes 2 broke girls, K.C. Undercover and much more), Nwodim joined the cast back in 2018 and has proved her incredible range as an actress. With Jones departure from the series, it will likely be tough for the cast members and possibly even harder for her as she has called Jones’ a mentor.
cover image via The New York Times
