When you think of the all-time greats of Saturday Night Live, there are certainly a lot of actors that come to mind. One of these actors is without a doubt, Kristen Wiig. Kristen Wiig was a cast member up until 2012, and her performances on the show were nothing short of iconic. Today, we’re going to be taking a look back at some of her most iconic characters over the years, and ranking the 10 best. Let’s get right into the list.
Judy Grimes
Just kidding just kidding just kidding… Judy Grimes is essentially the precursor to Dawn Lazarus. She’s a reporter who is absolutely terrified to be on TV. This causes her to do a variety of things that include talking incredibly fast, saying all sorts of wild statements and repeating her catchphrase, that she’s “just kidding”. She’s really just kidding. Judy Grimes is an absolute mess on camera, and she really couldn’t be played well by anybody that isn’t Kristen Wiig, which is why she earns a spot on the list.
Gilly
Her name is Gilly and she’s at it again, causin’ lots of ruckus like a barn yarn hen. Gilly is an iconic character, and her skits make absolutely no sense. Gilly skits are basically just a series of nefarious events conducted by Gilly, and she’s… sorry. Each time she does something nefarious, the list of children in the class is questioned before it gets back to Gilly. Sure, it makes no sense, but it still works incredibly well.
Kathie Lee Gifford
Kristen Wiig’s impression of Kathie Lee Gifford is truly one for the ages. Even if you’ve never watched a single episode of The Today Show, Wiig’s impression of the host is absolutely hilarious, and a joy to watch.
She takes Gifford’s animated personality and cranks it up, and turns into a monster for the duration of the segment. Wiig is known for her great impressions, and this is certainly one of her best from her time on Saturday Night Live.
Dooneese
And she’s Dooneese! A recurring character on The Lawrence Welk Show, Dooneese is in a quartet of beautiful singing sisters, save for Dooneese herself. She’s quite a sight to see, with a massive forehead and a pair of baby hands to keep things wild. While her three sisters sing about the featured man of the skit, Dooneese sings about the awful things that befall her, all while being very handsy with their male guest. The antics that she gets up to are wild and make for an absolutely hilarious skit that Wiig carries to utter hilarity.
Kat
Garth and Kat are a recurring duo on Weekend Update that are promoting their upcoming album, usually themed around a holiday that’s coming up. The thing is, they don’t have any songs prepared. The Garth and Kat segments are completely unrehearsed, and Fred Armisen leads on an absolute mess of a song that makes no sense, as Wiig desperately tries to follow whatever it is he is saying. The segment always ends with one song that starts out real, and falls apart just as fast as the rest. Garth and Kat works incredibly well due to the comedic timing of the two actors, and it is one of Wiig’s most iconic characters.
Mindy Grayson
Mindy Grayson is a frequent player of the game show Secret Word. As an actress, Mindy takes her roles very seriously and usually spends most of her time doing anything other than correctly playing the game. She reads the word on the screen without hesitation, as she is an actress, and reads what’s on the page.
She’ll then usually explain one of her newest Broadway roles in between rounds, all of which are hilariously bad. She never seems to do well on Secret Word, but they continue to ask her back, time after time. Mindy is one of Wiig’s most underrated SNL characters.
Shana
In this line of sketches, Wiig’s Shana is usually described as the “sexy new girl” of the office. All the guys are obsessed with her, and can’t wait for her to arrive at whatever event they’re currently at. Once she does arrive, Shana starts doing a number of different things that prove she isn’t the girl they thought she was. While they start out somewhat innocent, they progressively get more and more disgusting as the skit goes on. This is a skit that is better watched than described.
Target Lady
What is there to say about Target Lady that hasn’t been said before? In what is possibly Wiig’s most iconic role, Target Lady sketches center on Wiig, who is just so happy about the fact that she works at Target! This eccentric cashier has a wide variety of discussions with her customers about her life, and there’s really just a lot going on inside of that woman. While Target Lady is an absolutely beloved Wiig character, there are still two that take their place above her on the list.
Sue
Oh my god… she’s so FREAKING excited! Sue is one of Kristen Wiig’s best Saturday Night Live characters. The character of Sue is always included in some sort of surprise announcement that’s about to happen, and she REALLY loves surprises. So much, in fact, that she can’t handle herself at all, and becomes an absolute mess before the surprise is revealed. She does everything that she can to stop herself from spilling the secret, and it really never works.
Penelope
Penelope is Kristen Wiig’s best character. The character just has to one-up basically everything that anyone says, and usually makes some outrageous claim while she’s doing it. The rest of the characters in the sketch become fed-up with her and leave the room by the end of the sketch. It’s eventually revealed that everything she said is true in the end, and Penelope really is that much better than all of us. She really is, which is why she claims the No. 1 spot on the list.
