SNL Gets Its First Latina Cast Member

Melissa Villasenor appeared on 'America's Got Talent'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 13, 2016 7:09 AM CDT
SNL Gets Its First Latina Cast Member
Melissa Villasenor on "America's Got Talent."   (YouTube)

Three are out, three are in: Mikey Day, Alex Moffat, and Melissa Villasenor have been announced as the new cast members for Saturday Night Live's 42nd season, premiering Oct. 1. Day has been a writer on the show since 2013 and is also a member of comedy group the Groundlings, whose alumni include Melissa McCarthy and Will Ferrell. Moffat is head writer on NBC sketch show Maya & Marty, starring SNL alum Maya Rudolph and Martin Short, and is an improv teacher at The Second City, per the Hollywood Reporter. Villasenor, however, may have the biggest following.

The LA-based comedian—who will become the show's first Latina cast member, reports Rolling Stone—was a top 16 finalist on Season 6 of America's Got Talent, where she showcased her spot-on impressions of celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Wanda Sykes. She has also lent her voice to Family Guy and has 50,000 subscribers on YouTube, reports Time. The three new cast members will fill roles vacated by six-year veterans Jay Pharoah and Taran Killam, and Jon Rudnitsky, who first joined the show last season. (More Saturday Night Live stories.)

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