Kenan Thompson is an award-winning actor, comedian and producer best known for his work on "Saturday Night Live." He returns to the iconic late-night series for his 21st season as the longest-running cast member.

A six-time Emmy Award nominee, Thompson received two nominations in 2021 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his comedy series "Kenan" and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for "SNL." He previously received two Emmy nominations in 2018 and 2020 in the supporting actor category for his work on "SNL." He won an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics in 2018 for the "SNL” song “Come Back, Barack," and received a nomination in the same category in 2017 for co-writing "Last Christmas" from the popular "Jingle Barack" "SNL" music video. In 2022 Thompson hosted the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Thompson has made numerous contributions to "SNL" with his slew of hilarious impressions, which include Rev. Al Sharpton, Charles Barkley, Steve Harvey and David Ortiz, and by playing memorable characters such as DJ Dynasty Handbag, the scathingly fierce co-host of "Deep House Dish," "Weekend Update" correspondent Jean K. Jean, "Black Jeopardy" host Darnell Hayes and Diondre Cole, the disruptive singing talk-show host on the popular sketch "What Up With That."

He recently appeared in Season 2 of Max's "That Damn Michael Che" and Prime Video's "The Kids in the Hall." For two seasons, Thompson executive produced and starred as the title character in the NBC comedy series "Kenan." He also served as a producer and judge on NBC's comedy competition series "Bring the Funny." A native of Atlanta, Thompson made his television debut as an original cast member of Nickelodeon's all-kid sketch comedy series "All That." He and Kel Mitchell debuted on the popular spinoff "Kenan & Kel" in 1996 and starred in the fan-favorite "Good Burger" movie released in 1997. Thompson served as an executive producer on Nickelodeon's 2019 "All That" reboot and is set to star in the upcoming "Good Burger 2," a Paramount+ sequel to the original '90s film.

Thompson's forthcoming memoir, "When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown," will be released in December 2023.

His past projects include "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Home Sweet Home Alone," "Hubie Halloween," "Going in Style," "Brother Nature," "They Came Together," "Snakes on a Plane," in which he starred opposite Samuel L. Jackson, "The Magic of Belle Isle" with Morgan Freeman, "Wieners," "Barbershop 2: Back in Business," "Fat Albert," "My Boss's Daughter," "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle," "D3: The Mighty Ducks," "D2 The Mighty Ducks" and "Heavyweights." He also had a recurring role on the WB's "Felicity."

Thompson showcased his voice talents as Bricklebaum in "The Grinch," which made history as the No. 1 Christmas movie of all time. He has also lent his voice to the animated films "Trolls World Tour," "Wonder Park," "The Smurfs," "The Smurfs 2" and "Space Chimps," the television series "Sit Down, Shut Up" and the Kobe Bryant/LeBron James Nike puppet campaign during the 2009 NBA playoffs. He was the voice of Austin "Impresario" Sullivan in the Hulu animated series "The Awesomes" and Riff in the film "Rock Dog."

In 2021 Thompson co-founded Artists for Artists, a full-service production and talent management company.

Thompson currently resides in New York and his birthday is May 10.