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Abby Elliott on SNL: The Bear Star's Amazing Celebrity Impressions
Before playing Sugar Berzatto on The Bear, Elliott was a four-season Saturday Night Live cast member who impersonated Drew Barrymore, Meryl Streep, and Rachel Maddow.
In 2024, Abby Elliott earned a Golden Globes nomination for playing Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto on The Bear, sharing the category with acting legend Meryl Streep. But here's a mindblowing fact: Years before that, Elliott impersonated Streep for a "Weekend Update" segment about The Golden Globes.
Like many critically-acclaimed actors before her, from Ben Stiller to Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Robert Downey, Jr., Elliott cut her teeth in Studio 8H as a Saturday Night Live cast member. During her four years on the show, Elliott starred in hilarious sketches alongside Kristen Wiig, Seth Meyers, Bill Hader, and Amy Poehler.
In addition to playing original characters, Elliott also delivered a wide range of celebrity impressions — and, on more than one occasion, Elliott shared the screen with the real star she was impersonating.
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Let's look back a few of Abby Elliott's standout SNL celebrity impressions below.
Zooey Deschanel
Elliott donned a perfect wig and array of cute A-line dresses to play The New Girl star in her recurring "Bein' Quirky With Zooey Deschanel" sketch. Elliott nailed Deschanel's 500 Days of Summer-era look and most importantly, voice (including her singing).
When the real Zooey Deschanel hosted on February 11, 2012, the actress gamely joined Elliott's Bein' Quirky sketch as a guest — turning in her own solid impression of Mary-Kate Olsen.
Anna Faris
Elliott's take on actress and podcaster Anna Faris is everything a great impression should be: Larger than life, but grounded enough to be recognizable.
After debuting the impression in 2009's "Celebrity Ghost Stories" sketch, Elliott returned as "Hanna Garis" during Anna Faris's October 15, 2011 episode in a monologue that had us seeing double.
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Meryl Streep
Elliott played Streep in a visit to Meyers' "Weekend Update," humbly accepting several awards in her signature glasses and updo.
Rachel Maddow
Elliott played the star MSNBC anchor in several episodes, and perfectly mimicked Maddow's deliberate pronunciation.
When was Abby Elliott on SNL?
Elliott was a Saturday Night Live cast member from 2008-2012.
The Bear actress joined Saturday Night Live as a Featured Player during Season 34, and was promoted to Repertory Player in Season 36. She left SNL after Season 37.
Is Abby Elliott related to Chris Elliott?
Yes. Abby Elliott is the daughter of Chris Elliott, who was himself an SNL cast member in Season 20.
Elliott is also known for Late Night with David Letterman, the cult-favorite 1990s sitcom Get a Life, and guest roles on shows like How I Met Your Mother and Everybody Loves Raymond.
Though Abby Elliott was the first child of a previous SNL performer to be cast, she certainly wasn't the first relative to join the show, as Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and John Belushi's brothers were all cast members at different points. And young Season 11 cast member Robert Downey Jr.'s uncle, Jim Downey, wrote on SNL for 30 years.
Watch Chris Elliott in an SNL sketch with fellow cast members Janeane Garofalo, Chris Farley, and Adam Sandler below.
Stream all 49 episodes of Saturday Night Live on Peacock now.
