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Kenan Thompson

Born

May 10, 1978

Years on SNL

As Cast Member:2003-present Kenan Thompson (born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy Saturday Night Live since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. He was also the first regular cast member born after the show's premiere in 1975. Outside of SNL, Thompson starred on NBC's sitcom Kenan from 2021 to 2022.

Thompson began his acting career in the early 1990s, and he was an original cast member of Nickelodeon's sketch comedy series All That (1994–2005), where he often collaborated with co-star Kel Mitchell. Beginning in 1996, they starred in their own sitcom Kenan & Kel (1996–2000). Thompson also had roles in The Mighty Ducks franchise, Good Burger and its sequel Good Burger 2, and as the title character in the 2004 film Fat Albert. He was raised in Atlanta, Georgia.

He has been nominated six times for a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on SNL, winning once. He is ranked at No. 88 on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars.

Thompson was added to the cast in 2003, along with Finesse Mitchell. Thompson was a featured player until 2005 (spanning the 29th and 30th seasons) and he was promoted to repertory player at the beginning of season 31 (the 2005–2006 season).

Thompson and Finesse usually appeared together in sketches, either as two slackers at work or as a married white supremacist couple (Kenan occasionally plays women's roles, such as Wanda Sykes or Star Jones-Reynolds).

Thompson has been a cast member on SNL for 23 seasons, breaking the record for the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history previously held by former castmate Darrell Hammond, who was on the show for 14 years. Thompson became the most senior cast member in the second half of the 2013–14 season, following the departure of Seth Meyers. He is also the longest-serving African-American cast member, surpassing longtime former cast member Tim Meadows, who stayed on the show for 10 seasons. Thompson also holds the record for most celebrity impressions performed on the show, performing 139, beating Hammond's previous record of 107. Although early on he planned to stay on the show until something else came along, by 2019 he noted that SNL was his "forever plan".

In 2009, Thompson was a regular voice actor in the Fox cartoon series Sit Down, Shut Up, portraying Sue Sezno who, like her last name, always says no. The series premiered on April 19, 2009, but it was canceled after only four episodes due to low ratings and poor reviews. Thompson voiced the LeBron James puppet in Nike's MVP "Most Valuable Puppets" commercials, which were produced to be shown throughout the 2009 NBA playoffs. Thompson also guest-starred as Gus's estranged college singing buddy on the USA Network series Psych in the fourth-season episode "High Top Fade Out". In 2011, he returned to Nickelodeon, guest-starring in "iParty with Victorious", a crossover episode of sitcoms iCarly and Victorious.

Thompson appeared as a host of sorts of TeenNick's retro programming block, The '90s Are All That, appearing in many of the block's early bumpers and hyping material. He would return to the block, eventually called NickRewind but at the time called The Splat, for All That's 22nd anniversary, with segments filmed at the 2015 New York Comic-Con.

In 2015, movie ticketing website Fandango announced that Thompson would play their brand character, Miles Mouvay. Thompson would play Mouvay in 18 videos, eight 30-second commercials, and a few comedic skits.

On September 23, 2015, Thompson appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon alongside former All That co-star Kel Mitchell in which they reprised their popular Good Burger roles as "Ed" and "Lester Oakes, Construction Worker". They later competed against one another in an episode of the revived Nickelodeon game show Double Dare that aired in November 2018.

In 2019, Thompson served as a judge for NBC's comedy competition series Bring the Funny. He also became an executive producer with Mitchell for Nickelodeon's All That revival, premiering in June.

In 2020, he became the spokesman for Universal Destinations & Experiences’ "Let Yourself Woah" campaign, and he was set to host the 2020 White House Correspondents' Dinner before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, his sitcom on NBC, called Kenan premiered, in which he plays a widowed father. SNL co-star Chris Redd also stars on Kenan, as Gary, the main character's brother, which it was cancelled in January 2022.

Thompson be named host of that year's Nickelodeon 2021 Kids' Choice Awards and People's Choice Awards. He also hosted The Jonas Brothers Family Roast on Netflix.

As of the March 5, 2022 episode, the fourteenth episode of Season 47, Thompson has appeared in more than 1,500 milestone sketches of SNL, hosted by actor Oscar Isaac.

He appears in the third episode of the revival of The Kids in the Hall as Ron, a Friend of the Kids in the Hall and hosted the NHL Awards in June 2022.

He hosted the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 12, 2022 on NBC.

In commemoration of his 20th anniversary on the show, Thompson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 11, 2022. It was placed next to Lorne Michaels' star.

Thompson lead the cast in sketch appearances in Seasons 44, 47 and 48, joining these SNL greats who have accomplished the feat.

For Season 48, Kenan Thompson marked his 20th season in the cast of Saturday Night Live.

On March 11, 2023, the fifteenth episode of Season 48, hosted by actress Jenna Ortega, star of the Netflix's hit comedy horror series Wednesday and two of the hit Scream franchise: Scream and Scream VI, and the former child star of Disney Channel's comedy series Stuck in the Middle, with musical guests The 1975, Thompson hits his record extending 1600th sketches on SNL.

On April 1, 2023, the sixteenth episode of Season 48 and the second SNL episode to premiere on April Fools' Day, hosted by writer, producer, actress, and comedian Quinta Brunson, the creating, executive producing, co-writing, and starring in the ABC's hit mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary, with musical guest Lil Yachty, Kenan Thompson reaches another major milestone tonight when he appears in his 400th SNL episode as a cast member.

In December 2023, Thompson released a memoir book, titled When I Was Your Age.

As of May 18, 2024, which is the season finale of Season 49, hosted by actor Jake Gyllenhaal, with musical guest Sabrina Carpenter, Thompson achieves his record of 1700th sketches on SNL.

1 Impressions and Characters
- 1.1 Impressions
- 1.2 Characters
2 SNL Career
3 Personal Life
4 Gallery

Impressions and Characters[]

Impressions[]

Al Roker
Al Sharpton
Alfonso Ribeiro
Alvin Parks Jr.
apl.de.ap
Aretha Franklin
Armstrong Williams
B.B. King
Barry Bonds
Ben Carson
Bernie Mac
Bill Cosby
Bobbi Kristina Brown
Boyd Tinsley
Carol Moseley Braun
Cee Lo Green
Chaka Khan
Chappell Hartridge
Charles Barkley
Charlene McNabb
Clarence Clemons
Curt Menefee
Daymond John
Darius Rucker
David Ortiz
Don King
Emmanuel Lewis
Forest Whitaker
Gary Coleman
George Clinton
Stevie Wonder

Herman Cain
Herschel Walker
James Brown
Kanye West
LL Cool J
Lorena Porter Shelby
Lorne Michaels
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Maya Angelou
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Nick Ashford
O. J. Simpson
Randy Jackson
Raven Symone
Ray Lewis
Richard Williams
Sammy Sosa
Serena Williams
Star Jones-Reynolds
Sterling "Steelo" Brim
Steve Harvey
Stevie Wonder
Tay Zonday
Tim Mosley
Tony Okungbowa
Tracy Morgan
Tyler Perry
Terrence Howard
Wanda Sykes
will.i.am
Ving Rhames
Wiliam "The Refrigerator" Perry
Whoopi Goldberg

Characters[]

Barbara Birmingham
Bartender
Burt Simpson
Crabby
D'Andre Cole
Darnell Hayes
D.J. Dynasty Handbag
Dan
David "Beef Jelly" Winfield
Diondre Cole
DJ Sugar Shock
Elliot Pants
Givindy
Googie Rene
Grady Wilson
Jake Denmont
Jean K. Jean
K Smoove

Kenneth
Lorenzo MacIntosh
Lou
Malik
Marcus Banks
Malcolm Seats
Narrator
Neighbor Willie
Oscar Rogers
Randy Dukes
Reba McEntire
Reggie Hudson
Resse D'What
Sam Jeffers
Scary Gary Loomis
Steve Kane
Trey
Virginiaca Hastings
Spectrum technician

SNL Career[]

2003-2005: Featured Player
2005-Present: Repertory Player

Personal Life[]

On Veteran's Day 2011, Thompson married Christina Evangeline and together they have two daughters Georgia and Gianna Thompson born in June 2014 and August 2018. On April 7, 2022, it was announced that the two had been separated for over a year, but they remain co-parenting their two daughters. On June 15, 2022, it was announced that Thompson was officially filing for divorce.

Gallery[]

Kenan Thompson in the intro for Season 29 (2003-2004) (Featured player title card; used for his 1st season on the show).

Thompson in the Intro for seasons 30-31 (2004-2006; used for his 2nd/3rd seasons on the show. First Repertory Player title card introduced for the Season 31 premiere during his 3rd season on the show, the show's first season to be in high-definition).

Thompson in the Intro for seasons 32-34 (2006-2009; used for his 4th-6th seasons on the show).

Thompson in the Intro for seasons 35-37 (2009-2012; used for his 7th-9th seasons on the show).

Thompson in the Intro for seasons 38-39 (2012-14; used for his 10th-11th seasons on the show).

Thompson in the Intro for seasons 40-43 (2014-18; used for his 12th-15th seasons on the show. Became the show's longest-tenured cast member in the show's history at the start of his 15th season).

Thompson in the Intro for seasons 44-45 (2018-20; up to the March 7, 2020 episode for the "At Home" episodes) (2018-20; used for his 16th-17th seasons on the show. His first Intro since he becoming the show's longest-running cast member in the previous season).

Thompson in the Intro for the SNL At Home episodes near the end of season 45 (April 11 - May 9, 2020; By this point, he had been on the show for 17 years).