At 28, Molly Shannon Nearly Gave It All Up

When Kamala Harris pre-taped her remarks for the Al Smith Dinner last week, she was joined onscreen by a face familiar to comedy fans. As the vice president began an earnest speech, someone scurried in and out of view behind her. Their energy was frenetic, like an over-eager mouse that had spotted some cheese. Was it Ella Emhoff? Or campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez? No. Harris turned to the interloper: Mary Katherine Gallagher.

MKG was created by actor Molly Shannon when she was a student in New York University’s Tisch Drama program, and after graduation in the early ’90s, Shannon introduced her to L.A. audiences on the improv stage. They instantly loved the armpit-sniffing, made-for-TV-movie monologue-spouting, romance-craving Catholic schoolgirl. But as the character gained fans, Shannon was ready to quit showbiz.

“I had kind of given up,” Shannon, now 60, says during a Zoom from her sunny L.A. patio. The Ohio native struggled to land meaningful film and TV roles — aside from small parts on In Living Color and Twin Peaks — so around age 28, she stopped going to auditions.

“I was like, ‘Nothing’s happening. I don’t know if I have the heart to do this anymore. There’s so much rejection in show business, and I’ve been trying so hard.’ I was getting really down, really unhappy.”

So she spent that year working at a bakery and meeting up with friends for coffee. She contemplated getting her real estate license or becoming a teacher. “I tried to lay low, chill out, and stop grasping so tightly.” And that’s when she got the call that Marci Klein, Saturday Night Live’s legendary producer, was flying out to L.A. to see her.

“I hadn’t done my show for a year, so we set it up just for Marci. Got the drinks, got the band, packed the house, and the show went great. She took me to The Ivy after for dinner and was like, ‘You’re coming to New York to audition for Saturday Night Live!’”

Shannon made her debut, live from New York, in February 1995 at age 30, and the rest is sketch comedy history. She went on to create some of SNL’s most indelible characters. When she appeared as her aforementioned alter ego opposite stars like Whitney Houston, Gwyneth Paltrow or Will Ferrell, she would crash through brick walls or smash into piles of aluminum folding chairs with such force, SNL hired Shannon a personal stunt coordinator. But her fearless physicality masked a tender heart.

“When I wrote that character and it got on SNL, people were like, ‘I felt like that as a kid! I felt weird.’ I couldn’t believe how people connected with it so much,” says Shannon. “She has hope. And I think that’s what people related to, the feeling that ‘Maybe I can overcome these obstacles, and I too can get through it. If I just get through the darkness, I can get to the sun.’”

That lesson in perseverance is personal. When Shannon was 4 years old, her mother, baby sister, and a cousin were killed in a car accident. Her beloved father, Jim Shannon, who’d been drinking earlier that day, was behind the wheel and badly injured. She and her older sister, Mary, then 6, survived. Her stunning memoir, 2022’s Hello Molly, is a love letter to her complicated and ultimately beautiful relationship with her dad.

Below, the star of Only Murders in the Building, The White Lotus and Samsung’s new “Best in the House” campaign talks with Bustle about staying grounded in gratitude, taking nothing for granted, and her late 20s, when she was on the precipice of hitting it big.

“It’s like a dance of survival and overcoming trauma and letting yourself cry and get through it.”

I love that the new Samsung campaign spoofs early ’90s sitcoms. You were in your late 20s at that time. What pop culture are you obsessed with from that era?

Well, I love watching classics from the ’90s and sketches that I did. And now that I’m a mother to a daughter who’s in college, we watch older television shows like Gilmore Girls together, or my daughter watches Friends.

At 28, you were living in L.A., right?

Right, I worked as a hostess at a restaurant called Cravings on Sunset Boulevard. We were all really good friends. We would eat together, have parties together, and it was the most fun. If I had an audition, they could usually cover my shift.

Jennifer Aniston came in — she was a customer! — and I studied her the way I would study any wonderful superstar. I was like, “That’s Jennifer Aniston with all her agents!” I would kind of watch how she conducted her business and take notes. Julia Roberts came in and ordered just sausage for breakfast, and I was like, “That’s so interesting! Just sausage.” I’m thinking, “Maybe she already had another breakfast? Maybe just protein?” I was like, “She looks fabulous. Just sausage for breakfast, OK!” They didn’t know me. I was just a hostess.

Are you friends with either of them now? Do they remember those moments?

I actually just saw Julia at a party, so I should have told her. But I have not told either of them. I will sometime. But I was a very happy waitress. No joke. It made me very happy to serve food.

You like taking care of people. That’s probably part of it.

Yes! And I would give customers samples. If they couldn’t decide, I was like, “Do you want samples of the soup?” Even though we weren’t supposed to do that.

When I was working at Mel & Rose’s restaurant, Johnny Depp came in, and he would leave like $500 tips, $200 tips, because his mom was a waitress. So everybody loved Johnny. He’s so nice to everyone, so kind and thoughtful and really thinking about the waiters. Interesting, right?

Was there a turning point when you were able to stop waitressing, when you realized “Now I can support myself doing what I’ve dreamed of”?

In the ’90s, when I started to make money, the first things I treated myself to were cafe lattes or cappuccinos. That was a big expense, to be able to go to a coffee store and get the fancy coffee. I worked at Melrose Baking Co., where I had to make cappuccinos and froth the milk. But then I could order them. I’m still very grateful for that.

[But the pivotal moment] was when Marci Klein flew out to see my stage show. That’s when my life changed. It was 1994, I guess, because I started on SNL in ’95. It was in that period when I was letting go that it came to me.

They say the same thing about love. Like when you stop looking for it, you’ll find it.

Yes, exactly. You can’t be holding on too tightly. I was just happy seeing friends for coffee, chilling out, and trying to [Shannon takes a deep breath and audibly exhales] take a step back for a second and stop grasping so tightly. And trust that everything was going to be OK.

I also want to tell you, knowing the tragedy you’ve overcome is incredibly inspiring. That you’ve held on to your joy and your lightness and your sweetness is so admirable.

Thank you, Suzanne.

Is that something you have in common with Mary Katherine Gallagher, the sadness and vulnerability underneath the silly?

I do. Fans of the character are like, “I felt like that weird girl.” And I felt that way because my mom had died, but I didn’t want to be seen as different. You don’t want to be singled out because it feels embarrassing, but I felt that way from the time I was really little. It’s how I felt not having a mom, and I was accident-prone, kind of anxious, in my head a lot.

Going through that early loss was so hard. That rug got pulled out from under me when I was 4. So I had a resilience where I was like, “Well, nothing’s gonna be that bad again, even coming to Hollywood!” I have a very positive attitude and appreciate time on Earth with people. I don’t take that for granted.

And the character, she has hard times but she’s hopeful. That’s really what it’s about. It’s like a dance of survival and overcoming trauma and letting yourself cry and get through it. It’s a very deep, emotional character for me, even though it’s comedy. But I feel the best comedy has to be rooted in emotional truth because then you relate to it more.

I did that character in my stage show for years when I was a waitress. I developed it and developed it like, “OK, that works. That gets a laugh.” So by the time I got to Saturday Night Live, I knew what was funny and what people related to. I was ready. And then it was like, “Boom!” It really took off. It was a great lesson as a writer, to write from within.

You wrote in your book that at SNL there was a bulletin board where the cast would pin up hate mail. That is so funny. It’s another example of taking something dark and twisting it into comedy.

Yes, exactly. People were writing mean letters like “I don’t like that character” and “That is so insulting to the Catholic Church.” When we first started, our group at Saturday Night Live did not get good reviews. And Will Ferrell, who’s a very good friend of mine, would Xerox and hang up the worst reviews on his door. Terrible reviews, like “He is the worst newcomer!” But it took the power out of it. It taught me a lot. There are always going to be people who don’t like your style of performance or writing. That’s OK, you know? You can still go on.

You had a moment before SNL when your friend got cast on Growing Pains and you were super jealous. But then you had an epiphany.

It’s the truth. I was living in a dumpy apartment in the San Fernando Valley. And I cried. I was like, “How come he gets a part on Growing Pains and I get nothing?!” I was like, “This is so hard. Why, God?” Then I went on a walk and had an epiphany. I thought, “I was born and raised in Cleveland. I am pursuing what I love.” A lot of people I’d gone to college or high school with had given up and moved back home. I was like, “At least I’m out here trying for my dreams. I care about performing and acting. Maybe I’ll just keep trying, even till I’m a grandmother!” I let myself have a good cry and felt better when I came back from the walk.

Now, years later, I work with all kinds of people, friends who’ve become major directors or superstars. A lot of them are insecure. They feel they’re only as good as their last movie. And I’m like, “Oh, my God, if you’re insecure, then I’m just gonna enjoy where I am.” I know people who were trying to please their parents and went into businesses they’re not happy with. In their 60s, they’re like, “Why am I trying to please my father? He will never approve of me.”

So I’m proud that I took a chance and am able to make money doing what I love. But I did a lot of inside work on myself — creative visualizations and spiritual work and running and meditating — to get to that place. Now, if I go on a book signing and 10 people show up, I’m like, “Yay! 10!” I think, “At least I’m doing work that I’m proud of.” That has meaning. Those are things that make for a happy, good life.

And here you are. The White Lotus. Only Murders in the Building. What’s the best part about being a supahstah at this point in your life?

I mean, that Only Murders in the Building set was crazy fun, because you have Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, who I had so many scenes with. She’s such a pro and a delight. She’s so easygoing. She just laughs and laughs. And she lets me do anything. Like in one scene, I surprised her and [Shannon makes a smooching sound] kissed her! She just goes with it. I love performing with her; she’s just an absolute gem.

Were those insults from this season improvised, or scripted?

The specific [one], like, “Do you wanna know what I think about your acting?” I did ask them if I could do that. [I improvised] the parts about “Your little slippers and your special actress food.” Because I’ve seen actresses like that, where they’re like “I’m on a special diet, and I have to eat this special food.” And it’s low calorie, low-salt, and prepared in special little containers, and it’s just for actresses. I used to think, “If I ever become a professional actress, I’m going to have to eat salads because that’s what professional actresses like!”

And of course I got to meet and perform with Meryl Streep! It was a bucket list [moment]. It’s like they cast a superfan on a TV show. I had a scene with Meryl, and then Selena, and I went back to my hotel that night in New York and I did a little dance. I was so excited. It was everything you can imagine. And Meryl could not have been nicer and more professional and generous and kind, and she asked so many questions. She’s so curious. She’s everything you would ever want her to be and more. It was just an absolute joy to be on that set. It was an absolute ball.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.