Enter
DATA
HUFFINGTON
01.19.14
TOTAL RACIAL
HISTORY OF SNL
SNL’s Unfunny
Race Problem
3%
SOURCES: NNDB.COM, IMDB, DAILY BEAST, NBC, YAHOO! SCREEN.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2014
Other Male
Black Male
Other Female
Black Female
OTHER
FEMALE
OTHER
MALE
30%
FRED
ARMISEN
NASIM
PEDRAD
Of German, Japanese and Venezuelan
descent, Armisen hardly seemed the
first choice to play Barack Obama. But
with only one African American cast
member in 2008 – Kenan Thompson,
an unlikely match for Obama – that’s
exactly what happened.
The funny bone must run in this
Iranian-born beauty’s family: Her
younger sister Nina is currently a
writer for sitcom New Girl. Now a
repertory player, Pedrad has been
on the show since 2009.
Along with Zamata, Michaels
also added two black female
writers, LaKendra Tookes and
Leslie Jones, to the SNL family.
8%
WHITE
FEMALE
BLACK
MALE
HORATIO
SANZ
10
KATE
MCKINNON
No doubt the late
Vance was a pioneer:
In 1985, she became
the first African
American female to be
made repertory player.
She was also a lesbian
(though she kept her
sexual orientation
mostly private).
ELLEN
CLEGHORNE
Sanz was born in Santiago,
Chile, making him the fourth SNL
actor to be born outside of North
America -- and one of very few
Latinos. The show has yet to
feature a Latina as a cast member.
CHRIS
ROCK
Cleghorne succeeded
Danitra Vance and
became the second
black female to become
a repertory player on
SNL where the New York
native yukked it up
from 1991 to 1995.
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2003 saw the
most non-white
cast members
at one time.
2000
EDDIE
MURPHY
Rock joined the likes of Chris Farley,
Adam Sandler and David Spade
from 1990 to 1993, only to leave,
frustrated by playing token black parts,
for the Wayans Brothers-created
sketch show, In Living Color.
Joining the show at just age 19, Murphy
thrilled audiences with his Gumby and
James Brown skits while a cast member on
the show from 1980 to 1984.
YVONNE
HUDSON
WHITE-OUT
Short, but not sweet: Hudson has the distinction
of being the first female African American cast on
the show, though she never made it past being a
featured player in the show’s 1980-1981 season.
1987-1989 could go down as
the “whitest” years in SNL
history, judging from the absolute
paucity of racial diversity.
The bright-eyed McKinnon was the first
openly lesbian cast member when she
was made a featured player in 2012.
2013
The Juilliard-trained singer
was a member of the storied
1975 original cast that
included Chevy Chase, Dan
Aykroyd and John Belushi.
Morris left in 1980, after
reportedly feeling typecast.
DANITRA
VANCE
One of the most popular
members in recent
history, the half-black,
half-Jewish Rudolph
breezed through an
incredibly versatile roster
of celebrities, including
Donatella Versace,
Condoleezza Rice and
Michelle Obama.
MINORITY
WOMEN REPORT:
GARRETT
MORRIS
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
1979
1978
1977
1976
17
16
15
14
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11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
# OF FEMALE CAST
# OF FEMALE CAST
The 27-year-old University of Virginia
alumna tightened up her improv
game at New York’s Upright Citizens
Brigade before becoming the first
female black cast member on SNL
since Maya Rudolph. As Sheryl
Underwood told CNN, we can’t wait to
see her Janelle Monae impersonation.
White Female
2%
DANA EDELSON/NBCU PHOTO
BANK/GETTY IMAGES (ARMISEN,
PEDRAD, STRONG, MCKINNON);
NORMAN NG/NBC/NBCU PHOTO
BANK VIA GETTY IMAGES (SANZ);
MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS/NBC/
NBCU PHOT