---
name: "Kate McKinnon"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/kate-mckinnon"
fi1m_id: "kate-mckinnon"
imdb_id: "nm0571952"
tmdb_id: 1240487
wikidata_id: "Q723057"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "6 January 1984"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 8
average_fi1m_score: 65
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-10-15T04:03:19.947705+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Kate McKinnon

## Identity

Kate McKinnon

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/kate-mckinnon
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** kate-mckinnon
- **IMDb ID:** nm0571952
- **TMDB ID:** 1240487
- **Wikidata ID:** Q723057
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_McKinnon, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q723057, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0571952/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1240487

Actor. Born 6 January 1984 in Sea Cliff, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 6 January 1984, Sea Cliff, New York, USA
- **Active:** 2016–present
- **Also known as:** Kate McKinnon Berthold, Kathryn McKinnon Berthold
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 8: 6 acting, 2 other
- **Frequently works with:** [Jay Roach](https://film.one/person/jay-roach.md), [Margot Robbie](https://film.one/person/margot-robbie.md)
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 2 Emmys (2 won · 2 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 65, as actor, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 64 (4), 2020s 62 (4)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 65 to 66 across 6 titles
- **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 6 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 5 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Comedy 4, Fantasy 3, Adventure 2, Drama 2, Romance 2, Action 1
- **Screen time:** 11 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $2,974m across 6 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_McKinnon, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q723057, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0571952/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1240487

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Finding Dory*](https://film.one/film/finding-dory.md) (68), [*The Roses*](https://film.one/film/the-roses.md) (61)
- **HBO Max:** [*Barbie*](https://film.one/film/barbie.md) (76)
- **Netflix:** [*Ghostbusters*](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-2016.md) (64)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Kate McKinnon

> Kate McKinnon builds a whole person out of one tic and a way of standing, and she does it in the time other actors take to find their light. Films have so far used her for a minute at a time. Those minutes are usually the best in them.

Goggles up, hair up, dancing to DeBarge with a blowtorch in each hand. That is Jillian Holtzmann in Paul Feig's *Ghostbusters* (2016), and it is how Kate McKinnon works: she arrives in a film as if she has been given a different set of instructions from everyone else, and she is plainly having a better time than they are. Whenever the plot needs a gadget, Holtzmann has built it, and the scene where she lays her new weapons out on a table and talks the others through them is the funniest thing in the film. The film belongs to her. Feig's finale, twenty minutes of green light with the jokes switched off, does not, and she has nothing to do in it.

The method comes from a decade on *Saturday Night Live*, from 2012 to 2022, where she became the longest-serving woman in the cast, after *The Big Gay Sketch Show* and the Upright Citizens Brigade. She did Hillary Clinton, Jeff Sessions, Kellyanne Conway, Ellen DeGeneres and Justin Bieber, and she did invented people, an alien abductee called Colleen Rafferty among them, with the same precision. She has described how she does it: "It always starts with the way they talk, and then you add the layer of their energy." Sketch comedy teaches you to be complete in thirty seconds, and she is.

Greta Gerwig's *Barbie* (2023) understood this and used her accordingly. Her Barbie is the one who was played with too hard: felt-tip on the face, hair cut with kitchen scissors, legs stuck in a permanent split. We laughed and then felt a small pang, because everyone who ever owned a Barbie made one of these, and McKinnon gets the whole of that, the joke and the hurt under it, in about a minute of screen time. Nobody else in a film that runs to speeches in its second half is as economical.

The fair complaint is that her film parts have mostly been the SNL character moved to a bigger screen. Holtzmann and the played-with-too-hard Barbie are both the odd one in the corner who has misread the brief, and she is wonderful as both, but they are cousins. *Bombshell* (2019) gave her a dramatic part, Jess Carr, and *Joe vs. Carole* (2022) gave her a lead on television; we have not reviewed either, so we will only say the appetite to try is there.

What nobody has yet done is hand her a plain woman and a long scene. The tics are the trade, and they are very fine tics, but a career built on a minute at a time has a ceiling. We would like to see a director keep her still for an hour and find out what is underneath.

## Biography

Kate McKinnon, born Kathryn McKinnon Berthold, is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series *Saturday Night Live* from 2012 to 2022, becoming known for her character work and celebrity impressions.

McKinnon appeared in the film *Barbie* (2023). Her other film credits include *Ghostbusters* (2016), *Bombshell* (2019) and *Yesterday* (2019). She has also provided voice work in animated films and series such as *Finding Dory* (2016) and *Nature Cat*.

For her work on *Saturday Night Live*, McKinnon received ten Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won twice for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (8)

### Performed in (6) — the average rests on these

- *The Roses* (2025), Fi1m 61, as Amy — [page](https://film.one/film/the-roses.md)
- *Barbie* (2023), Fi1m 76, as Barbie — [page](https://film.one/film/barbie.md)
- *Bombshell* (2019), Fi1m 63, as Jess Carr — [page](https://film.one/film/bombshell.md)
- *Yesterday* (2019), Fi1m 60, as Debra Hammer — [page](https://film.one/film/yesterday.md)
- *Finding Dory* (2016), Fi1m 68, as Wife Fish (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/finding-dory.md)
- *Ghostbusters* (2016), Fi1m 64, as Jillian Holtzmann — [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-2016.md)

### Also credited (2) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Lorne* (2026), Fi1m 58, as Self — [page](https://film.one/film/lorne.md)
- *A Minecraft Movie* (2025), Fi1m 52, as Alex (voice) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/a-minecraft-movie.md)

## Complete filmography (52)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Wrong Girls* (2026), as Dr. Olsen
- *In the Blink of an Eye* (2026), as Coakley
- *The Roses* (2025), as Amy — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/the-roses.md)
- *A Minecraft Movie* (2025), as Alex (voice) (uncredited) — Fi1m 52, [page](https://film.one/film/a-minecraft-movie.md)
- *An SNL Thanksgiving* (2024), as (archive footage)
- *Barbie* (2023), as Barbie — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/barbie.md)
- *DC League of Super-Pets* (2022), as Lulu (voice)
- *The Bubble* (2022), as Paula the Studio Head
- *Joe vs Carole* (2022), series, as Carole Baskin · Executive Producer
- *The Magic School Bus Rides Again: The Frizz Connection* (2020), as Ms. Fiona Frizzle (voice)
- *The Magic School Bus Rides Again: Kids in Space* (2020), as Ms. Fiona Frizzle (voice)
- *Bombshell* (2019), as Jess Carr — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/bombshell.md)
- *Yesterday* (2019), as Debra Hammer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/yesterday.md)
- *Family* (2018), as Jill
- *The Spy Who Dumped Me* (2018), as Morgan
- *Irreplaceable You* (2018), as Glass Half Full Kate
- *Ferdinand* (2017), as Lupe (voice)
- *The Magic School Bus Rides Again* (2017), series, as Ms. Frizzle (voice)
- *Friends from College* (2017), series, as Shawna
- *Rough Night* (2017), as Pippa
- *Detroiters* (2017), series, as Lindsay (voice)
- *Ballerina* (2016), as Regine / Mother Superior / Felicie's Mother (US version)
- *Office Christmas Party* (2016), as Mary
- *Masterminds* (2016), as Jandice
- *Ghostbusters* (2016), as Jillian Holtzmann — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-2016.md)
- *Finding Dory* (2016), as Wife Fish (voice) — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/finding-dory.md)
- *The Angry Birds Movie* (2016), as Stella / Eva the Birthday Mom (voice)
- *Sisters* (2015), as Sam
- *Nature Cat* (2015), series, as Squeeks (voice)
- *Difficult People* (2015), series, as Abra Cadouglas
- *The Spoils Before Dying* (2015), series, as Dallas Boudreau
- *Staten Island Summer* (2015), as Mrs. Bandini Jr.
- *Ted 2* (2015), as Kate McKinnon
- *China, Il The Musical* (2015), as Sunshine
- *Giant Sloth* (2015), as Nina
- *Life Partners* (2014), as Trace
- *Balls Out* (2014), as Vicky
- *Toy Story of Terror!* (2013), as PEZ Cat (voice)
- *Hannah Has a Ho-Phase* (2013), as Nicky
- *My Best Day* (2012), as Heather
- *China, IL* (2011), series, as Sunshine (voice)
- *Robotomy* (2010), series, as Mrs. Crunshine
- *Mr. Ross* (2010), as Debby
- *Concierge: The Series* (2010), series, as Mary
- *The Big Gay Sketch Show* (2007), series, Actor
- *The Venture Bros.* (2004), series, as Nikki Fictel / Mrs. Fictel (voice), Nikki Fictel (voice), Thalia / Nikki Fictel / Mrs. Fictel (voice), Warriana / Dot Comm (voice), Redusa (voice), Warriana (voice), Warriana / Alexis Warrington (voice), Eenie-Meanie (voice)
- *Family Guy* (1999), series, as Philippa (voice), Farmer's Date (voice), Karen Griffin (Heavy Flo) (voice) — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/family-guy.md)
- *The Simpsons* (1989), series, as Hettie Mae Boggs (voice) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)
- *Dedicated to Morris Burke*, Actor
- *Thumb*, Actor
- *One Attempt Remaining*, Actor
- *The Lunch Witch*, as Grunhilda

## Gallery

- ![Kate McKinnon](https://film.one/media/person/450/gallery-2055df3fc459.jpg) Kate McKinnon — Nbf2926, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Kate_McKinnon_9220203.jpg/1280px-Kate_McKinnon_9220203.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Colby Day, Andrew Stanton, Kate McKinnon and Daveed Diggs at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival for In the Blink of an Eye](https://film.one/media/person/450/gallery-d432e1c2d35e.jpg) Colby Day, Andrew Stanton, Kate McKinnon and Daveed Diggs at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival for In the Blink of an Eye — Sarah K Joyce, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Colby_Day%2C_Andrew_Stanton%2C_Kate_McKinnon_and_Daveed_Diggs_at_the_2026_Sundance_Film_Festival_for_In_the_Blink_of_an_Eye_01.jpg/1280px-Colby_Day%2C_Andrew_Stanton%2C_Kate_McKinnon_and_Daveed_Diggs_at_the_2026_Sundance_Film_Festival_for_In_the_Blink_of_an_Eye_01.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jason De León and Kate McKinnon at the National Book Awards Ceremony 2024 in New York City, New York](https://film.one/media/person/450/gallery-b91dec1e34ad.jpg) Jason De León and Kate McKinnon at the National Book Awards Ceremony 2024 in New York City, New York — Jennifer 8. Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Jason_De_Le%C3%B3n_and_Kate_McKinnon_at_the_National_Book_Awards_Ceremony_2024_in_New_York_City%2C_New_York_02.jpg/1280px-Jason_De_Le%C3%B3n_and_Kate_McKinnon_at_the_National_Book_Awards_Ceremony_2024_in_New_York_City%2C_New_York_02.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Star of SNL (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/450/gallery-2d58d7e15c47.jpg) Star of SNL (2019) — https://www.flickr.com/photos/greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Kate_McKinnon_%2846994242784%29.jpg/1280px-Kate_McKinnon_%2846994242784%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Kate McKinnon](https://film.one/media/person/450/gallery-fe55fda2b354.jpg) Kate McKinnon — Image via TMDB
- ![Kate McKinnon](https://film.one/media/person/450/gallery-022ff19e87c2.jpg) Kate McKinnon — Image via TMDB
- ![Kate McKinnon](https://film.one/media/person/450/gallery-02b030504589.jpg) Kate McKinnon — Image via TMDB
- ![Star of SNL (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/450/gallery-1186dc54c12f.jpg) Star of SNL (2019) — https://www.flickr.com/photos/greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Kate_McKinnon_%2846994242784%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Kate_McKinnon_%2846994242784%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Kate McKinnon in an interview for ColliderVideo in 2018](https://film.one/media/person/450/gallery-8dd28fd17283.jpg) Kate McKinnon in an interview for ColliderVideo in 2018 — ColliderVideo, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Kate_McKinnon_2018.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

## Awards

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 2 won, 2 nominated

- 2017: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (won), for *Saturday Night Live*
- 2016: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (won), for *Saturday Night Live*
- 2014: Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (nominated), for *Saturday Night Live*
- 2014: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (nominated), for *Saturday Night Live*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/kate-mckinnon