Ana Kristina Gasteyer Biography

Actress and comedian Ana Kristina Gasteyer was born in in 1967. Long before Gasteyer rose to fame as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, she grew up in the Washington, DC area, where her father was a lobbyist and politician. As a teenager, Ana attended Sidwell Friends School, where she was active in the school’s various arts programs. After graduation, she enrolled at Northwest University, at first with intentions of studying communications. She later switched her major to theater, with the goal of becoming an actress.

Comedy wasn’t exactly on Gasteyer’s radar at first, but after gaining some sketch improve experience with The Groundlings in Los Angeles, she began to pursue roles geared toward that genre. Early gigs for Ana include small bit parts on Party of Five, Frasier, Hope & Gloria, and Seinfeld, where fans might remember her as one of the “soup Nazi’s” ill-fated customers. In 1996, Ana’s big breakthrough arrived in the form of a cast member role on Saturday Night Live. Gasteyer remained with the show until 2002, at which point she left to pursue more opportunities in film.

Since that time, Ana Gasteyer has appeared in a number of films, including Mean Girls (2004, in the role of Betsy Heron); The Women (2008, in the role of Pat); Dare (2009, in the role of Ruth Berger); Fun Size (2012, in the role of Jackie Leroux); Peeples (2013, in the role of Mayor Hodge); and Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015, in the role of Mrs. Gundermutt.) Television roles include a repeating role on The Good Wife; a series regular on Suburgatory; and a recurring character on The Goldbergs.

Ana Gasteyer is enjoying a career still very much on the rise. Between 2016 and 2018 she appeared in key and recurring roles on multiple television shows, including Lady Dynamite (in the role of Karen Grisham) and People of Earth (in the role of Gina Morrison), and as the voice of Krolia in the series Voltron: Legendary Defender.