Nora Dunn

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Date of Birth : Apr 29th 1952

American actress and comedian known for her work on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

Dunn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Margaret, a nurse, and John Dunn, a musician and poet. Her brother is actor Kevin Dunn. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1970 to 1972, San Francisco City College, and the Academy of Fine Arts.

A member of the famed The Second City comedy troupe, Dunn joined SNL in 1985 with the return of Lorne Michaels as executive producer. The 1985–86 season proved to be a ratings disaster, and she was one of only five cast members who were not fired at its end (the others were newcomers Jon Lovitz, A. Whitney Brown, Dennis Miller, and longtime on/off feature player, Al Franken). As part of the 1986–87 cast including newcomers Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, and Kevin Nealon, Dunn would be part of what was considered the show’s second golden age.

Although she never became one of its breakout stars, she was known backstage as a dependable supporting player. Her characters included one half of “The Sweeney Sisters” alongside Hooks, as well as talk show host Pat Stevens (which became a popular recurring role starting in the low-rated 1985-1986 season), melodramatic French hooker Babette, and film buff Ashley Ashley from the “Actors on Film” sketch from the 1985-1986 season. Her many impressions included Ann Landers, Imelda Marcos, Liza Minnelli, Tyne Daly, Joan Baez, Martina Navratilova, and Cokie Roberts.

Dunn made headlines in 1990 when she, along with original musical guest Sinéad O’Connor, boycotted an episode which was hosted by comedian Andrew Dice Clay when they found his misogynistic humor offensive. Since then, in addition to numerous feature film roles, she has gone back to television with reoccurring roles on Sisters from 1993-1996 and The Nanny from 1998-1999. Dunn is rumored to be planning a major comeback in early 2008 with a stage musical revue “The Sweeney Sisters Hit Broadway” along with Jan Hooks at the prestigious Lakeshore Theater in Chicago.