Born in Upper Darby, PA, Cheri Oteri moved to Los Angeles at age 25, where she worked at A&M Records and eventually joined the famed comedy troupe The Groundlings. It was there that she was noticed by “Saturday Night Live” and was hired in 1995 as part of a nearly all-new cast brought in to “save the show” after its 1994 season.
Oteri would eventually form a third of the so-called “SNL female power trio” that also included Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer. On “SNL,” she was known for playing myriad characters, including “Arianna,” one half of “The Spartan Cheerleaders” alongside Will Ferrell; grouchy Queens resident “Rita DelVecchio”; butch cable access television host “Mickey the Dyke”; hyper child bus passenger “Althea McManaman”; overly perky “Morning Latte” talk show host “Cass Van Rye”; and “Nadine,” a testy employee who constantly orders everyone to “Simma down now!” Her dead-on impressions of Barbara Walters, Mariah Carey, Robin Byrd and Judge Judy also bolstered her fame.
Since Oteri left “SNL” in 2000, she has appeared in several movies, including “Scary Movie,” “Inspector Gadget,” “Liar Liar,” “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd,” “Shrek the Third,” “Southland Tales,” “Park,” “Major Movie Star” and “Surveillance,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008. Her other television credits include guest spots on “Just Shoot Me,” (for which she received an Emmy nomination), “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Strangers with Candy” and “Boston Legal.”
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