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Cheri Oteri (born September 19, 1962) is an American comic actress, best known for her roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2000.

Personal life

Oteri was born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. She grew up with three siblings in Upper Darby and attended Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.

Career

After moving to Los Angeles at age 25, Oteri worked at A&M Records for four years and eventually joined the comedy troupe The Groundlings. It was there that she was noticed by SNL and was hired in 1995 as part of an almost entirely new cast brought in after the show's disastrous 1994 season.

Oteri would form a third of the so-called "SNL female power trio" that also included Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer and that was responsible, along with Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond and others, for bringing SNL out of its slump. Oteri left SNL in 2000.

She has also appeared in several Hollywood movies including Scary Movie, Inspector Gadget, Liar Liar, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, Shrek the Third and Southland Tales. She starred in two TV pilots that did not make it to air, Loomis and With You in Spirit.

She has also made guest appearances on Just Shoot Me!, Strangers with Candy and as an emotionally unstable nanny on Curb Your Enthusiasm. In 2009, Oteri became a regular voice cast in the upcoming Fox comedy series, Sit Down, Shut Up. She voiced Helen Klench, the unappreciated librarian who often gets mistaken for objects such as brooms or toilet brushes.^[1] The series premiered on April 19, 2009.^[1] Kenan Thompson, Kristin Chenoweth, Jason Bateman, Tom Kenny, Justin Brown, Nick Kroll, Henry Winkler, Will Arnett and Will Forte are the other main cast members.^[1]

Saturday Night Live characters

Original characters

• Arianna, a member of The Spartan Cheerleaders (with Will Ferrell)
• Rita DelVecchio, a grouchy Philadelphia woman mean to the neighborhood children, patterned after Oteri's tough-talking grandmother.^{[2 ]}
• Cass Van Rye, the dim-witted co-host of the "Morning Latte" talk show (with Will Ferrell)
• Mickey "The Dyke", a butch cable access television host (with Mark McKinney)
• Nadeen, a testy employee who constantly orders everyone to "Simmer down now!"
• Althea McMahonaman, an absurdly hyper child bus passenger
• Collette Reardon, a prescription pill-addict.

Celebrity impressions

• Barbara Walters
• Fran Drescher
• Debbie Reynolds (with Molly Shannon as Ann Miller in the "Leg Up" skits)
• Judge Judy
• Kristin Davis
• Mariah Carey
• Paula Jones
• Robin Byrd
• Ross Perot

Filmography

• Boston Legal (2008) (TV) .... Martha Hedley
• Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous (2008) .... Pvt. Jeter
• The Life & Times of Tim (2008) (TV) (voice) .... Various
• Surveillance (2008) .... Mom
• Shrek the Third (2007) (voice) .... Sleeping Beauty/Actress
• The Ant Bully (2006) (voice) .... Doreen Nickle
• Park (2006) .... Claire
• Southland Tales (2006) .... Zora Charmichaels
• Stephen's Life (2005) (TV) .... Principal Ainsley
• Smile (2005) .... Linda
• Surviving Eden (2004) .... Maria Villanova
• Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) .... Ms. Heller
• On the Spot .... Wild Bachelorette (1 episode, 2003)
• With You in Spirit (2003) (TV) .... Montana
• Curb Your Enthusiasm .... Martine (1 episode, 2002)
• The Colin Quinn Show .... Wife (1 episode, 2002)
• Ally McBeal .... Melissa (1 episode, 2001)
• Loomis (2001) (TV)
• Sol Goode (2001) .... Bernie Best
• Strangers with Candy .... Hillary (1 episode, 2000)
• Scary Movie (2000) .... Gail Hailstorm
• Love & Sex (2000) .... Mary
• Inspector Gadget (1999) .... Mayor Wilson
• Lured Innocence (1999) .... Molly
• Small Soldiers (1998) (uncredited) .... Globotech Telephone Operator
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) (uncredited) .... Flight Attendant
• Just Shoot Me! (1997-1999) .... Cindy
• Liar Liar (1997) .... Jane
• Saturday Night Live (1995-2000) .... Various

References

External links

• Cheri Oteri at the Internet Movie Database
• Cheri Oteri at TV.com