Molly Shannon Biography

Fast Facts

• Survived an automobile accident at the age of 4 that killed her mother, one of her sisters and a cousin
• Took improv classes at NYU with Adam Sandler, whose last season on Saturday Night Live was her first
• Came to fame on SNL with characters like Catholic school girl Mary Katherine Gallagher and "licensed joyologist" Helen Madden
• Appeared in Sheryl Crow's 1997 video for "A Change Would Do You Good
• " Has an uncredited cameo role in the 2001 Jack Black film Shallow Hal, as Hal's mother
• In 2010, she joined the Broadway cast of Promises, Promises as barfly Marge MacDougall
• In 2011, published a children's book, Tilly the Trickster, with a title character who is, in Shannon's words, "an imperfectly perfect role model," based on her own kids, who like to play (harmless) tricks
• ("Embrace the silliness and fun of life," Shannon suggests
• )