Celebrities Talk About Being Impersonated On 'Saturday Night Live'

Hillary Clinton is no stranger to being in the public eye. The former First Lady, Secretary of State, and New York Senator has been played by nine different SNL cast members

When Clinton ran for President in 2016, Kate McKinnon had already assumed the role of Hillary. The candidate was always a good sport about being spoofed on SNL. She even made a cameo with McKinnon in 2016 where she played a bartender.

Clinton admitted that although she likes McKinnon's Hillary, it's not always easy to see yourself spoofed on national television. 

“Her really dramatic impersonation of me does make me think, ‘Oh my gosh, did I roll my eyes? Lift my eyebrows?’” Clinton said. “My laugh, which has been noted since I was a little girl - ’hearty’ is the way it’s often described - I see the exaggerated version of it and I do sometimes think, ‘Well, maybe I should just sort of back off from that.’ But then I forget and go on and just be what I’ve always been.”

Over the years, Saturday Night Live lampooned legendary broadcast journalist and popular TV personality Barbara Walters many times. SNL cast members Rachel Dratch, Cheri Oteri, Michaela Watkins, and Nasim Pedrad have all portrayed Walters. 

However, original cast member Gilda Radner was the first to take aim at Walters, who in the mid-'70s served as a news anchor for the NBC morning show Today. 

Walters did not care for Radner's famous impression and hated the whole “Baba Wawa” business. 

Walters said in 2011:

Gilda was the first person to make fun of news anchors. Now it's done all the time, but Gilda was the original. And, of course, I laughed at everybody - as long as it wasn't me. When Gilda first began to do "Baba Wawa," I hated it. I didn't like it. I didn't want to be “Baba Wawa.” I guess it's good to be made fun of. I guess that means you're slightly famous. 

I don't talk that way, and I do pronounce my Rs. Why did my parents have to name me Bar-bar-a Wal-ters?

Kenan Thompson first donned the bushy mustache and multi-buttoned pinstriped suit to portray Steve Harvey back in 2003. The longest-running cast member ever has returned to the Family Feud host multiple times over the years. 

At first, Harvey was not a fan of the send-up but has since come around. 

"I just look at it like this: you gotta be famous to get hit,” said Harvey. "I can't read that well, but I can read better than Kenan can. I really don't have 50 buttons on any of my suits. Ten years ago I did, but not anymore. And I can't pronounce words that have four syllables, so he's right."

Harvey may find Thompson's impersonation a bit off the mark; however, the comedian is still able to have a little fun with the SNL star. 

"I actually had him on my talk show and he was scared to come around the corner. I said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, Kenan Thompson!' He wouldn't even come around the corner 'cause I told him I was gonna knock his *ss out as soon as I saw him," joked Harvey.

Sending up famed fashion designer Donatella Versace became a steady gig for Maya Rudolph. The stand-out SNL cast member took on the flamboyant Italian socialite 13 times from 2001 - 2007.

Versace appeared on an episode of The View in 2010. She said that she thought Rudolph’s impression was “hilarious.” However, Versace made sure to call Rudolph with some pointers on how to make it more authentic. 

“I talked to her [Rudolph] on the phone once, and I gave her a suggestion on how to do me better,” said Versace. “First off: ‘I don’t drink.’ And second: ‘Take off the jewelry because it looks too fake - I only wear real.'”

When Saturday Night Live first aired in 1975, Gerald Ford was President of the United States. That also made him the first president to be lampooned on the edgy late-night show. 

Chevy Chase didn't bother to sound or act anything like Ford. Instead, the physical comic's whole impression featured Ford as a klutzy clown falling down and tripping over his own shoes. 

Chase's entire impression was based on the time Ford slipped on the stairs of Air Force One because it was raining outside. Unfortunately, the moment got caught on tape. 

The truth was that Ford was an excellent athlete, hardly a klutz. In public, the former president smiled about Chase's parody. He even invited the breakout SNL star to the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner and played along by acting clumsy. 

However, Ford did take umbrage with the impression in private. 

“Ford had a great personality, but the thing about his being clumsy did get under his skin,” said Ford’s press secretary Ron Nessen.

Dana Carvey’s masterful impression of President George H.W. Bush is considered by many to be among the best political send-ups in Saturday Night Live history. Carvey's signature lines, “Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture,” and “Not going to do it, not going to do it,” became common parlance during the one-term president’s time in office.

“You start out with Mr. Rogers, and then you add a little John Wayne,” said Carvey of how he went about crafting the impression.

President Bush not only enjoyed Carvey’s impression, but he even invited the comic to the White House after losing his 1992 bid for a second term. President Bush felt that since Carvey had made him laugh so much over the years, he could also spread some joy among his staff who would be packing their bags after Bush’s loss to Bill Clinton.

Bush and Carvey would go on to become lifelong pals. 

Carvey penned a piece for The New York Times following Bush's death in 2018. He wrote:

And so began my lucky 25-year friendship with “Barbara and George.” My wife and I happily received Christmas cards every year, as well as other postcards and letters. When I had a health scare in 1998, President Bush wrote to me to ask: “Can I do anything, Dana? We’ve got great doctors right here in Houston.” When we did charity events together, I did my Ross Perot impression for him, and he would always laugh.