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The Most Successful Saturday Night Live Alumni

Updated December 6, 2020 40.9k votes 4.0k voters 103.2k views69 items

List RulesAny famous former SNL cast member

This list of the most successful Saturday Night Live alumni in the show’s history, has been ranked by SNL fans. In the 40+ seasons SNL has been on the air, there have been hundreds of cast members, each comedian bringing laughter into the homes of millions for multiple generations. Every few years cast members leave to pursue their acting, stand-up comedy, producing, and writing careers,making way for new cast members to become the new faces of sketch comedy. Many of the alumni of Saturday Night Live went on to be some of the most famous actors in the business, in movies, television, and theater.

Many comedic actors who are most known for their movies that make hundreds of millions of dollars got their start on SNL, such as Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, and Eddie Murphy. Other former SNL cast mates went on to create and/or star in some of the most successful television shows, such as Tina Fey’s 30 Rock and Amy Poehler’s Parks and Recreation. Jimmy Fallon is currently a late night host, while Al Franken went on to become a politician.

Which SNL cast members went on to have amazingly successful careers? Whose career simply faded away? Which are the most successful SNL alumni? Of the SNL full cast, there has been a wide range of success. This least features the Saturday Night Live alumni with the most success under their belts, many of which who have (and some who have not) returned to host the show that launched their careers.

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Will Ferrell
Saturday Night Live, Eastbound & Down
Birthplace: Irvine, California, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Bill Murray
Iron Chef America, SCTV Network 90
Birthplace: Wilmette, Illinois, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Adam Sandler
Saturday Night Live, Rules of Engagement
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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1,006
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Eddie Murphy
Saturday Night Live, Shrek the Halls
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Nationality: United States of America
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Tina Fey
30 Rock, Saturday Night Live
Birthplace: Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Chris Rock
In Living Color, Everybody Hates Chris
Birthplace: Andrews, South Carolina, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Robert Downey Jr.
Ally McBeal, The Twilight Zone
Birthplace: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Chris Farley
Tom
Birthplace: Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Mike Myers
Saturday Night Live, Bizarre
Birthplace: Scarborough, Toronto, Canada
Nationality: Canada, United States of America, United Kingdom
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Amy Poehler
Parks and Recreation, Saturday Night Live
Birthplace: Newton, Massachusetts, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Dan Aykroyd
Saturday Night Live, The Real Ghostbusters
Birthplace: Ottawa, Canada
Nationality: Canada
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Jimmy Fallon
30 Rock, Saturday Night Live
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Seinfeld, Saturday Night Live
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America,France
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Kristen Wiig
Saturday Night Live, Bored to Death
Birthplace: Canandaigua, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Ben Stiller
Mr. Show with Bob and David, The Ben Stiller Show
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Chevy Chase
Community, Saturday Night Live
Birthplace: New York City, USA, New York, Lower Manhattan
Nationality: United States of America
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John Belushi
Saturday Night Live, The Richard Pryor Show
Birthplace: Humboldt Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Nationality: United States of America
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Bill Hader
South Park, Saturday Night Live
Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Nationality: United States of America
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David Spade
Saturday Night Live, Beavis and Butt-head
Birthplace: Michigan, Birmingham, USA
Nationality: United States of America
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Billy Crystal
Saturday Night Live, Soap
Birthplace: Upper East Side, New York City, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Jason Sudeikis
Saturday Night Live, The Cleveland Show
Birthplace: Virginia, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Andy Samberg
Saturday Night Live, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Birthplace: Berkeley, California, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Tracy Morgan
30 Rock, The Tracy Morgan Show
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
Nationality: United States of America
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Phil Hartman
The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live
Birthplace: Brantford, Canada
Nationality: Canada, United States of America
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Maya Rudolph
Up All Night, TV Funhouse
Birthplace: USA, Florida, Gainesville
Nationality: United States of America
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