The sketch comedy television show Saturday Night Live has for almost three decades aired a number of sketches parodying Hillary Clinton, from her time as First Lady, and during both her presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2016. A total of nine different performers have played Hillary Clinton on SNL. The array of SNL cast members portraying Clinton has included Jan Hooks, Janeane Garofalo, Vanessa Bayer, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, and Kate McKinnon. Guest stars playing Clinton have included Drew Barrymore and Rachel Dratch. One sketch even featured Miley Cyrus in a guest appearance as Clinton, rapping: "What's up y'all? I'm like Hillary Clint, and I wanna be president one day."
Early portrayals
was the first to portray Hillary Clinton, and after Hooks left the show in 1991, she returned later to make several subsequent guest appearances as Hillary, with Phil Hartman as Hillary's husband Bill Clinton. One of the earliest Jan Hooks sketches, which aired in May 1993, features her interpretation of Hillary eager to be a "co-president" with Bill, now the newly elected President. Hooks' Hillary tells her husband about her big plans for his health care bill, and gets into a fistfight with Senator Bob Dole. Beginning with the 1994 season, Janeane Garofalo played Hillary as First Lady, with Michael McKean portraying the president. Ana Gasteyer played Hillary during the Lewinsky scandal of the late 1990s, as well as during her run for the U.S. Senate in New York, with Darrell Hammond playing the role of her husband. In one Gasteyer sketch, set in the Clintons' Chappaqua kitchen, with Hillary making an attempt to appear more personable for the cameras during her Senate campaign, she says, "I can't wait to prepare some food dishes in this kitchen, such as salads and toast."
Amy Poehler parodies
SNL cast member Amy Poehler had the longest-running role as Clinton, playing the role regularly from 2003 to 2008. In a sketch in the 2007–08 season, Poehler as Clinton hosts a Halloween party for the entire field of then-Democratic candidates for the 2008 presidential primary election. Poehler's Clinton tells rival candidate John Edwards, played by SNLs Will Forte, "come next November, we all have to support the Democratic nominee, no matter who she may be." Near the end of the party, a man walks in wearing an Obama mask, which he then removes to reveal the real then-Senator Barack Obama, making a cameo appearance. "I have nothing to hide," he tells Clinton. "I enjoy being myself. I'm not going to change who I am just because it's Halloween." During the 2008–09 season, the show aired several critically acclaimed sketches featuring Poehler as Clinton, and Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. The first sketch, "A Nonpartisan Message from Governor Sarah Palin & Senator Hillary Clinton" aired during the thirty-fourth season premiere of SNLin September 2008. Poehler and Fey are featured giving fictional speeches by then New York Senator Clinton as an unsuccessful contender for the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nomination, and then Alaska Governor Palin, who was the Republican Party's vice-presidential nominee. The two discuss sexism in the presidential election campaign: In the same skit, Poehler as Clinton says to Fey's Palin: "I didn't want a woman to be president, I wanted to be president, and I just happened to be a woman. I scratched and clawed through mud and barbed wire! And you just glided in on a dogsled, wearing your pageant sash, and your stupid Tina Fey glasses!" It was during the 2008–09 season, while Poehler was playing Clinton, that Hillary Clinton herself first made an appearance on the show and faced off with Poehler as her doppelgänger. The real Sarah Palin also made a guest appearance during season 34.
Present portrayal
has portrayed Clinton regularly since March 2015. As of December 2016, she is the most-frequently appearing Hillary with 20 performances in the role, ahead of Amy Poehler at 19 performances, and Ana Gasteyer, despite having played it for less than half as long as either. Darrell Hammond has stated that he only agreed to reprise his role as Bill Clinton because he felt McKinnon was so good in her role, calling her a "virtuoso". McKinnon appeared as Clinton alongside Amy Poehler's Clinton when the duo returned to host in 2015, with the premise that 2008 Hillary had come to congratulate 2016 Hillary in a dream.
2014–15 season
In the 2014–2015 season, SNL began airing another series of Hillary Clinton sketches, on the occasion of Clinton's announcement of her candidacy for the 2016 presidential campaign, with Kate McKinnon now as Clinton. In one McKinnon sketch, set in SNLs version of the living room of the Clintons' house in Chappaqua, New York, McKinnon's Clinton, sitting on a flowered print sofa, wrestles with her decision of whether or not to run for the presidency. In another, McKinnon as Clinton tries to film a video of herself to kick-off her campaign using her smartphone. When it doesn't turn out well, her aide suggests that she delete it. McKinnon's Clinton says, "I know a thing or two about that, right?", and chuckles, referring to the controversy surrounding Clinton's emails. She then, rather than asking for a high five, tells her assistant, "Meet my hand in the air." In one sketch, she looks straight into the camera and says, "Those emails are clean as a whistle. This is not how Hillary Clinton goes down". She goes on to talk about what she describes as her now "mature romance" with her husband, showing a "Happy Anniversary" email she has written to Bill Clinton, which reads: Former SNL cast member Darrell Hammond returned to reprise his portrayal of Bill Clinton in previous season skits.
2015–16 season
Episode 1
In SNLs 2015–16 season premiere on October 3, 2015, McKinnon reprised her Clinton impression for the new season, portraying the presidential candidate enjoying a drink, opposite the real Hillary Clinton playing a bartender named "Val", who sings with her doppelgänger, and offers her counsel. "So Hillary, what brings you here tonight?", Clinton asks McKinnon. "Well, I needed to blow off some steam. I've had a hard couple of 22 years." McKinnon-as-Clinton responds. Cecily Strong plays Clinton's aide Huma Abedin in the skit, and former cast member Darrell Hammond appears in a cameo as Bill Clinton.
Episode 3
McKinnon again portrayed Clinton on October 17, 2015, for SNLs rendering of the Democratic Primary Presidentialdebate which had aired on CNN on October 13. Rounding out the cast for SNLs version of the debate were: "Seinfeld" writer Larry David as Bernie Sanders, Taran Killam as Martin O'Malley, Kyle Mooney as Lincoln Chafee, and guest star Alec Baldwin as Jim Webb. New cast member Jon Rudnitsky portrayed CNNdebate moderatorAnderson Cooper. The occasion marked "Seinfeld" writer David's return to SNL after 30 years. His impression of Vermont senator Sanders headed up the show's cold open with David's Sanders waving his arms and saying: "I'm going to dial it right up to a ten: We're doomed! We need a revolution! We've got millions of people in the streets. We gotta do something and we gotta do it now", standing podium-to-podium with Baldwin's macho Vietnam veteran and former Virginia senator Webb, McKinnon's Clinton, and the other candidates. In her opening remarks for the debate parody, McKinnon's Clinton greeted the audience saying: "I think you're really going to like the Hillary Clinton my team and I have created for this debate. She's warm, but strong; flawed, yet perfect; relaxed, but racing full-speed towards the White House like the T-1000 from ." Later in the debate she remarked, "I'm not losing, am I? I mean, in 2008 of course I lost, but I was running against a cool black guy. But this year, I thought I got to be the cool black guy." In conclusion, she quipped about her opponent Bernie Sanders: "He's the song of the summer. He's Trap Queen by Fetty Wap. But I'm the 'Birthday Song', guys, and you're going to be singin' me until the day you die."
Episode 9
On December 19, 2015, during the episode co-hosted by Fey and Poehler, McKinnon's current Clinton met Poehler's 2008 Clinton in a sketch titled "A Hillary Christmas", where Poehler's version visited McKinnon, with a guest appearance from Fey as Sarah Palin.
Episode 15
On March 12, 2016, in episode 15 of season 41, Kate McKinnon spoofed Hillary Clinton in a faux campaign ad that portrayed how the campaign rhetoric of Clinton increasingly acquired more progressive overtones as a response to the progressive leftist ideology of Bernie Sanders. The ad features McKinnon as Hillary, using phrases commonly used by Bernie Sanders and also mimicking his Brooklyn accent. It further goes on to show McKinnon as Hillary morph into McKinnon as Hillary as Bernie Sanders, dressed in a oversize suit and sporting white hair.
Episode 17
On April 9, 2016, in episode 17 of season 41, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton speaking about her losing streak.
Episode 18
On April 16, 2016, in episode 18 of season 41, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton in a debate in Brooklyn with Bernie Sanders.
Episode 21
On May 21, 2016, in episode 21 of season 41, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton and Larry David played Bernie Sanders, as they remembered their time competing against each other in the Democratic primary.
2016–2017 season
Despite earlier reports that Darrell Hammond would reprise his role as Donald Trump for SNL's parodies of the 2016 presidential debates, the show later confirmed that McKinnon would instead star opposite Alec Baldwin in those sketches. McKinnon was the first SNL actress to portray a female major party nominee for president.
Episode 1
On October 1, 2016, in episode 1 of season 42, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin played Donald Trump as they debated in the first presidential debate; Michael Che played moderator Lester Holt.
Episode 2
On October 8, 2016, in episode 2 of season 42, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton after her headquarters obtained news of Donald Trump talking about how he could grab women "by the pussy", something he did say in real life; the show portrayed Hillary Clinton as being happy because of hearing this news.
Episode 3
On October 15, 2016, in episode 3 of season 42, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin played Donald Trump as they answered questions from voters who were undecided, in the second presidential debate. The undecided voters were played by Leslie Jones, Beck Bennett, Michael Che, Bobby Moynihan, and Kyle Mooney.
Episode 4
On October 22, 2016, in episode 4 of season 42, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin played Donald Trump as they debated in their final debate; Tom Hanks played moderator Chris Wallace.
Episode 5
On November 5, 2016, in episode 5 of season 42, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin played Donald Trump as they went on Erin Burnett OutFront.
Episode 6
On November 12, 2016, in episode 6 of season 42, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton performing Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.
Episode 8
On December 3, 2016, in episode 8 of season 42, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton being searched for in the woods of Chappaqua by investigators, who were played by Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney.
Episode 10
On December 17, 2016, in episode 10 of season 42, Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton urging an elector not to vote for Donald Trump, parodying a scene from Love Actually.
