As one of the stars during the later years of “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 1975- ), Kristin Wiig created numerous hilariously offbeat characters – from serial braggart Penelope to mischievous grade-schooler Gilly – that had the live audience and viewers at home laughing before she could deliver a punch line. Wiig immersed herself not only in her subtly deranged original characters, but also in her spot-on celebrity impersonations that ranged from politician Nancy Pelosi’s deadpan stare to Kathie Lee Gifford’s belligerent morning show antics. Wiig’s comic wit and charm also translated successfully on the big screen, with hilarious appearances as a snotty television executive in “Knocked Up” (2007) and a loopy yoga instructor in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (2008). Like “Saturday Night Live” legends Gilda Radner and Tina Fey before her, Wiig made her own mark in the world of comedy and proved that being seriously funny was not just a man’s game.

Kristen Carroll Wiig was born on Aug. 22, 1973 in Canandaigua, NY. She spent her teen years in Rochester with her artist mother – her parents divorced when Wiig was nine – and her mentally handicapped older brother. After attending the University of Arizona, Wiig headed further west to California after getting bit by the acting bug at 23. Wiig was a member of renowned comedy theater troupe The Groundlings, where she quickly rose up the ranks and became a Main Company player within a year. Her improv theater training at The Groundlings, which launched the careers many “SNL” players over the decades, including Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, and Lisa Kudrow, helped Wiig land a role in the pseudo-reality series “The Joe Schmo Show” (Spike TV, 2003–04). On the show, she played Dr. Pat Lane, also referred to as “the Quack,” who pretended to counsel a man who believed he was starring in a reality show.

The actress spent a couple of years acting in little-seen independent movies, like “Life, Death and Mini-Golf” (2004), while making several guest appearances on television, including a 2004 episode of “The Drew Carey Show” (ABC, 1995–2004). Wiig made a huge career stride when “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels asked her to join the long-running show midway through the 2005–06 season. The actress quickly made an impression on viewers with her offbeat and unforgettable character sketches, from the jumpy store clerk “Target Lady” to the precociously evil grade-schooler Gilly. Another one of Wiig’s most memorable characters was the fast-talking one-upper Penelope, a character the actress said was inspired by someone she knew in real life. Penelope’s widespread appeal with audiences made the role a possible candidate for a feature film vehicle.

Her uncanny celebrity impersonations lifted Wiig from a series player to breakout star. Like “SNL” alum Will Ferrell, Wiig wasn’t content in simply caricaturing a star’s personality; she worked hard to embody every detail and mannerism – an eye roll here, a nervous tic there – with each character. Among the targets of Wiig’s many impressions were Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, financial advisor Suze Orman and actress Jaime Lee Curtis. The New York Post summed up Wiig’s performances as “playing outrageous versions of people we’ve all had the misfortune to encounter.” Wiig, who was the sole female regular cast member for the show’s 34th season, said “Saturday Night Live” opened a lot of doors for her, especially when she parlayed her success to a career on the big screen, which took off after a scene-stealing performance in Judd Apatow’s “Knocked Up.” She played a snide, buttoned-up television executive who bosses Katherine Heigl’s character around. Apatow was so impressed by Wiig that he cast her in his fictional biopic “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” (2007), where she played John C. Reilly’s perpetually pregnant wife. Wiig and Reilly’s comedy theater training played a huge role on set, with both actors incorporating lots of improv in their scenes.

It was only a matter of time until Wiig acted opposite Ferrell, who was the poster boy for character-driven comedies. The actress played a bear handler opposite Ferrell in the critically derided “Semi-Pro” (2008), which focused on an aging basketball player’s return to glory in the 1970s. Also that year, Wiig played a yoga instructor in another Apatow-produced romantic comedy, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” which she followed in a turn as a surgeon opposite Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear in the supernatural comedy “Ghost Town.” Continuing a busy 2008, the actress showed her versatility in the indie drama “Pretty Bird.” In describing to Cinema Blend what it was like to step outside the comedy box, she said that “I [got] to cry and make out with Billy Crudup.”

Even though “Saturday Night Live” took up most of her schedule, Wiig made 2009 another banner year. She created the role of Brahbrah, a woman who catches the eye of “The Flight of the Conchords” (HBO, 2007– ) stars Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie. She also starred in the coming-of-age comedy “Adventureland,” playing the manager of a local amusement park who hires a down-on-his-luck teen (Jesse Eisenberg) to operate one of the carnival game booths. Wiig’s “Saturday Night Live” costar Bill Hader played her husband. The actress was seen in two more movies that year, including “Whip It” (2009), directed by Drew Barrymore, where Wiig portrayed a roller derby athlete named Malice in Wonderland, and the workplace comedy “Extract” (2009), opposite Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman from writer/director Mike Judge. In July 2009, Wiig received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work in “Saturday Night Live,” a category that had her competing against friend and series alum Amy Poehler.