“Saturday Night Live” announced three new cast members for its upcoming 42nd season yesterday, one of whom will be the sketch series’ very first Latina.
Melissa Villaseñor has been added as a featured player, along with, yup, two more white men, for the upcoming season. In the show’s history, only two other cast members have been of Hispanic descent: Horatio Sanz and Fred Armisen. Villaseñor will be the show’s first Latina.
And it seems as if she’s been destined for the show her whole life. Villaseñor has a seriously impressive catalog of impressions. She was a contestant on Sesaon 6 of “America’s Got Talent,” where she wowed the judges with impressions of Barbara Walters, Natalie Portman, and Christina Aguilera. She told Bird Magazine that she sent “SNL” a tape every year, and it looks like her persistence has finally payed off.
“SNL” has come under fire in recent years because of its lack of diversity. Thankfully, those in power behind the scenes appear to be taking the hint, as more diverse actors and comedians have been added to the show. Villaseñor will no doubt make a hilarious addition to the cast.
“SNL” premieres on October 1. Check out more of Villaseñor’s impressions in the video below, or head to her YouTube channel for some more. If she doesn’t play Owen Wilson this season in some way, it’ll be a real loss.
