Cecily Strong is leaving Saturday Night Live after 11 seasons on the show. A post on social media from the official Instagram account for the sketch show confirmed Strong’s exit.
“We’ll miss you, Cecily,” read a cue card shared while the caption of the post said, “Tonight we send off one of the best to ever do it. We’ll miss you, Cecily!”
Strong made her debut on SNL as a featured player on September 15, 2012, and was upped the following year starting with Season 39. The comedic star co-anchored the “Weekend Update” segment alongside Seth Meyers. When Meyers left to host Late Night, Strong continued to co-anchor the segment alongside SNL writer Colin Jost for one season.
Some of Strong’s most popular recurring characters on the NBC sketch show include The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party, Dana, the loud-mouthed and unfriendly retail employee, Krya the co-host of The Girlfriends Talk Show, Cathy Anne, the drug-addicted neighbor of Michael Che, among others.
Throughout her tenure on SNL, Strong had a strong celebrity impersonation game. Some of the most memorable ones include Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, Judge Jeanine Pirro, and most recently Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake with all of her Zoom filters.
Cecily Strong got emotional on her last day on Saturday Night Live. The actor made an appearance on the “Weekend Update” segment as her character Cathy Anne also bid farewell as she was going to prison.
“Actually, I’m a little emo tonight because the truth is, I’m here to say goodbye,” Strong’s Cathy Anne said before adding she was headed to prison.
Cathy Anne then made a reference saying that she would be OK in prison as she already has some “friends on the inside and they seem to be doing OK.” As she said the latter, a picture of Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon wearing orange jumpsuits behind bars appeared on-screen. This was a reference to both stars who left SNL at the end of Season 47.
