A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame will be unveiled Monday honoring Molly Shannon for a television career highlighted by six seasons as a “Saturday Night Live” cast member.
Will Ferrell and Connie Britton are set to join Shannon in speaking at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony at 6765 Hollywood Blvd., near Highland Avenue and the Hollywood Wax Museum.
The star is next to Ferrell’s. Shannon and Ferrell were castmates throughout her time on “Saturday Night Live.” She joined the cast of the NBC late-night sketch comedy series at the start of the 1995-96 season, the same season as Ferrell, and left in the midst of the 2000-01 season.
Shannon and Ferrell portrayed eccentric broadcasters Tish Cattigan and Cord Hosenbeck in coverage of the Rose Parade in 2018 and 2019 for Prime Video and the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for HBO.
The ceremony comes in advance of the July 16 premiere of the Netflix comedy series “The Hawk,” which stars Ferrell as 2004’s best golfer attempting a return to greatness, with Shannon portraying his ex-wife.
Shannon and Britton were castmates in the 2015 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” the 2020 black comedy thriller film “Promising Young Woman” and two 2021 episodes of the HBO black comedy-drama anthology series “The White Lotus.”
The star is the 2,850th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.
All Walk of Fame ceremonies are streamed on walkoffame.com, and can later be seen on YouTube.com/@HwdWalkofFame.
Born Sept. 16, 1964 in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Shannon graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1987. She moved to Los Angeles after graduation, performed at the Upfront Comedy Theater in Santa Monica and worked as a hostess at the Cravings restaurant in West Hollywood and demonstrated food at the Marina Del Rey Gelson’s supermarket.
Shannon made her movie debut in the 1989 horror film remake of “The Phantom of the Opera” and her television debut in a 1991 episode of the ABC surrealist mystery horror drama “Twin Peaks.”
Shannon was hired as a featured player on “Saturday Night Live” in February 1995, replacing Janeane Garofalo, who had left mid-season.
Shannon’s best known characters on “Saturday Night Live” were nerdy Catholic school girl Mary Katherine Gallagher and licensed “joyologist” Helen Madden. She also portrayed Courtney Love, Liza Minnelli, Monica Lewinsky, Melania Trump, Elizabeth Taylor and Madonna.
Shannon received an Emmy nomination for outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program in 2000, losing to Eddie Izzard for his work in his HBO special, “Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill.”
Shannon received outstanding guest actress in a comedy series Emmy nominations in 2013 for her recurring role as the shy assistant to mysterious Abaddonn Industries CEO Charles Szidon (James Rebhorn) on HBO’s comedy-drama “Enlightened,” and in 2018 for her recurring role as unhinged, eccentric neighbor Val Bassett on NBC’s “Will & Grace.”
Shannon’s other television credits include the recurring role of movie producer Bev Melon on Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” “Seinfeld,” “Sex and the City” and “Glee.”
Shannon starred as her Mary Katherine Gallagher character in the 1999 film “Superstar.” Her other film credits include “Other People,” which brought her an Independent Spirit Award for best supporting actress, “A Good Person,” “Wet Hot American Summer,” “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Year of the Dog” and “Never Been Kissed.”