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Celebrity 360: Kristen Wiig
By: Notable Posted in: Celebrities - || March 6, 2012, 3:00 pm
You’ve heard us speak of the balanced 360-degree Notable life – all of our YPs strive to achieve a balance of professional, social, charity and living life. To feed your weekly guilty indulgence of both male and female eye candy, coupled with 360- degree inspiration, we profile a different celeb each week that we feel embodies this. This week's feature is on Kristen Wiig, the hilarious star of Bridesmaids that has turned us back on to Saturday Night Live...
Professional:
Lately, we can’t get enough of Kristen Wiig. We can accredit her for our rediscovered love for Saturday Night Live and her dead-on impressions. The 38-year-old actress, comedian, and writer has met fame at an age that may seem “over the hill” by Hollywood standards; she was virtually unheard of until 2005, when she joined the cast of Saturday Night Live and catapulted to fame in 2011 when she co-wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed Bridesmaids, which grossed over $280 million worldwide and went where no female-centered comedy has before. The film resulted in nominations for both acting and writing, including the Golden Globe for Best Actress, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and the Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Original Screenplay. She was also nominated for an Oscar a few weeks ago for Best Original Screenplay for Bridesmaids, becoming the first SNL cast member to receive an Oscar nomination while on the show.
Upon moving to California, when deciding to try her hand at acting, Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings. She has appeared in films and television series like MacGruber, Flight of the Conchords, Adventureland, and Paul. Behind the camera, her voice acting works include "Ruffnut" in How to Train Your Dragon and "Lola Bunny" in the series The Looney Tunes Show.
Wiig is known as a comedic risk taker like no other and we can’t wait for her new film, Friends with Kids.
Social:
Believe it or not, Kristen Wiig is actually widely known as a shy individual who seemingly transforms in front of the camera. That is part of her charm for friends and cast mates, and what makes her so endearing and appealing. They also applaud her for her relatability and breadth of experience that she brings to the table, having worked numerous odd jobs in everything imaginable while climbing her way to the top.
Wiig is also very supportive of her cast mates and fellow actresses in Hollywood. Instead of taking cheap shots at Megan Fox, for example, as many comedian celebrities may have, she has said, 'Oh, she’s great. I’ve worked with her on SNL, so we’ve known each other before. On the film I think we only worked together a couple days, but she’s cool. I really like Megan. She’s very laid back and super cool and has a good sense of humour.”
She has been called well adjusted by her co-stars in Hollywood. "Even though [she] plays a lot of quirky, nervous characters," says Amy Poehler, "she's really like a very solid person, like a real rock. I can depend on her personally." It is also reported that she is one of the loudest laughers at SNL table reads and helps to put other performers at ease by reassuring them of their wit and humour. Of her relationship with her cast mates, she has said, "At SNL, everyone loves everybody. We are so boring because we all love each other."
Unlike some Hollywood stars, Kristen has boundaries with her personal life. Her social media involvement is limited and her website declares that Kristen Wiig is not on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, or any other social networking website.
Charity
Wiig is an avid vegetarian and recently was afforded the title of 2011’s Sexiest Vegetarian by PETA. She is also active in the fight to go green. She has participated in the Clinton Foundation Celebrity Division by making a Funny or Die satire video about global warming to honour the foundation’s 10th anniversary and aid with their non-profit fundraising efforts.
Living
Wiig lives a life rich with experiences. As we mentioned, she has lived a somewhat eclectic life as a struggling artist. Before Saturday Night Live, she had worked in every job under the sun and has lived in close to a dozen cities. Once she arrived in Los Angeles, she went through almost a decade of day jobs until she made enough as a performer to support herself. Her jobs have included graphic design for a plastic surgeon’s office (where she would produce images of what the patients would look like post-surgery), retail, hot dog stand server, receptionist at a law firm, and interior decorator. It is from these experiences that she is able to draw on with her characters and it is what contributes to her understanding of the world and well-roundedness.
Kristen Wiig is an example to women that it is possible to be sexy and funny at the same time, even close to 40-year-old. She recently donned racy, lacy lingerie for the December issue of GQ and, although she can play the role of the character with utmost believability and without missing a beat, she can also dazzle on the red carpet and always looks polished and in control. She lives a healthy lifestyle, walking many places in New York and is actively involved in yoga. A devout vegetarian, she eats a lot of tofu and soy but has a “cheat day” once a week where she can eat whatever she likes.
She remains close to her family and her mentally challenged brother, both of whom she spends a great deal of time with and speaks to every day. Although she has endured a failed first marriage, she is currently in a healthy relationship with actor and producer Brian Petsos, who she has known since she was 15-years-old.
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