Paula Pell spent nearly two decades writing for Saturday Night Live, but she says her size kept her from being considered for an on-screen role. In an appearance on Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast, Pell recalled joining SNL in 1995, meeting Lorne Michaels, a
Paula Pell has spent years shaping Saturday Night Live from behind the scenes—yet she says it took longer than she expected to feel like she belonged in front of the camera.
The actress. 63. worked as a writer on SNL for nearly two decades. but she was never one of the show’s official on-screen players. During the Tuesday. May 19. episode of Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast. Pell talked through what she believes kept her from landing that kind of spotlight. “I don’t want to assume. but I’ve heard. here and there. little things and who knows because we’ve all been there when they’re picking people and it’s so random. ” she said. “I mean. not random. but there’s reasons that you don’t think are the reasons and all this. but I do suspect that … I was a big lady. I was a big plus-size person.”.
Pell explained that when she joined SNL in 1995. plus-size representation didn’t exist on “any” TV show in the way she says it should have. “There were starting to be people like Roseanne Barr. like people that had more real looking bodies. but I was just not of the aesthetic of that place whatsoever. ” she said.
Her path to SNL, she added, wasn’t through a traditional audition. Instead, Pell said she got a call to meet with Lorne Michaels. She recalled that Michaels was working at Disney World at the time. so he flew to New York City for their meeting. “I got there and [I] was terrified and I went in. He was, like, two hours late and I sat down with him,” she remembered. “He started talking like we had been talking already, like, he started in the middle of a sentence.”.
Pell joked that she didn’t receive a formal job offer from Michaels. yet somehow ended up on the writing staff. Before joining SNL behind-the-scenes. she said she was “not a writer” and that her comedy experience came from live performances at theme parks and theaters. Even so, Pell shared that she never voiced a desire to pursue acting on the show. “Even though I’d written short stories. I don’t know how to do any of this. ” she said of comedy writing. “I was so afraid to ever show any desire to perform.”.
That restraint didn’t stop her from leaving a lasting mark on the series. Pell worked on SNL from 1995 to 2013. and during her time there. she created some of the show’s most popular characters and sketches. including Debbie Downer. The Spartan Cheerleaders. Aunt Linda and more. She also made occasional cameos in sketches—usually as a parent or teacher.
In later years, though, she said she finally found the courage to act. Pell described that she “snagged roles” on shows like 30 Rock, A.P. Bio, Love, Girls5Eva and more. She is currently starring on Peacock’s The ‘Burbs series alongside Keke Palmer, Jack Whitehall and more. “It’s why I’m so gloriously happy to be able to perform later in my life because I finally let that out of the cage. ” she gushed.
Paula Pell Saturday Night Live SNL Amy Poehler Good Hang podcast Lorne Michaels plus-size representation Debbie Downer Spartan Cheerleaders Aunt Linda Peacock The 'Burbs Keke Palmer Jack Whitehall 30 Rock A.P. Bio Love Girls5Eva