Nora Dunn

Nora Eloise Dunn (born April 29, 1952) is an American actress and comedian, known for her work on the NBC sketch variety TV series Saturday Night Live.

Early life

Dunn was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Margaret (née East), a nurse, and John Dunn, a musician and poet. Her brother is actor Kevin Dunn. She was raised in a Catholic family, and has Irish, English, Scottish, and German ancestry. Dunn attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1970 to 1972, San Francisco City College, and the Academy of Fine Arts.

Career

Saturday Night Live

Dunn joined SNL in 1985 with the return of Lorne Michaels as executive producer. The 1985–1986 season proved to be a ratings disaster, and she was one of only five cast members who were not fired at its end (the others were newcomers Jon Lovitz, A. Whitney Brown, Dennis Miller and longtime featured player Al Franken).

Dunn's characters included half of "The Sweeney Sisters" lounge act alongside Jan Hooks, as well as talk show host Pat Stevens (which became a popular recurring role starting in the low-rated 1985–1986 season), melodramatic French hooker Babette, and film buff Ashley Ashley from the "Actors on Film" sketch from the 1985–1986 season. Her impressions included Ann Landers, Imelda Marcos, Liza Minnelli, Tyne Daly, Joan Baez, Martina Navratilova, and Cokie Roberts.