Ellen Cleghorne

Ellen Cleghorne
Cleghorne at the La Bella Vista Club
Born	(1965-11-29) November 29, 1965 (age 51) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, comedian
Years active	1984–present
Children	1 daughter

Ellen Cleghorne (born November 29, 1965) is an American actress and comedian, best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1991 to 1995. Cleghorne was the sketch comedy show's second African-American female repertory cast member, succeeding Danitra Vance in its eleventh season, and the first African-American female cast member to stay for more than one season. She returned for its 40th anniversary special on February 15, 2015. Cleghorne was ranked the 69th greatest Saturday Night Live cast member by Rolling Stone magazine.

A native of the Red Hook Projects in Brooklyn, New York, Cleghorne is a graduate of Hunter College. She first established her talents in New York City comedy clubs and career started when she competed in the Johnnie Walker Comedy Search in 1989 where she was directed in a video by Saturday Night Live short film producer Neal Marshad at the comedy club Carolines in the South Street Seaport. In 1991, she appeared on Def Comedy Jam and landed minor roles in season two of In Living Color, where she was discovered by producers of Saturday Night Live. Cleghorne joined Saturday Night Live in 1991, and remained on the show for four seasons. During her time on the show she performed impressions such as Alfre Woodard, Dr. Dre, Anita Baker, Florence Griffith Joyner, Debbie Allen, Mary J. Blige, Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, Marla Gibbs, Robin Quivers, Toni Morrison, Joycelyn Elders, Tina Turner, and Whoopi Goldberg. Also, she had two recurring characters: Zoraida, an NBC page, and Queen Shenequa, who appeared frequently on Weekend Update.