Sasheer Zamata Moore (; born May 6, 1986) is an American actress and comedian known for her work as a cast member on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' from 2014 to 2017 as well as her leading roles in the TV series ''

Woke ''Woke'' ( ) is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) meaning "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination". Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalities such as sexi ...

'' (2020–2022) and ''

Home Economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...

'' (2021–present). She has served as a celebrity ambassador for the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

Early life

Zamata is the daughter of American parents, Ivory Steward and Henry Moore, a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force. She was born in Okinawa, Japan, because of her father's military career.'' Finding Your Roots'', January 7, 2020 She is the great-granddaughter of Leroy Washington Mahon, a formerly enslaved man who founded the town of Fargo, Arkansas. Zamata was raised in Indianapolis,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. She is a graduate of

Pike High School Pike High School is a public high school on the northwest side of Indianapolis, Indiana. Athletics Conference History Varsity Sports * Baseball (boys) * Basketball (girls and boys) * Cross country (girls and boys) * Football (boys) * Golf ( ...

. She stated her parents named her after the alien flower-like crystal called the "Sahsheer" from the '' Star Trek'' episode " By Any Other Name". She attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree. Zamata was a founding member of the University's long-form improv comedy troupe, Amuse Bouche. While a student at UVA, she participated in the

Disney College Program The Disney College Program (DCP) is a United States national internship program operated by the Disney Programs division of The Walt Disney Company, located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando and the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. The pro ...

for one semester, where she portrayed various costumed characters.

Career

Sasheer Zamata, Peoples Improv Theater, 2011

Zamata has performed regularly at the

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (shorter UCB Theatre) is an American improvisational theatre company and training center founded by the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. Prior t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

since 2009. She co-starred in the

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

hidden camera series ''

Would You Fall for That? ''What Would You Do?'' (commonly abbreviated as ''WWYD'', and formerly known as ''Primetime: What Would You Do?'' through the program's fifth season) is an American situational hidden camera television series that has been broadcast on the Americ ...

'' and was a cast member on MTV's series ''Hey Girl''. Zamata also appeared in sketches on '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' and '' Inside Amy Schumer''. She stars in the webseries ''Pursuit of Sexiness''. Additionally, she has appeared in sketches for

CollegeHumor CollegeHumor is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles. Aside from producing content for release on YouTube, it was also a former humor website owned by InterActiveCorp ( IAC) until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the websi ...

. Videos on Zamata's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel include impersonations of Michelle Obama, Rihanna,

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...

, and Beyoncé. Zamata also voices the character Sally in '' Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare'' Zombie mode. In 2021, Zamata voiced the character Mary in ''

Muppets Haunted Mansion ''Muppets Haunted Mansion'' is a 2021 American puppet supernatural comedy Halloween special based on the Disney properties The Muppets and The Haunted Mansion. It was released on October 8, 2021, via Disney+. It is the Muppets' first Halloween s ...

''. She co-hosts ''Best Friends'', a podcast with best friend and fellow comedian,

Nicole Byer Nicole Byer (born August 29, 1986) is an American comedian, actress, and television host. She is known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series ''Nailed It!'' (2018–present), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award no ...

''Saturday Night Live''

In 2014, Zamata joined the cast of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

'' (''SNL'') during its 39th season. She joined the ''SNL'' cast amid a season in which TV critics and black comedians had criticized the show for not being ethnically diverse (specifically, not hiring any black female cast members at the start of the new season and only having five of them in the near-40 years the show has been on the air). Zamata was the first black female cast member on ''SNL'' since biracial Maya Rudolph departed midway through the show's 33rd season in 2007. Zamata debuted on ''SNL'' as a featured player in the January 18, 2014 episode hosted by

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

, in which she impersonated Rihanna. She was promoted to repertory player in the first episode of Season 41. Some of her recurring characters include Janelle, a teenage girl who hosts a

channel called ''How 2 Dance with Janelle'' but is unaware of how her developing sexuality is coming off to viewers, and Keeley, a contestant on an African-American centric version of ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...

'' called ''Black Jeopardy!'' Some of her celebrity impressions have included the aforementioned Rihanna, Michelle Obama,

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

, Beyoncé,

Solange Knowles Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, performance artist, and actress. Expressing an interest in music from an early age, Knowles had several temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, whi ...

, Diana Ross,

Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (, ; ; born 1 March 1983) is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. The daughter of Kenyan politi ...

, and Taraji P. Henson. She left the show in 2017 after the season 42 finale.

ACLU and work with women's rights

Zamata was named a celebrity ambassador to the

(ACLU) in 2015, and began work with the Women's Rights Project. The ACLU Women's Rights project seeks to break down gender biases and "ensure equal economic opportunities,

educational equity Educational equity, also known as equity in education, is a measure of achievement, fairness, and opportunity in education. The study of education equity is often linked with the study of excellence and equity. Educational equity depends on two ...

, and an end to gender-based violence". She has spoken out on gender discrimination in the U.S. today, and has advocated for equal rights among women of color, in particular. In an interview with '' Allure'', Zamata opened up about her experiences with discrimination and colorism. She has stated that although she has often been stigmatized for her darker skin tone, she hopes to turn her experiences into a message of self-acceptance and body positivity for women in all shades.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zamata, Shasheer 1986 births Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians Actresses from Indianapolis African-American actresses African-American female comedians American expatriates in Japan American film actresses American impressionists (entertainers) American sketch comedians American television actresses American voice actresses American women comedians Comedians from Indiana University of Virginia alumni Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women