Cecily Strong

“Impressions are still kind of hard for me and not what I love to do the most, but with characters, I think there's an element of fearlessness. You try to figure out the best reading and wording of the jokes before the show, and then you just really have to go hard.”

“Extra-dirty vodka Martinis - they're so easy to drink! I should really just drink olive juice; it'd be safer.”

“I started doing professional theater and industrials in Chicago when I was a little squirt.”

“I love so many cheeses. I like them hard and soft. I like cream cheese; I like cottage cheese... I'm a true Midwesterner.”

“I've been slightly hypoglycemic since I was a kid, so I have to make sure I eat in the morning and get my sugar.”

“I think of myself as kind of a hippy. Everyone around me says that's not the impression they get. They think I'm sassy. Apparently, I think I'm nicer than I really am.”

“I worked in a coffee shop called Buzz Cafe in Oak Park. I started when I was 14 or 15, washing dishes, and then I became a barista and sometimes waited tables. It was an artsy scene.”

“I don't have the most confidence in the world, and I'd venture to say most women in comedy don't come from a place of, 'Oh, I'm fabulous!' She's just as nervous as you are. So if you're trying to score with a funny girl, laugh at her jokes and tell her how hilarious she is.”

“I'm a huge Bulls fan. I like an emotional backstory while watching sports. In my mind, all the players on the Bulls are really nice, decent guys. Especially that Derrick Rose.”

“I was voted funniest person in my middle-school yearbook. So I guess I was funny in middle school?”

“It sounds so cliched, but I've always been kind of different. I always liked being around weird kids.”

“If you're a nerd, just be a nerd. That's way better than a nerd who's trying to be a hipster. And if you are going to tell jokes, don't direct them at other people. Not only is it not funny, but it's also mean.”

“There's so much more bad information than good information out there - everybody's got something to say and it's usually wrong.”

“I got my degree in acting and theater, and then I had a teacher who told me to take a class with The Groundlings. And for a second, I thought, 'Well, I don't know about that. I'm a serious actress.' And then I did, and I loved it, and I said, 'Ah, well, I guess this is what I'm going to do now.'”

“I love people who aren't embarrassed. I'm always embarrassed, so it's always astonishing to me when people aren't like that.”

“I do Twitter, but I'm still not great on it - I'm not good at writing short little jokes, so my Twitter's not really a jokey thing.”

“When I write on 'SNL,' I've found I'm most productive while collaborating and joking with friends and not being firmly attached to any one idea.”

“There have been some terrible winters in Chicago, where it feels like I'm literally being punched in the face, and everyone walks around looking stunned like they've just witnessed a murder.”

“I think women have always been funny. But when Tina Fey became head writer at 'Saturday Night Live,' the culture shifted, and women gained a bigger voice in comedy. It's not as if Hollywood producers are feminists. It's more that Hollywood said, ''Bridesmaids' made us so much money, all we want now is funny women.'”

“I always feel the most validated and confident being around people that I find funny - having Fred Armisen laugh at a scene or Bill Hader or Seth Meyers give me a compliment.”