In her words, Kate McKinnon was a “weird” kid.
But it’s precisely that peculiarity that has earned the former “Saturday Night Live” star two Emmy Awards, as well as roles in high-profile films like “Barbie” and “Ghostbusters,” and, now, a bestselling children’s book.
“I grew up reading and being inspired by quirky, female protagonists, particularly Pippi Longstocking, who I dressed up as to go to school,” McKinnon says during a sit-down conversation with TODAY.com.
While showing up to school in costume may not have earned her a lot of points in the popularity department, it did help lay the foundation for McKinnon’s madcap adventure, “The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science.”
Released in 2024, the fantasy novel tells the eccentric tale of sisters Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee Porch, outcasts in the persnickety town of Antiquarium, a place where residents are only allowed to own bichon frisé dogs and all young women must attend etiquette school.
Full of clever footnotes and detailed illustrations, the book became a New York Times bestseller and spawned the latest installment in the series, “Secrets of the Purple Pearl,” released on Sept. 30.
“This genre is certainly my favorite literary genre because (of the) magic, fantasy, fun characters, but also it is the genre that deals most directly with questions of identity and coming into one’s own discovering who you are, who you were born to be,” she explains.
According to McKinnon, all the characters in the “Millicent Quibb” series are based on her in one way or another, but the one she sees herself in the most is the protagonist, Gertrude Porch.
“I definitely identify with her strong desire to help, her empathy, and, often, her plans to assist go awry because she tells weird jokes and she makes little weird comments and she’s just odd and she can’t really help it,” she says.
“So often in my own life, the thing that seemed like, ‘Oh, I can’t do that, that’s too much,’ or, ‘They’ll think that’s weird,’ that ends up being the thing that people respond to the most. So, that’s sort of the journey Gertrude is on. She’s learning to trust that even though her thoughts are very out of the box, that’s exactly what the world needs of her,” says McKinnon.
The daughter of a social worker and an architect, McKinnon grew up on Long Island and says that while her community was largely “artsy,” she, like Gertrude, still felt somewhat stifled.
“No matter what community you grow up in, you get messages to tone it down, shave off the hard edges of who you are, fit yourself into a box,” McKinnon says.
The “Millicent Quibb” series is intentionally written for an older-elementary and middle-school-aged audience.
“That’s what people in this age group are learning how to deal with, and the question becomes, are you going to listen to that, and then spend a lifetime trying to figure out who you actually are? Or are you going to stay the course?”
‘I took apart VCRs to look at circuit boards’
Much like her character, McKinnon decided to be true to herself, even if it meant not quite fitting in.
“I was so weird,” says McKinnon. “I had a little group of weird friends, and we loved science. We looked for aliens in the sky, and we ate honeysuckle in the schoolyard to try to figure out whether there was a correlation between the color of the honeysuckle and the sweetness of the nectar.
“I took apart VCRs to look at circuit boards. There was a ghost hunters club. I was so in love with the natural world as I was discovering it. And I was also lonely because I knew I was weird.”
What made her “weird,” however, also proved to be the catalyst for her success.
While a student at Columbia University in 2006, McKinnon scored a role on the comedy series “The Big Gay Sketch Show,” followed by a string of minor TV appearances, a trajectory that eventually led her to audition for “SNL” in 2012.
Chris Haston/NBC via Getty Images
Chris Haston/NBC via Getty Images Kate McKinnon, Pedro Pascal and Woody Harrelson during the “Close Encounter” sketch at the “SNL” 50th anniversary special in February 2025.
After nabbing a coveted spot on the cast, McKinnon quickly rose through the ranks, becoming well-known for her celebrity impressions of Hillary Clinton, Martha Stewart, Ellen DeGeneres and others, eventually winning back-to-back Emmys in 2016 and 2017.
After 11 seasons on the show, McKinnon stepped down, but not without leaving the world with a variety of memorable characters, including Colleen Rafferty (aka Ms. Rafferty), the raunchy, cigarette-smoking alien abductee in one of the show’s most legendary sketches: “Close Encounters.”
Since leaving, she returned to host the show in 2023 and again in 2025, resurrecting Ms. Rafferty for the “SNL” 50th anniversary special in February.
“I truly love people and connecting with a live audience is the greatest thing,” she says.
Introvert vs. extrovert
Between being an author and a performer, is there one McKinnon prefers over the other?
“I’m a real introvert and so the lifestyle of just getting up and going to my computer by myself, it suits me very well. But I also love to collaborate with other funny people,” she says.
Currently, McKinnon is busy pickling the produce she grows on her farm, hanging out with a woodchuck in her yard that she’s dubbed Bonnie and working on the third installment of “Millicent Quibb,” which is well underway.
“One of the greatest dreams of my life would be to see the world that’s in my head realized on a screen,” she says.
Are there plans for a movie?
“Make the phone call!” she laughs.
Kate McKinnon is looking back! On the red carpet in New York City ahead of “SNL50: The Anniversary Special,” the comedian chatted with Access Hollywood’s Emily Orozco about the special night and reflected on the show hitting the milestone number. “It’s very emotional … because I started watching this when I was 11 and it’s just been like such a part of my existence,” she shared. “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” airs Feb 16. at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
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