Sasheer Zamata

Sasheer Zamata (born May 6, 1986) is an American actress and comedian. She rose to prominence as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2014 to 2017, and since departing has garnered wider attention for her starring roles in the TV series Woke (2020-2022), Home Economics (2021-2023), and Agatha All Along (2024). Of African American heritage, she was born in Okinawa, Japan, because of her father's military career, and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she graduated from Pike High School. She attended the University of Virginia and was a founding member of its long-form improv troupe, Amuse Bouche.

Zamata performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City starting in 2009, appeared in sketches on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell and Inside Amy Schumer, and posted celebrity impersonations on her YouTube channel. In 2014, she joined the cast of Saturday Night Live during its 39th season, becoming the first black female cast member since Maya Rudolph departed in 2007. She debuted impersonating Rihanna and created recurring characters including Janelle, while her impressions included Michelle Obama, Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé. She left the show in 2017.

Since leaving SNL, Zamata has continued her stand-up comedy work, creating the specials Pizza Mind (2017) and Sasheer Zamata: The First Woman (2023). In 2019, she launched the podcast Best Friends, which she hosts with fellow comedian Nicole Byer. Her film and television roles include I Feel Pretty (2018), Spree (2020) and the Disney+ Marvel show Agatha All Along, where she portrayed Jennifer Kale. She was named a celebrity ambassador to the American Civil Liberties Union in 2015, working with its Women's Rights Project, and came out as a lesbian in 2024.