Actress and comedian Abby Elliott is opening up about the highs and lows of her time on Saturday Night Live, revealing both gratitude and exhaustion from her four-season run on the iconic sketch series.I

n an interview with The Independent published on June 28, Elliott, 38, looked back at her stint on SNL, where she performed from 2008 to 2012. Cast at just 21 years old, she remains the youngest female performer ever hired by the show. Her path into comedy, she shared, was influenced by her father, comedian and former SNL cast member Chris Elliott — now best known for roles in Schitt’s Creek and Everybody Loves Raymond.“My dad was like, ‘You’re funny, you know? Why don’t you try improv?’” she recalled.Elliott quickly made a name for herself on SNL with her uncanny impressions of A-list stars like Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep. However, she eventually grew weary of playing the same kinds of roles. “I guess because it feels like I was beating a dead horse for so long,” she explained, admitting she no longer enjoyed doing impersonations as much as she once had.

The intense environment of SNL, particularly under longtime executive producer Lorne Michaels, also left a mark. Elliott described the week-to-week grind and the anxiety of staying relevant on air. “Every week was a new week, and your happiness would depend on whether you got something on air or not,” she said. “And if three weeks went by without a sketch, you’d think, ‘Uh-oh, am I going to be fired?’”She added that the constant fear of being cut from the show hung heavily over her during her tenure — and eventually became reality. “There was always that looming threat of getting fired,” she said. “That was the worst that could happen. And then, I kind of did.”Despite the difficult moments, Elliott’s time on SNL laid the foundation for a solid career in comedy, with later roles in projects like Indebted, How I Met Your Father, and various voiceover and film appearances.