Life and career

A native of the Red Hook Projects in Brooklyn, New York, she first established her talents in New York City comedy clubs and career started when she competed in the Johnnie Walker Comedy Search in 1989 where she was directed in a video by Saturday Night Live short film producer Neal Marshad at the comedy club Carolines in the South Street Seaport. In 1991, she appeared on Def Comedy Jam and landed minor roles in season two of In Living Color, where she was discovered by producers of Saturday Night Live. Cleghorne joined Saturday Night Live in 1991, and remained on the show for four seasons. During her time on the show she performed impressions such as Alfre Woodard, Dr. Dre, Anita Baker, Florence Griffith Joyner, Debbie Allen, Mary J. Blige, Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, Marla Gibbs, Robin Quivers, Toni Morrison, Joycelyn Elders, Tina Turner, and Whoopi Goldberg. Also, she had two recurring characters: Zoraida, an NBC page, and Queen Shenequa, who appeared frequently on Weekend Update. She is a graduate of Hunter College.

Her former SNL costar Jay Mohr's book Gasping for Airtime notes that Cleghorne did not get along well with some of the other cast members during her time on the show. He also mentions a tiff with host Sally Field during a pitch meeting. In 1995, she left SNL to star as single mother Ellen Carlson on Cleghorne!, a sitcom that aired for one season on The WB network, which also starred former SNL alumnus Garrett Morris, and Sherri Shepherd in her first acting role.

Cleghorne also appeared, off and on, on the cult children's TV show The Adventures of Pete and Pete, which aired on Nickelodeon. Cleghorne played a bus driver whose main function was as the love interest of Pete's regular bus driver.

Cleghorne has appeared in independent films and comedy segments since the cancellation of Cleghorne!, making brief cameos in films Armageddon, Coyote Ugly, Little Nicky, and Old School.

She has had a series of skits played on Sirius XM Radio's Raw Dog Comedy channel.

Cleghorne was mentioned on a segment of the Family Guy DVD Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, when Stewie asks if "they ever found a suitable vehicle for Ellen Cleghorne." Seth MacFarlane has claimed that she called the show's staff about the joke, which Cleghorne has denied.

In 2013, she appeared in a small role in Grown Ups 2. As of 2014, she has received a PhD in Performance Studies at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

In 2015, she was one of the contestants for Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition, finishing in 3rd place.

Celebrity impressions on Saturday Night Live

Alfre Woodard Alice Walker Amy Fisher Anita Baker Anita Hill Debbie Allen Dr. Dre Florence Griffith Joyner Gladys Knight Isabel Sanford Jackée Harry Joycelyn Elders Kim Wayans

Marguerite Simpson Marla Gibbs Mary J. Blige Natalie Cole Norma Quarles Patti LaBelle Robin Quivers Ruby Dee Sister Souljah Tina Turner Toni Morrison Woody Allen Whoopi Goldberg

Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live

• Queen Shenequa, an Afrocentric social critic who dressed in African garb, observed Kwanzaa, and made commentaries on race.
• Zoraida, an exuberant but short-tempered NBC page who pesters the celebrity hosts of the show as they prepare backstage. Usually, when the celebrity grew tired of her bothering them and would try to leave, she would suddenly become angry and threaten them.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]