Cheryl Ann Oteri (/oʊˈtɛri/; born September 19, 1962[1][2]) is an American actress and comedian. A Primetime Emmy Award nominee, she is best known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2000.
The daughter of Gaetano Thomas Oteri,[3] she has Italian ancestry.[4]
After moving to Los Angeles at age 25, Oteri worked at A&M Records for four years and eventually joined famed comedy troupe The Groundlings. In 1995, producers of Saturday Night Live (SNL) attended a performance with the intention of auditioning fellow Groundlings member Chris Kattan. Oteri performed a monologue during one of Kattan's costume changes, which led to her own invitation to audition for SNL, along with Kattan and fellow Groundling Will Ferrell. She was hired as a performer in September 1995 as part of an almost entirely new cast, which was brought in after the show's disastrous 1994–1995 season.
Celebrities that Oteri impersonated included Alanis Morissette, Barbara Walters, Cyndi Lauper, Mariah Carey, Marla Maples, Debbie Reynolds, Jennifer Lopez, Ross Perot, Jennifer Tilly, Kelli Williams, Paula Jones, Tori Spelling, Melanie C, Robin Byrd, Jessica McClure, Jessica Simpson, Fran Drescher, Marisa Tomei, Katie Couric and Gloria Stuart.[citation needed]
Oteri has appeared in a number of movies, including Scary Movie, Inspector Gadget, Liar Liar, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, Shrek the Third and Southland Tales.
She starred in two TV pilots that did not make it to air: Loomis and With You in Spirit. Shows on which she made guest appearances include Just Shoot Me!, Strangers with Candy and Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which she portrayed Martine, the emotionally unstable nanny.
In 2009, Oteri became a regular voice cast in the Fox animated comedy series, Sit Down, Shut Up. She voices Helen Klench, the unappreciated librarian who often gets mistaken for objects, such as brooms or toilet brushes. The series premiered on April 19, 2009[6] and moved to Comedy Central in May 2010.[6]
Oteri played a tooth fairy on Imagination Movers, a regular on the Playhouse Disney block.[6] She starred in the AMC web series Liza Life Coach in 2010. Oteri appeared in the pilot episode of Glory Daze, which premiered on TBS on November 16, 2010. She hosted AXS TV's Gotham Comedy Live on May 26, 2016, in New York City.[7]
Cheri is an occasional guest on Jeff Lewis' talk radio show on Radio Andy, the Andy Cohen channel on SiriusXM.