Molly Shannon reflected on her time on Saturday Night Live ahead of the celebration of the iconic show’s 50th anniversary.

When asked which hosts made a lasting impression on her, Molly, 60, was quick to mention Jennifer Aniston, 55. 

She said the Friends star was ‘very laid back’ while hosting SNL for the first time in 1999.  

‘I remember being like, “Ooh, that’s so cool. Jennifer Aniston,”‘ she recalled to People.

‘And she had a big wedding ring on and she was just [an] easygoing professional, [she] had been in television for a long time.’  

At the time of her SNL debut, Aniston was engaged to Brad Pitt and wore a diamond and platinum ring by that Pitt famously spent seven months helping design.

Molly Shannon reflected on her time on Saturday Night Live ahead of the celebration of the iconic show’s 50th anniversary. Seen here in July 2001

Aniston has hosted Saturday Night Live twice – in 1999 and again in 2004. 

Molly also talked about Cameron Diaz, revealing she chowed down on salad during her hosting stint.

‘During the rehearsal, she would just eat salads, lots of greens. And I was like, “I want to be like Cameron Diaz and just eat salad,” she said.

‘You know what I mean? Isn’t that funny?’

Molly also revealed the inspiration behind her iconic character Mary Katherine Gallagher.

‘This is not funny at all, but my dad was very badly injured in an automobile accident and he had to learn to walk again,’ Shannon said. 

‘The character is based on his limp. That’s me imitating my dad. She’s like, “I can’t, but then she fools people. She’s got power. She can f*** you all.’ 

When Molly was four-years-old her family was in an horrific car accident and the resulting accident killed her mother, younger sister, and cousin and severely injured her father.

When asked which hosts made a lasting impression on her, Molly, 60, was quick to mention Jennifer Aniston, 55. Aniston seen here in June 2024

She said the Friends star was ‘very laid back’ while hosting SNL for the first time in 1999. Seen here with Brad Pitt in 2000

Molly also talked about Cameron Diaz, revealing she chowed down on salad during her hosting stint. Seen here in January 2025

Molly also revealed the inspiration behind her iconic character Mary Katherine Gallagher

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Molly’s father was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. 

Molly and her older sister survived and were raised by their aunt.

‘I was very heartbroken and very sad and just trying to hold it all together as a kid,’ the actress said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

‘There’s no way that you could feel that type of deep pain about your mother and your sister being ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, so you just hold it all in, and it comes up later in life,’ she added. 

Shannon broke out as a comedy star when she joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1995. 

She created the beloved character Mary Katherine Gallagher that year, which she portrayed in the 1999 movie Superstar.

The character was an unpopular Catholic school girl who was ultra-compeтιтive and who would sniff her armpits when she got nervous.

Shannon would often literally throw herself into objects like metal chairs, without any padding, because she didn’t care if she hurt herself after the tragedy.

‘This is not funny at all, but my dad was very badly injured in an automobile accident and he had to learn to walk again,’ Shannon said

‘I didn’t care if I cut myself or I made myself bleed. I did not give a s**t. I looked at it like punk rock. I was reckless, and because of what I went through, I just didn’t care about anything,’ she said.

‘You feel like you put your heart right there on the table, but I hope that my story can help other people,’ Shannon added.

Shannon said that she created the Mary Katherine Gallagher character while at NYU, which she said was, ‘really based on me, how I felt after the accident — really nervous, accident-prone, wanting to please, f***ed up but full of hope.’

‘I just exaggerated everything I felt as a little girl and turned it into a character,’ she added.