Laraine Newman

Newman took her first improvisational theatre classes when she was 15. After finishing high school she auditioned for four acting schools in England including the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and Bristol Old Vic. She was not accepted to any of them, so she went to Paris to study mime with Marcel Marceau for a year. By the age of 19, Newman returned to the United States, and moved to Los Angeles, where she did a brief stint at a secretarial school. Committed to continue performing, she was a founding member of the pioneering comedy improvisational group The Groundlings. At the same time, Newman was working for a booking agent who worked with rock bands, typing up contracts. Newman cites Eve Arden, Madeline Kahn and Richard Pryor as her first major influences, saying "They led me into my life of comedy, they led me into understanding 'The Art of Play'."Newman's post-SNL film career has been in both leading and supporting roles, as well as a voice artist in television and features. In her memoirs, Newman recounted dating Dan Aykroyd, Warren Zevon, Peter Cook, Phil Hartman, and P.J. O'Rourke. She was also in a relationship with Mark Mothersbaugh of the new wave band Devo years after the band did a guest spot in the fourth season of SNL. Newman and Mothersbaugh were a couple for years, during which time Newman played Donut Rooter in the band's We're All Devo VHS release (1984). In her memoirs, Newman claimed she was celibate for four years after the end of her relationship with Mothersbaugh.