Heidi Gardner Fun Facts: 6 Things To Know About ‘SNL’ Cast Member

Heidi Gardner officially became an “SNL” cast member in the fall, and she has spent the last several months making audiences laugh with her killer impressions of Drew Barrymore, Kristen Schaal and more. It’s time to learn a little more about the funny lady.

1. “SNL” Is A Long-Time Goal: Gardner has been a jokester since she was a kid playing pranks, but she got into comedy early in life. In her 2001 high school yearbook, she was voted most likely to be a cast member of “Saturday Night Live.”

2. Midwesterner: New York City is a long way from home. Gardner grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. After college, the actress headed out to Los Angeles and eventually started working with the famed Groundlings (Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig and more are alums).

Heidi Gardner became an “SNL” cast member at the beginning of Season 43. Rosalind O'Connor/NBC

3. Hitting The Big Screen: Gardner’s first full-length film was a 2014 comedy called “Dibs!,” and she appeared in the indie flick “Making Babies” alongside Eliza Coupe (“Happy Endings,” “Future Man”) earlier this year. This spring, she’ll appear in her first major studio movie. She stars alongside Melissa McCarthy in the Warner Bros. movie “Life of the Party,” a comedy about a mother attending college with her daughter. Gillian Jacobs, Maya Rudolph and Chris Parnell also star.

4. LeBron James Fan: In the video below, Gardner says a word she overuses is “LeBron.” The sports fan even put “Go LeBron!” in her Groundlings bio, and she called the basketball player “my hero” in an Instagram post.

5. She’s On Another TV Show: The 34-year-old doesn’t just work on “SNL.” She is also a writer and voice actor on Crackle’s “SuperMansion” alongside Bryan Cranston, Keegan-Michael Key and more.

6. Junk Food Junkie: You won’t find any green juices or acai bowls on Gardner’s Instagram. In a promotional “SNL” video, she said her favorite comfort food is Mega Stuf Oreos. Meanwhile, she posts photos of food like cake and ramen, and once, she admitted that she just wants to eat Funfetti icing straight out of the can (don’t we all?).