Biography
Actress and comedian Cheri Oteri emerged from obscurity into the proverbial limelight in the mid-'90s. 1995 brought with it the performer's definitive breakthrough; that year, Oteri -- then a member of the L.A. comedy troupe The Groundlings -- was tapped by
Saturday Night Live to join its regular cast of players. She remained with
SNL for five years, and cultivated an enthusiastic response for such recurring bits as impersonations of Ross Perot and
Debbie Reynolds. Oteri transitioned to film roles around 2000, coincident with her
Saturday Night Live departure; as a cinematic performer, she specialized in richly comic characterizations in gag-laden farces such as
Scary Movie (2000), Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003), and
Shrek the Third (2007). In 2006, Oteri teamed up with
Donnie Darko wunderkind
Richard Kelly for that helmer's epic dystopian comedy
Southland Tales. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide