What is Molly Shannon's Net Worth?
Molly Shannon is an American actress, writer, producer, and comedian who has a net worth of $8 million. Shannon is probably most famous for being a "Saturday Night Live" cast member from 1995 to 2001. She also starred in the "SNL" spin-off movies "A Night at the Roxbury" (1998) and "Superstar" (1999).
Molly has more than 120 acting credits to her name, including the films "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (2006), "Life After Beth" (2014), "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" (2015), and "Other People" (2016) and the television series "Will and Grace" (1999–2004; 2018–2020), "Kath & Kim" (2008–2009), "Enlightened" (2013), "Divorce" (2016–2019), and "The Other Two" (2019–present). Shannon has lent her voice to several animated projects, such as "Igor" (2008), "Hotel Transylvania" (2012), "Hotel Transylvania 2" (2015), "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation" (2018), "Neighbors from Hell" (2010), and "Spy Kids: Mission Critical" (2018).
Molly is credited as a writer and producer on "The Royal Wedding Live with Cord and Tish!" (2018), which she starred in with Will Ferrell, and she also produced "The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish" (2018). Shannon made her Broadway debut in a 2010 production of "Promises, Promises," and she published the children's book "Tilly the Trickster" in 2011.
Early Life
Molly Shannon was born Molly Helen Shannon on September 16, 1964, in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Her father, James, worked as a sales manager, and her mother, Mary (better known as Peg), was a teacher. Sadly, when Molly was 4 years old, her mother, younger sister, and cousin were killed in a car accident. Her father, who was under the influence, was driving the car, and while he was recovering in the hospital, Molly and her older sister, Mary, lived with their aunt. Shannon said of the tragedy, "I was very heartbroken and very sad and just trying to hold it all together as a kid. There's no way that you could feel that type of deep pain about your mother and your sister being dead, so you just hold it all in, and it comes up later in life." Molly eventually channeled her feelings from that time in her life into creating Mary Katherine Gallagher, who became a popular recurring character on "Saturday Night Live." Shannon attended St. Dominic School and Hawken School, then she enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1987.
Career
In 1989, Molly made her film debut in the horror remake of "The Phantom of the Opera," and she guest-starred on "Twin Peaks" in 1991. From 1992 to 1993, she appeared in five episodes of the sketch comedy series "In Living Color," and she guest-starred on "The John Larroquette Show," "Ellen," and "Sister, Sister" in 1994. In February 1995, Shannon joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live," and she stayed on the show until 2001, playing memorable characters such as Mary Katherine Gallagher (who got her own movie, "Superstar," in 1999), Sally O'Malley, and Joyologist Helen Madden. Molly returned to host the show on May 12, 2007. While starring on "SNL," she also played Emily Sanderson in 1998's "A Night at the Roxbury" and appeared in the films "Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace" (1996), "Happiness" (1998), "The Thin Pink Line" (1998), "Analyze This" (1999), "Never Been Kissed" (1999), and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (2000). In 1999, Shannon landed a recurring role as Val Bassett on "Will and Grace," and she reprised her role in the 2018 revival. In 2001, she played Gail von Kleinenstein in the film "Wet Hot American Summer," and she reunited with the all-star cast (which includes Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Amy Poehler) in the Netflix series "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" (2015) and "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later" (2017).
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In the early 2000s, Molly guest-starred on "Sex and the City" (2002), "Ed" (2003), and "Scrubs," (2004) and appeared in the TV movie "The Music Man" (2003) and the films "Serendipity" (2001), "Shallow Hal" (2001), "The Santa Clause 2" (2002), "American Splendor" (2003), and "My Boss's Daughter" (2003). In 2004, she starred as Lesley Shackleton on the Fox series "Cracking Up," and in 2006, she appeared in the films "Scary Movie 4," "Marie Antoinette," "Little Man," and "Gray Matters" and teamed up frequent co-star Will Ferrell in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." Shannon then appeared in "Year of the Dog" (2007), "Evan Almighty" (2007), "Bad Teacher" (2011), "Casa de Mi Padre" (2012), and "The Five-Year Engagement" (2012) and guest-starred on "30 Rock" (2007), "Pushing Daisies" (2007), "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (2009), "Glee" (2010), and "Web Therapy" (2012). From 2008 to 2009, Molly starred as Kath on NBC's "Kath & Kim," and in 2013, she had a recurring role as Eileen Foliente on HBO's "Enlightened." In 2016, she earned critical acclaim for her performance in the film "Other People" and began playing Diane on HBO's "Divorce," which aired 24 episodes over three seasons.
In 2017, Shannon appeared in the films "The Little Hours," "Fun Mom Dinner," "We Don't Belong Here," and "The Layover," followed by "Private Life," "Half Magic," and "Wild Nights with Emily" (in which she portrayed Emily Dickinson) in 2018. In 2019, she began starring as Pat Dubek on the Comedy Central series "The Other Two," which moved to HBO Max for season two and was renewed for a third season in September 2021. In 2020, Molly appeared "Horse Girl" and Academy Award Best Picture nominee "Promising Young Woman," and in 2021, she played Kitty Patton in two episodes of the HBO series "The White Lotus." In September 2021, it was announced that Shannon had been cast in the Zach Braff-directed drama "A Good Person" alongside Morgan Freeman and Florence Pugh.
Personal Life
Molly married Fritz Chesnut, an artist, on May 29, 2004. They welcomed daughter Stella in September 2003 and son Nolan in March 2005. In July 2021, Shannon announced that she was writing a memoir titled "Hello, Molly!," stating, "The book covers my childhood, my early days in show business, my time at SNL, and beyond."
Awards and Nominations
Shannon has been nominated for three Primetime Emmys: Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for "Saturday Night Live" (2000) and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for "Enlightened" (2013) and "Will & Grace (2018). She has earned two Online Film & Television Association Award nominations for Best Host or Performer in a Variety, Musical, or Comedy Series for "Saturday Night Live," winning in 2000, and she received two Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series nominations for "Will & Grace." Molly won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for "Other People" in 2017 and a FilmOut Festival Award for Best Actress for "Wild Nights with Emily" in 2018. She was honored with a Spotlight Award at the 2016 Savannah Film Festival and an Excellence in Acting Award at the 2018 Provincetown International Film Festival. "Will & Grace" won an Editor's Choice award at the 2006 "TV Guide" Awards, and the "Happiness" cast won a National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble in 1998.
"Other People" earned Molly nominations from the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, Awards Circuit Community Awards, Indiana Film Journalists Association, Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards, and Gold Derby Awards. She also received a Gold Derby Award nomination for Comedy Guest Actress for "Will & Grace" (2018). For "The Other Two," Shannon has earned Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and International Online Cinema Awards, and she received a Critics Choice Television Award nomination for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series for "Enlightened" in 2013. She earned Blockbuster Entertainment Award nominations for Favorite Actress – Comedy for "Superstar" and Favorite Supporting Actress – Comedy for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and the "Hotel Transylvania" cast received a Behind the Voice Actors Award nomination for Best Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film.
