When was Abby Elliott fired from SNL? The Bear actress opens up about her time on the show

Abby Elliott was fired by Saturday Night Live or SNL in August, 2012, after a four year stint on the show. Elliott during a recent interview with The Independent, looked back at her time on the show, saying:

"Every week was a new week, and your happiness would depend on whether you got something on air or not, and if three weeks went by without a sketch, you'd think, 'Uh-oh, am I going to get fired.' There was always that looming threat of getting fired. That was the worst that could happen. And then, I kind of did."

Elliott had earlier asked the show's creator and producer Lorne Micheals, if she could quit, but got cold feet later on:

"I went back to him with my tail between my legs asking to stay, but after that season, Lorne said, 'No, I'm going to cut you loose.'"

Lorne cutting Elliott loose helped her understand that her time on SNL was over:

"As much as I enjoyed being on that show, sketch comedy wasn't going to be it for me. It's not why I started and it's not how I wanted to end. Also, I had learnt the lessons I was going to learn, and so I left, and, you know, the water was warm."

After leaving SNL, Elliott bagged roles on How I Met Your Mother, Odd Mom Out, and Indebted. She also played the role of Natalie Berzatto in the first and second seasons of The Bear, and was nominated alongside Meryl Streep, Christina Ricci, and J. Smith-Cameron for a Golden Globe award in 2024.

More about Abby Elliott and her connection to SNL

Abby Elliott, is the daughter of Chris Elliott, best known for Late Night with David Letterman, Groundhog Day, and Schitt's Creek. Her grandfather, was Bob Elliott, best known for Bob & Ray. Bob had appeared on an SNL episode in 1978.

Abby joined Saturday Night Live at 21, and became the youngest ever female cast member. She made it to the sketch comedy series, after dropping out of college in Maryland after one semester, and enrolling in improv classes, with her dad's encouragement:

"I took myself very seriously with drama. My dad was like, 'You're funny, you know? Why don't you try improv?'"

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Abby Elliott had left SNL in 2012, along with other members including, Kristen Wiig, and Andy Samberg. The three were replaced by a new roster of cast members including, Cecily Strong, Tim Robinson and Kate McKinnon.

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