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From royal family antics to political power couples, SNL has never shied away from skewering famous duos. Join us as we count down the most iconic, hilarious, and downright uncanny portrayals of celebrity couples that Saturday Night Live has gifted us over the years. Which cast member nailed their impression the best?
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00:00Oh no! Our friends are coming to see the baby and I am such a mess. I'm only wearing this.
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most iconic, hilarious, and downright uncanny
00:14portrayals of famous couples that SNL has gifted us over the years.
00:18We got so much chemistry, we can finish each other's...
00:24Number 10. Barack and Michelle Obama
00:27With poll numbers putting us so far ahead, we decided now's the time to play it safe.
00:32Instead of a conventional address, we're going to carefully manage our lead and, well, shake things up.
00:39With the Barack Obama variety half hour, it's time to have some fun!
00:43During the 2008 election season, SNL found a clever comedic angle by imagining Barack Obama and Michelle Obama
00:50hosting a safe, squeaky clean variety show to avoid rocking the polls.
00:55Fred Armisen leaned into Obama's measured cadence and signature pauses, while Maya Rudolph absolutely stole the spotlight as Michelle,
01:03turning the sketch into a musical showcase of her impressive vocals.
01:06I promise you, it will be...
01:09Solid!
01:10Yes it is!
01:12Solid as Barack!
01:15That's what this show is!
01:20That's what we got!
01:23The whole thing felt slick, controlled, and just a little too perfect.
01:27The pair popped up together again in 2012, this time spoofing the Cosby Show,
01:33with Michelle running a wholesome family sitcom to promote her campaign against childhood obesity.
01:38Barack Obama.
01:40Is that a hoagie?
01:41Foods like that lead to obesity.
01:44And you know you ought to never, never, never, never, never, never, never eat them.
01:48I know!
01:49I just found it here!
01:52With their adorable dynamics, hilarious banter, and guest cameos, the sketch looked like something that could have aired for real.
02:00Have a rice cake, baby!
02:01They're good for you!
02:03Here they are!
02:03I'll eat the one off the floor!
02:07I tell you what's good for me, is having a rice cake with such a beautiful woman!
02:12Oh, bro!
02:14Number 9, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
02:17Hollywood's ultimate power couple of the 2000s, Brangelina, seems like prime SNL material.
02:23But the show didn't deliver a joint impression of the pair until this Weekend Update segment in Season 36.
02:30Let's take a look at the board!
02:32Now, as you can see, starting in the Midwest, you got a cold front coming down from the north, and
02:37that means more snow.
02:38The sketch sees Brad Pitt, played by Taron Killam, joining Seth Meyers as a new weather forecaster.
02:45Killam nails Pitt's effortlessly handsome, slightly vacant movie star energy, then pushes it into full hilarity by ending every line
02:53with a loud,
02:55Bleh!
02:55Look at these temps!
02:57Phoenix, looking at a high 75, Bleh!
03:00Santa Fe, 81, Bleh!
03:02And Palm Springs, up to 90, Bleh!
03:06Is it accurate?
03:07Probably not.
03:08But who cares?
03:09Soon, Abby Elliott appears as Angelina Jolie, complete with smoky eyes and just the right amount of sultry intensity.
03:17Their impressions might not have become all-time SNL classics, but it was still a fun nod to one of
03:23Hollywood's most talked about couples.
03:25I got you a Christmas present.
03:27Oh-ho!
03:27I hope it's a Kindle!
03:28Another baby!
03:30Bleh!
03:31Merry Christmas, everybody!
03:33Back to you, Setharino!
03:34Bleh!
03:35Number 8.
03:36Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson.
03:38Hi, I'm Nick Lachey, formerly of the band 98 Degrees, and currently of, well, nothing.
03:45And I'm his wife, Jessica Simpson, formerly of the band Jessica Simpson.
03:49Few SNL friendships have been as creatively electric as Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake's, and their take on Nick Lachey
03:56and Jessica Simpson was another jewel in that partnership's crown.
04:00Timberlake played the bubbly, gloriously ditzy Jessica Simpson with spot-on comic timing, riffing about the public's perception of her
04:07and her rumored cluelessness.
04:09You guys are overreacting. So what if I thought chicken of the sea tuna was actually chicken? Or that I
04:16thought buffalo wings were actually made out of buffaloes?
04:19Fallon, on the other hand, brought a lovably hapless Nick Lachey to life beside him. Together, they discussed the couple's
04:27MTV reality show, Newlyweds, capturing the dynamic of one very patient husband and one very bewildered wife.
04:34You may call me stupid. You may even call me dumb. But think about this.
04:43Move over, Barry Gibb talk show. The people demand a Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson talk show on SNL with
04:49these very two.
04:50Can we go, honey? I have to drop the kids off at the pool.
04:53That's great, that's great, honey, that's great.
04:54When I said pool, I meant toilet.
04:56Okay, yeah, I got it.
04:57And kids meant poop.
04:58Okay, okay.
04:59Number seven, Donald and Melania Trump.
05:01Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump impression is one of SNL's most talked about in recent memory.
05:07It's exaggerated, combative, and almost cartoonishly bombastic.
05:13What's that sound?
05:14I think it's coming from the chimney.
05:17Is it a ghost? Am I being scrooged? I hate that. Scrooged?
05:22Well, Donald, I think it's…
05:23They're out for me.
05:24But let's give credit where it's long overdue. Cecily Strong's Melania Trump was simply untouchable. Strong played the former first
05:33lady with a perfectly calibrated mix of Slovenian deadpan and barely concealed exhaustion, often stealing scenes entirely with a single
05:42withering glance.
05:43You're not the only first lady whose husband had affairs. Jack cheated on me with Marilyn Monroe.
05:51Well, please, she was in gentlemen prefer blondes. Donald's girl was in guys like it shaved.
05:57While they made separate appearances in different sketches, the two came together for this 2016 segment, in which then-president
06:04-elect Trump receives a surprise visit from Vladimir Putin.
06:07Strong's restrained precision was exactly the counterweight Baldwin's big swings needed. And together, they created a deeply funny portrait of
06:16the first couple.
06:18Donald, I do not trust this man, okay? Think of it this way. If a person you did not know
06:23came from a foreign country and just started flattering you, what would you do?
06:28Marry them.
06:306. Bill and Hillary Clinton
06:32During the frenzy of the 2016 presidential campaign, Kate McKinnon's Hillary Clinton impression became nothing short of legendary.
06:41McKinnon nailed the Democratic nominee's mannerisms, even appearing alongside her in one sketch.
06:47You know, I just realized I never checked your ID.
06:52ID! Come on, please!
06:55I have a one-year-old granddaughter.
06:57She calls me Madam President.
06:59To play her husband Bill, former cast member Daryl Hammond reprised his celebrated impression from the 90s, appearing alongside McKinnon
07:07in this spoof of Clinton's campaign announcement video.
07:10Hammond had originally defined that impression decades earlier, and slipping back into it felt completely seamless.
07:17Hillary, isn't it crazy that phones can take videos now? I mean, if they could have done that in the
07:2290s, I'd be in jail.
07:25He joins the announcement video uninvited, seemingly gleeful at the thought of returning to the White House nearly two decades
07:32after the end of his administration.
07:34Watching these two generations of SNL talent share the stage almost felt like a passing of the torch.
07:40Surprise! I will be her VP. And if anything happens to her, God forbid, I will happily be President of
07:51the United States again.
07:52Number 5. Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston
07:55This one was absolutely chaotic, and we mean that as the highest possible compliment.
08:01Weekend Update occasionally turns into a playground for character comedy, and Tracy Morgan and Maya Rudolph use that space to
08:09create an unforgettable version of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston.
08:12After our interview with Diane Swoyer, I haven't been able to sleep.
08:17Yeah, and I haven't been able to stop sweating.
08:19In this segment, the couple appears to clear the air on their controversial statements about less privileged people.
08:26But then the conversation quickly veers into their daughter and her whereabouts.
08:30I mean, you've seen our baby Tina.
08:32Yes, I have.
08:33You have? Where is she?
08:34Yeah, where you been keeping her at?
08:36Oh no, I meant I've seen her in the papers.
08:38Oh, of course she's in the papers. She is the most famous baby in R&B!
08:43Mm-hmm.
08:44Morgan's Bobby was simply unhinged, while Rudolph's Whitney matched him beat for beat with her wild-eyed intensity and spectacular
08:52vocal affectations.
08:53This was a perfectly choreographed disaster, impossible to look away from.
08:59Bobby needs his weed. Come on, baby, let's go. Let's get you a joint.
09:03Number 4. Beyonce and Jay-Z
09:05Blue Ivy, ho for Junior. Ha ha ha, yup!
09:10Look at her, Jay.
09:11Yeah.
09:12Sleeping peacefully in her crib.
09:14It's lined with one of Diana Ross's finest wigs.
09:17SNL has always had a problem with hiring black female cast members.
09:21That controversial shortage led to Maya Rudolph playing practically every prominent black female celebrity imaginable on the show, including Queen
09:30Bee herself.
09:31Baby Blue Ivy, Uncle Prince has brought you a present. He is going to whisper it in my ear.
09:41Baby, your present is a smirk.
09:43In this 2012 sketch, Rudolph and Jay Pharoah played Beyonce and Jay-Z, hosting a star-studded gathering where fellow
09:51celebrities arrived to congratulate the couple on the birth of their daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.
09:56Rudolph was brilliant as always in Beyonce's shoes, as she used vocal stims from the pop star to explain her
10:02labor process.
10:03First my water broke and I was like,
10:07Ahhhh.
10:09Then I went into labor and I was like,
10:13Ayy, ayy, ayy!
10:15The two later returned as the near mythic power couple in a 2014 sketch centered around Jay-Z's infamous elevator
10:22fight with Solange.
10:24Last week we was all at the Met Ball having a great time.
10:28We've been drinking watermelon.
10:31Number three, Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff.
10:34I am so happy to be campaigning in whatever swing state I'm in, which I will just refer to as
10:40Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia.
10:42When Kamala Harris launched her 2024 presidential campaign, SNL called in reinforcements.
10:49Maya Rudolph, who had previously played Harris to rapturous applause during the 2020 election cycle, returned once again to Studio
10:568H.
10:58This time around, former cast member Andy Samberg was also brought on to play Harris' husband, entertainment lawyer Doug Emhoff.
11:06Guys, how amazing is Kamala? I mean, look at her!
11:12I feel like I'm in one of those movies where Seth Rogen dates Charlize Theron.
11:17Samberg played Emhoff as an endearingly enthusiastic, thoroughly supportive spouse who was perhaps a little too excited about everything.
11:26Rudolph and Samberg's tenures on the show overlapped for three seasons, so their shared comedic shorthand was immediately apparent.
11:34Their appearance as the former second couple crackled with energy and reminded everyone exactly why they are both so deeply
11:42beloved.
11:43Look, this isn't easy for me either. As a goofy white guy, this really sets my fellas back.
11:48I'm in a group chat with Josh Gad and Jason Kelsey and the mood is dark.
11:52Number two, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
11:55While we await the Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson talk show, SNL offered a hilarious parody of a morning program
12:02with Waking Up with Kimye.
12:04And what better place for a cultural icon like Kim to get married than Florence, Italy?
12:10Cheerio, governor!
12:13No, no, no, that's England, baby.
12:16This recurring sketch featured Nassim Pedrad and Jay Farrow as the famously out of touch former couple Kim Kardashian and
12:23Kanye West.
12:24The humor came from the extreme contrast.
12:27While Pedrad's Kim would try to keep the show moving with polite celebrity host energy,
12:32Farrow's Kanye spiraled into philosophical rants about his own genius and cultural relevance.
12:38You do not deserve the title of genius. You can't just throw that term around. Mark Zuckerberg is a genius.
12:46I am a genius. I am a god.
12:48Together, the two swung between aloof and aggressive in a way that felt completely plausible given the real couple's public
12:55persona.
12:56Years later, when Kim Kardashian hosted, she appeared in a couple's impersonation of her own, playing her sister Kourtney opposite
13:04Mikey Day as Travis Barker.
13:06Travis, baby, I have to do my show.
13:09I can't help it, your honor.
13:11Oh my god, did you just call me your honor?
13:14Yeah.
13:14Babe.
13:15Baby.
13:16Number one, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
13:19Why are you two talking like that?
13:20This is how we really talk, love. Not so nice, right? But it gets the job done, don't it?
13:28Royal wedding fever swept the world ahead of Prince William and Kate Middleton's big day.
13:33And SNL delivered one of its funniest royal parodies.
13:37Fred Armisen and Bill Hader played Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip respectively in a series of sketches built around
13:44the affair.
13:44How dreadful. But, William, we're just getting to know dear Katherine here. Leave us be for another few minutes, if
13:49you will.
13:50Oh, Kate. Grandmama has never taken to anyone like this. What joy! I'll be back!
13:55The central joke was irresistible. Around William, the couple were dignified and impeccably regal. The moment he left the room,
14:02however, they transformed completely into a pair of threatening, street-tough thugs toward Kate, warning her about the realities of
14:10royal life in hilariously blunt terms.
14:13Oh, my God, that's horrible!
14:15Well, we're horrible people, aren't we? Yeah!
14:17No! No!
14:18No! No!
14:19That's William! I want to go! I want to get away from you!
14:21No, no, you can't get away from me because I'm under money, ain't I?
14:24Armisen and Hader's physical commitment to both registers was extraordinary. It remains one of SNL's most deliriously creative couple impressions
14:32ever conceived.
14:33You want to see a real bum? They got. I call my ass the IRA, because when I walk into
14:42a pub, people's heads explode! Oh, yeah, look at that!
14:46Which of these impressions had you doubled over with laughter? Let us know in the comments below!
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