Ashley Padilla was shopping with her mom at Glendale’s Americana at Brand outdoor mall in September 2024 when the news was announced: She had just been added to “Saturday Night Live” as a featured player.
Padilla had just collaborated with her old boss, Diane Keaton, on a new book, “Fashion First,” and was purchasing copies at Barnes & Noble when she received word that the news was about to break. “I was terrified,” she remembers. “I was scared people would go, ‘Ew, her! Why that face? Why that person?’ So I bought my book at Barnes & Noble, and we sat and waited. It makes me sick thinking about it!”
It was Padilla’s mom who broke the tension by speaking to the woman sitting next to them, who was being extra chatty. “I told her about the book that I just made, and I ended up giving her one that I bought,” Padilla recalls. “And then my mom was like, ‘She’s about to be on SNL!’ And so the woman took a picture with me. That was the first person that we told!”
That woman may not realize it, but her impromptu photo with Padilla might now be a collector’s item. Since Padilla joined “SNL” during its landmark 50th season in fall 2024, she’s quickly become the sketch series’ breakout star.
Padilla met up with Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast to discuss her journey and also take the 10 Questions Quiz. Listen below!
