Nora Dunn

By the time of her "SNL" departure, Dunn had made a few other inroads in TV, guesting on such shows as "Get a Life" and "Civil Wars" and appearing on a handful of comedy specials. 1993 marked the beginning of a three-year run on the NBC drama "Sisters." Dunn played TV producer Norma Lear, who left her husband, came out as a lesbian and had an artificially-inseminated pregnancy. Dunn's film career has consisted mostly of good, small character parts. She debuted as a bitchy office worker opposite Melanie Griffith in Mike Nichols' "Working Girl" (1988), followed by a small role in the comedy "How I Got Into College" (1989). A change of pace came with "Miami Blues" (1990), wherein Dunn was an Hispanic policewoman partnered with Fred Ward. Her next few films didn't amount to much: the flop Liza Minnelli vehicle "Stepping Out" (1991); the interesting but largely unseen short, "Walking the Dog" (also 1991); and a miniscule part in John Sayles' "Passion Fish" (1992). She once again played the bitchy foil to dumb blonde Griffith in " Yesterday", but this, as well as her next, "I Love Trouble" (1994) did not do well with critics or audiences. While Dunn filmed a role as a real estate agent for "Father of the Bride, Part II" (1995), the part was cut from the final film. She rebounded with a role in the dark political satire "The Last Supper" (1996). Dunn continued to work steadily, although the quality and success of her projects was uneven at best: she appeared in Warren Beatty's political satire "Bulworth" (1998); the family film "Air Bud 2: Golden Receiver" (1998); and the broad beauty pageant farce "Drop Dead Gorgeous" (1999). She landed a plumb role as a battlefield newswoman in director David O. Russell's sublime action-comedy "Three Kings" (1999), but also appeared in Garry Shandling's comedic misfire "What Planet Are You From?" and the problematic Martin Lawrence-Danny DeVito collaboration "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" (2001). Next up were supporting roles in the kid-centered "Max Keeble's Big Movie" (2001), the saucy Sigourney Weaver-Jennifer Love Hewitt caper flick "Heartbreakers" (2001) and the extremely offbeat romantic comedy "Cherish" (2002). After a string of low-profile turns, Dunn scored another high-visibility part in the zany Jim Carrey comedy "Bruce Almighty" (2003).