I have to admit something here: I have never, not once, taken a casual view of Jean Smart. Not even when I was first introduced to her mom’s voice on the Disney Channel as Kim Pop-Pop; not even when I saw her on Mars in Easttown and not even when I interviewed her and her talent-filled Hackers co-star Hannah Einbinder about the show’s third season. I tried so hard to be a part of it, but it just feels so awkward (sorry, ladies). Now, at the age of 73, Smart will host “Saturday Night Live” for the first time, and I’m taking my seat.
Yet, even to the casual eye, Smart is an acting legend; she first played Charlene Fraser Stillfield on your aunt’s (and mine) favorite show, Designing Women, and then starred in Fraser, Who’s Samantha? She won no less than six Emmy Awards for her performance on Crackers. (Through Wikipedia I also learned that Smart was a descendant of Dorcas Hall, one of the last women to be convicted of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.) 1. Night Live sermon season But personally, all I need in this life is Smart’s opening monologue.
Watch her already ridiculous SNL promo above, then check out 21 throwback photos that prove Jean Smart has always been the coolest, sexiest woman alive (even with the widespread perm trend of the 1980s, by the way) Harmless:
