Rachel Dratch

Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. After she graduated from Dartmouth College, she moved to Chicago to study improvisational theatre at The Second City and ImprovOlympic. Dratch's breakthrough role was her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006. During her time on SNL, she portrayed a variety of roles including Debbie Downer. She has since occasionally returned to SNL as a guest portraying Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Other television credits include The King of Queens, Monk, and 30 Rock. She has also played the recurring role of Wanda Jo Oliver on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. She acted in films including Click (2006), I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007), Sisters (2015), and Wine Country (2019).

In 2022, Dratch made her Broadway stage debut in POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive for which she earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination. In 2012 she published her autobiographical book Girl Walks into a Bar...: Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle.

Rachel's most well-known character is Debbie Downer, SNL's most depressing character since Michael O'Donoghue's Mr. Mike. Debbie constantly points out upsetting current events (example: When asked if she wanted steak for breakfast, she said, "I'm not taking any chances, since that Mad Cow's going around (paraphrasing)"). Rachel has also played many other celebrities, characters, and other characters, such as Harry Potter.