Will Ferrell

• Genre: Sketch Comedy

About

Will Ferrell graduated from University of Southern California with a degree in Sports Information. That's not a joke. Upon graduation, he joined a Los Angeles-based comedy group called the Groundlings, and it was in this creative environment that Ferrell nurtured his comedic skills. In between his comedy stints, Ferrell worked on his acting skills and managed guest appearances in various television shows. His big break came in 1995, when Saturday Night Live hired a new group of cast members. Ferrell was picked, but the critics panned his performance, labeling him "quite possibly the worst cast member ever." But Ferrell hung in there, and over time proved himself with wacky characters and impressions of people like President George W. Bush. He eventually became one of the show's most popular cast members and was paid accordingly. In fact, in 2001, he became the highest-paid SNL-er ever, netting a whopping $350,000 per episode. On March 18, 2001, he bid the sketch comedy show a fond farewell, and set out for the, er, richer pastures of feature films. Farrell has since starred in such films as Elf, Anchorman and A Night at the Roxy.

- Linda Ryan