The Tragic, True-Story Of Saturday Night Live Star Kenan Thompson

For millennials who grew up in the '90s, Kenan Thompson is king. Thompson found fame alongside his comedy partner Kel Mitchell when he was just a kid with their hit Nickelodeon series, "Kenan and Kel." While the pair reigned supreme on the network for four seasons, including a TV movie, it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows for Thompson. Like many child stars, he had to face some pretty despicable things while dealing with life in the spotlight. As an adult, he went on to join the iconic sketch show "Saturday Night Live", but even this tremendous achievement caused problems in his relationships. 

At the time of writing, Thompson is the longest-serving cast member on "SNL." Considering the trials and tribulations he's had to endure in both his personal and professional life over the years, this is no small feat. From his early struggles to legal troubles, divorce, and a lost fortune, let's take a look at some of the hurdles Thompson has had to overcome to stay on top. 

Looking back at the stunning transformation of Kenan Thompson, it's easy to assume that his path to stardom was straightforward. After all, he has the talent, the charm, the comedic timing, and the charisma that viewers love. However, Thompson had to work incredibly hard to even get a foot in the door in Hollywood. His mother, Ann Thompson, enrolled him in acting classes when he was just 5 years old after a friend noticed that he would make up imaginary scenarios while playing with his toys. Kenan took to it like a duck to water, but just because he showed promise doesn't mean that he instantly got the parts he auditioned for. In fact, he auditioned over 100 times before landing his first official acting job. 

Ann told The Washington Post in 2019, "It's really a challenge to console a child who didn't get the part, but he wasn't whining about it. He always knew." Having faith and determination eventually paid off when Kenan was cast on CNN's Real News for Kids program. That exposure led to him finally getting the yeses he deserved, with roles in "D2: The Mighty Ducks" and his partnership with Nickelodeon coming shortly after. 

Not every actor makes the best decisions when they're young, and unfortunately, the past can come back to haunt them. After facing 100 rejections, it's safe to say that Kenan Thompson would've been elated to land a role in a commercial as a child. It was a different time back then, and perhaps he didn't think the TV ad would be quite as problematic as it turned out to be. The gig was for Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken and pushed the trope that Black Americans love fried chicken.

In the commercial, Thompson's character is fishing with his grandfather when he says, "Grandpa, the fish ain't bitin' today." His grandfather then gives him some fried chicken. "I was supposed to take a bite of it and say, 'Oh, I like this kinda bitin'!'" Thompson told Vanity Fair in 2019. The tone of it isn't lost on him all these years later. "It was super-racist, and I had a good time." Despite the content, Thompson couldn't hate the money. He was paid $800, his first proper payday from an acting job. "I didn't know what to compare it to, because I'd never been paid more than a dollar to go get some candy or s***," he explained. "Or 'Thanks for cutting the grass, here's some lemonade.'" It says a lot about the industry at the time that Thompson's first role was in a commercial like this. 

Even though many child actors grow up to be stunning, it's not easy maturing in the spotlight. Bodies change, and with impossible beauty standards to meet, this can be difficult for someone to swallow. Kenan Thompson released a memoir in 2023 titled "When I Was Your Age." He wrote about many of his experiences in the industry, including how his weight impacted him growing up, forcing him into a certain type of character. "On 'All That', everyone was designated a role during sketch casting: Kel was the smooth talker, Josh [Server] was the heartthrob, and I was the huggable cutie, and I was aight with that," he explained via People. Though he may have made peace with that particular experience, Thompson pointed out other instances when he felt uncomfortable. 

He admitted that when he signed up for the 1995 Judd Apatow comedy movie "Heavyweights" he felt exploited. The caper centered on overweight kids attending a weight loss camp that turns out to be more than they bargained for. His body image issues also followed him into adulthood. Thompson also pointed out that he disliked having to film a shirtless scene in 2008's "Wieners" and found some of his future episodes of "Saturday Night Live" painful viewing. "I was at my heaviest moment," he wrote, per People. 

Considering how long it took Kenan Thompson to finally become a household name, it's understandable that leaving Nickelodeon, the network that made him famous, was a tough decision. Not only was he leaving Nickelodeon, but he was about to strike out on his own as Kenan Thompson, without his longtime comedy partner Kel Mitchell. "I mean leaving Nickelodeon was definitely an adjustment," Thompson told Entertainment Weekly in 2016. "Because then it was back to the real world of, 'Now I'm an adult looking for a job,' as opposed to a kid that's getting introduced to all these people like, 'Look how cute this little kid is, don't you want to put him on your show?'"

Mitchell also pointed out that audiences initially struggled with seeing the two stars doing their own thing. "[It] kind of freaked people out. They'd ask him, 'Where's Kel?' and they'd ask me 'Where's Kenan?'" Indeed, for 3 years after "Kenan and Kel" ended, Thompson found it tough to find any role that would rival the success of the show. He only has a handful of credits from that time, mainly in small bit parts such as "Party Goer" in 2002's "Big Fat Liar." 

The cast of "All That" featured some big names, from Amanda Bynes to Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. If it wasn't for the uber-successful show, Kenan and Kel would've never met. "We both have very similar taste in comedy even though his is more physical and mine is a little more standing around-ish," Thompson told Entertainment Weekly in 2016, explaining that he bonded with Mitchell instantly. However, they hit a rough patch in 2003 when they both auditioned for "Saturday Night Live." Talking to the "Club Shay Shay" podcast in 2024, Mitchell admitted that after leaving Nickelodeon, the pair stopped talking and didn't realize they were both going to audition at the same time. 

Mitchell insisted that he wasn't mad Thompson landed the gig instead of him but that he had heard Thompson had been bad-mouthing him behind his back. Eventually, the pair reconciled on a long phone call. "We found out within that conversation that we both had people talking within our ear," Mitchell revealed. "People [were] telling me things about Kenan, [and] people telling him things about me too." In an appearance on "Today" in 2023, Thompson shared his point of view. 

"It was more of a separation that kind of grew into the traditional terms of what a falling out is, which is like not a lot of communication." He went on to say that the entire fallout was regrettable, as it led to wasting time. "[Wasting time] is one of the biggest crimes I think you can do in life." 

When celebrities get into an accident, it can often end in disastrous consequences (take a look at the disturbing details from Paul Walker's autopsy for proof). In 2015, Kenan Thompson was involved in a crash while riding his motorcycle, resulting in a nasty injury. He was on his way to work on "Saturday Night Live" when the incident occurred, but even though he had a broken arm, his main concern was to hide it from the press so it wouldn't derail anything the "SNL" writers had been working on. Talking to The Washington Post a few years later, Thompson said his initial reaction was, "Oh my god, I have to go to the hospital, but I don't want it to be a story." 

Thompson had no intention of putting himself first. "[The writers] work so hard, they spend all night, and then the only thing people would be mentioning would be like, 'Did you see Kenan's broken arm?' That's whack." So, he went to an urgent care clinic instead and opted to find his own doctor who could set his arm without attracting any attention from paparazzi or journalists who may be waiting for a tip-off. Amazingly, Thompson managed to pull it off, and he appeared on "SNL" that week with clothing covering his injury. While his dedication is admirable, it's laced with sadness. "You kind of don't have permission to not be perfect," he said. 

The truth about Kenan Thompson's marriage surprised fans in 2022 when news of his split from Christina Evangeline broke. The pair had been together for over 11 years and shared two young daughters, Georgia and Gianna. It was a sad ending for the beloved comedian, who appeared at numerous events with his wife throughout their relationship. Perhaps in a bid to keep it out of the press as much as possible, Thompson decided not to talk about it publicly. Even in his 2023 memoir, "When I Was Your Age," the star didn't go into details. Some other celebrities may have used the experience to sell more books, but this was a pain that Thompson felt needed to stay private. 

"I didn't really want to speak out of turn on people who aren't there to tell their vision of the story as well," he told Today (via X, formerly Twitter). "So, I just kind of told my perspective, basically." While he didn't go into more detail in the interview, he was quick to say that his daughters remained the most important thing. "They're my daily focus outside of myself," he explained. "They are definitely my sweethearts ... I love them."

You know what they say; don't bite the hand that feeds you. There have been numerous cases of celebrities criticizing the shows they've been on in the past, only for their future careers to be impacted as a result. In 2013, after 10 years on the series, Kenan Thompson landed himself in hot water when he spoke about the lack of diversity on "Saturday Night Live." At the time, the show had just announced new cast members and there were still no female Black comedians on the roster. When TVGuide asked Thompson why he thought that was, he said, "It's just a tough part of the business. Like in auditions, they just never find [Black female comedians] that are ready."

TVGuide didn't take the comments lightly, saying Thompson wasn't helping the situation by claiming there was simply no one talented enough to join the cast. When talking to The Washington Post, Thompson claimed his comments weren't out of disrespect, but were misconstrued. "I would never in my life disrespect my culture like that, or my sisters." Interestingly, Thompson's comments and the backlash that followed did light a fire under "SNL" producers, who went on to hire two comedians, Sasheer Zamata and Leslie Jones. "If I have to be the villain for them to hire some women up here, I will be that," Thompson concluded. 

For decades, Bill Cosby was one of the most popular comedians in America and beyond. His fall from grace was spectacular when he was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison in 2018 after several sexual assault cases were levied at him. Just two years later, Bill Cosby's surprising release from prison had the internet fuming, but the whole situation had a deeper impact on those who personally knew and loved the actor. Kenan Thompson, who starred in "Fat Albert" a movie based on Cosby's cartoon, found it particularly difficult to accept.  

"It's one of the more heartbreaking things of my life," he told Deadline in 2019. "He was the first comedian I grew to know, and kind of talking about what comedy is." Some of Thompson's earliest sketches on "Saturday Night Live" were playing Cosby, and when the comedian ended up behind bars, he portrayed sketches of that, too. "[The situation was] very near to my life when it all came crashing down," he said. 

It's no secret that child stars are easily taken advantage of financially. Numerous big names have faced this, from Lindsay Lohan to Macaulay Culkin. Unfortunately, Kenan Thompson knows exactly how this feels. When talking to "The Breakfast Club" podcast in 2024, the comedian revealed he had been stung by an accountant after he left "Kenan and Kel." "I've been blessed to continue working, but I had a bad accountant, and it came to the light around '99, around 2000, which was really bad timing 'cause that's right when I left my consistent gig," he explained. "So, then I went into being an adult actor for hire, and that is very hit and miss."

He revealed that he thought the accountant was such a safe pair of hands that he opted to give him power of attorney, allowing him to take care of things on his behalf. This proved to be a very costly mistake. Even though the accountant had been used previously by his parents, he switched when dealing with Thompson's large bank balance. "[My mom] could trust him with $30,000 to $50,000 issues, but when it's a million dollars on the table, you never know what people gonna turn into. And apparently he turned into a demon." Thompson was even pursued by the IRS because the accountant hadn't done his job. At the time of writing, he hasn't been able to recover the $1.5 million the accountant stole. 

While appearing on "Saturday Night Live" is great exposure for comedians, not every cast member gets a shot at their very own show. In 2019, NBC gave the green light to "Kenan," a show that focused on Thompson's character as he navigated fatherhood. Talking to Entertainment Weekly at the time, the actor said, "It's the dream. It's every comedian's dream to get their own show on a major network, especially one of the original three. It's historic, mind-blowing, and very surreal." Thompson's excitement was palpable and while he brought his trademark energy to the show, it wasn't destined for longevity. 

In 2022, fans were saddened to learn that "Kenan" had been canceled after just two seasons, marking an abrupt and painful end to Thompson's dream. Thompson remained silent in the wake of the news and turned his focus back to "Saturday Night Live" where he remained as a cast member while filming his own series. 

Fans of "Kenan and Kel" can't forget the show's incredible theme song, which featured the iconic rapper Coolio. In the footage (pictured above) Coolio sat in the back of the car with Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, making it one of the most well-known opening scenes of the '90s. Sadly, Coolio died aged just 59 in 2022. Thompson took to his Instagram story to lament the loss of the rap star, writing (via Entertainment Weekly) "Wait, now Coolio! Damn, homie! Rest in Power!" 

Thompson and Kel Mitchell also worked with Coolio before "Kenan and Kel" when he appeared on "All That", the other Nickelodeon sketch show the pair starred in. It's understandable that Thompson would mourn the loss of someone so influential at such an important time in his early career. It was later revealed that Coolio died of an overdose. 

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