Jan Hooks Dies At 57 After ‘Battling A Serious Illness’

Jan Hooks died on Thursday at the age of 57, according to a report confirmed by TMZ.

Based on the report, Jan Hooks passed away Thursday morning after “battling a serious illness” for quite some time.

The Saturday Night Live actress was primarily known for the six seasons that she spent on the hit NBC series from 1986 to 1991.

Most longtime Saturday Night Live fans remember Jan Hooks as acting alongside the likes of Dennis Miller, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey and Chris Farley during many of the 108 episodes in which she starred.

Perhaps one of the most popular characters portrayed by Jan Hooks on the show was as Candy Sweeney of the Sweeney Sisters along with Nora Dunn.

Hooks was also known for nailing impressions of such celebrities as Ivana Trump, Nancy Reagan, Sinead O’Connor, Hillary Clinton and Kathie Lee Gifford.

Even though Jan Hooks was able to achieve a lot of success during her time on Saturday Night Live, she knew that there was life outside of the popular NBC series and wanted to have the chance to explore it.

“Although my five-year contract was up, I was fully intending to return, but I wanted to investigate other possibilities.”

She developed a video presentation of her work (primarily of the work that she had done over the years on Saturday Night Live) and used that as her resume to explore those “possibilities.” One report confirmed that it was that video presentation that got Jan Hooks a role as a regular cast member on the hit series Designing Women after the show suffered from a major cast change. Jan Hooks was cast in the role of Carlene Dobber and starred on Designing Women from 1991 to 1993.

Jan Hooks later received the recurring role of Vicki Dubcek on the hit show 3rd Rock from the Sun. She starred in 16 episodes between 1996 and 2000.

Even outside of the world of SNL, Jan Hooks was able to play memorable roles in quite a few big-screen movies — including Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Wildcats, Batman Returns and Simon Birch. She even had a starring role alongside many other Saturday Night Live actors and actresses in the hit 1993 film Coneheads.

Although her name might not be as recognizable as many other actresses that used Saturday Night Live as a stepping stone to other roles and acting opportunities, Jan Hooks definitely made a significant impact during her life and her career that will never be forgotten.