Before joining SNL, she was part of the Second City comedy troupe, and was a veteran of the company’s mainstage productions. The theater hosted the first incarnation of "Dratch & Fey". In 2000, she performed her critically praised two-woman show "Dratch & Fey" opposite SNL head writer Tina Fey at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York which was dubbed "the funniest thing to be found on any New York comedy stage" by Time Out New York.
Since joining SNL in 1999 as a featured player and becoming a Repertory Player in 2001, Dratch has imitated many people, both real and fictional, including Calista Flockhart, Nicole Richie, Barbara Walters, Jane Eyre, Jenny Jones, Harry Potter, and the recurring characters Sheldon Green, Denise "Zazu" McDonough, and Debbie Downer.
One of the best Rachel Dratch moments was the debut of the Debbie Downer character on a May 2004 broadcast of Saturday Night Live. It was considered a fan favorite due to the fact that none of her fellow cast members could make it through the skit without laughing at Debbie's depressing comments. By the end of the skit Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, Dratch and guest host Lindsey Lohan were so far gone they were holding back tears.
Rachel has also been in a number of movies, including Martin & Orloff; The Hebrew Hammer; Down with Love; and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, to name a few. She also has joined fellow SNL cast members on A.S.S.S.S.C.A.T.: Improv which aired September 7, 2005, on the Bravo channel. Dratch has also made television appearances on NBC's Third Watch and in a recurring role on King of Queens. Dratch wrote, directed and performed in the short film "The Vagina Monologues Monologues," which premiered at the New York Comedy Film Festival in 2001.
Rachel graduated from Dartmouth College in 1988 where she majored in drama and psychology.
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