Molly Shannon Recalls Jennifer Aniston'sSNLHosting Gig: 'She Had a Big Wedding Ring on' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

After six seasons onSaturday Night Live,Molly ShannonsaysJennifer Aniston’s hosting stint made a lasting impression.

In celebration of the iconic sketch show’s50th anniversary, the former cast member, 60, looked back at working with some of her favorite celebrity hosts in a joint interview withSeth Meyers,Kate McKinnon,Kenan Thompson,Bowen YangandLeslie Jones.

Shannon recalled theFriendsalum, 55, being “very laid back” while hosting the NBC late night show.

Jennifer Aniston on ‘Saturday Night Live’.NBC

NBC

“I remember being like, ‘Ooh, that’s so cool. Jennifer Aniston,'” she recalled. “And she had a big wedding ring on and she was just [an] easygoing professional, [she] had been in television for a long time.”

Over the course of her career, Aniston has hostedSaturday Night Livetwice — for the first time in 1999 and again in 2004.

Molly Shannon for PEOPLE Magazine.Mary Ellen Matthews

Mary Ellen Matthews

In addition to Aniston, who was “just easygoing and really fun,” Shannon also recalled working withCameron Diaz.

“During the rehearsal, she would just eat salads, lots of greens. And I was like, ‘I want to be like Cameron Diaz and just eat salad,'” she laughed. “You know what I mean? Isn’t that funny?”

Aniston previously revealed that she was once invited to audition forSNL, butturned down the opportunityafter hearing that the show was a “boys club.”

“I didn’t think I would like that environment,” she admitted during a 2019 appearance onThe Howard Stern Show.“I remember turning up and[Adam] Sandlerwas there and[David] Spadewas there, and I’d known them already and they were like, ‘Look, Aniston’s here!’ I met them when I was 20, 21, after I’d done a television show with a guy who knew them.”

During a meeting with showrunnerLorne Michaels, the actress revealed that she even confronted him about the lack of female representation on the show.

“I was like, ‘I think that women need to be treated better here.’ Because it was such a boys club,” she said. “You’re just, not the brightest when you’re in your early 20s. I didn’t lecture him, I was just saying what I would hope if I was to do this, what I would hope it to be.”

“I was such a young twit,” she laughed.

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Saturday Night Liveairs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

source: people.com