How long was Kate McKinnon on SNL? Fans left emotional as actress departs show

In the finale of the 47th season, Saturday Night Live (SNL) bid adieu to multiple fan-favorite cast members, including Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, and Kyle Mooney. While Pete Davidson appeared on Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Micheal Che as the resident "young person" for one last time, McKinnon reprised her recurring role of Colleen Rafferty in a skit.

As per the norm of the previous comedy skits featuring the character, McKinnon as Rafferty talked about her experiences with alien abduction in the special "Cold Open." At the end of the act, McKinnon was seen accompanied by two aliens into a spaceship set to leave the planet.

In a visibly emotional moment, McKinnon addressed the audience and said:

"Well, Earth! I love ya. Thanks for letting me stay a while. Live from New York, it's Saturday Night."

---

Kate McKinnon's SNL journey of over 10 years

The 38-year-old actress, comedian, and writer will perhaps always be best known for her association with NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL). Kate McKinnon was cast in SNL by Lorne Michaels in March 2012. She later made her official debut on April 7, 2012. The actress has been a part of SNL for over a decade.

With her quick rise to fan-favorite appearances, McKinnon was promoted to a more permanent position amongst the recurring cast members in 2013's Season 39. The New York native was nominated for the "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series" Primetime Emmy Awards within a year.

Throughout her career on SNL, Kate McKinnon has been nominated for an Emmy six times and has won the award twice. The actress won an Emmy for her various roles on SNL consecutively in 2016 and 2017. Previously, in 2014, McKinnon also won the "Best Comedy Supporting Actress - TV" recognition at the American Comedy Awards. Furthermore, she received a Critics' Choice TV Award for her portrayals on the show.

McKinnon is wildly famous for her portrayal of various characters and impressions of numerous celebrities like Hillary Clinton, Justin Bieber, Donald Trump's counselor Kellyanne Conway, late US judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elizabeth Warren, and innumerable others.

The actress and comedian is also famed amongst SNL fans for hilariously forcing her fellow cast members to break their character with her comedic responses amid skits. While the aforementioned pattern was seen in several performances, Kate McKinnon famously broke Ryan Gosling twice during their "Close Encounter" sketch.

In 2015, McKinnon debuted her character Colleen Rafferty in the skit series, during which Cecily Strong and Ryan Gosling accompanied her. The Pentagon was interviewing the three characters regarding their alleged alien abduction. At the time, the Ghostbusters star's risque account of her experience with the alien abduction made Gosling laugh uncontrollably during the skit. The same happened with Gosling and McKinnon in another skit of the "Close Encounter" series two years later.

---

SNL fans react to Kate McKinnon's departure from the show

McKinnon has been a fan-favorite cast member of the NBC show, and this has led to emotional responses from fans of the show. Following the departure of the actress from the show, legions of fans took to Twitter to reminisce on the most memorable moments from her time on SNL.

However, some fans expressed their displeasure with most publications paying more attention to Pete Davidson's departure. Meanwhile, others labeled the 38-year-old star as one of the greatest cast members of SNL.