Los Angeles, CA – Kate McKinnon, the Emmy-winning alumna of Saturday Night Live and a celebrated comedic force, continues to captivate audiences not only with her on-screen performances but also with her refreshingly candid and humorous take on life’s eccentricities. In a recent interview, the 41-year-old actress revealed a personal, albeit benign, medical condition that she shares with a close friend, demonstrating her unique ability to find levity in everyday situations.
A “Geographic” Sense of Humor
McKinnon shared with People for their “One Last Thing” segment that a recent photo on her phone was a candid shot of her tongue, sent to an actor friend. The reason? Both share a condition known as geographic tongue. “Your tongue sheds in patches and looks like an atlas, hence the name ‘geographic tongue,'” McKinnon explained, highlighting the visual parallels that give the condition its distinctive name. The Mayo Clinic further clarifies that geographic tongue is an inflammatory yet harmless condition characterized by patches on the tongue’s surface where tiny, pinkish-white bumps, called papillae, are missing. These map-like patches can shift locations, appearing in one area before moving to another. McKinnon, ever the comedian, playfully remarked on the perceived “grossness” of it, adding, “We brag about how geographic we are on any given day. Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this in a magazine.”
From Children’s Literature to Cinematic Roles
Beyond her distinctive medical anecdote, McKinnon is bustling with creative projects. She is preparing for the release of her latest children’s book, Secrets of the Purple Pearl, which is the second installment in her imaginative series, The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science. This new adventure is set to hit bookshelves on September 30. Concurrently, McKinnon is also gracing the silver screen in the new film, The Roses, currently playing in theaters.
A Glimpse into McKinnon’s World: Passions and Pursuits
McKinnon offered a deeper look into her multifaceted life, sharing her latest obsessions, newfound skills, and personal milestones:
- Azerbaijani Culinary Obsession: McKinnon is enthralled by a dialogue-free lifestyle vlog featuring a family in the mountains of Azerbaijan. She recounts marveling at the mother, Aziza, whose “big hands” and “giant enamel bowls” facilitate the effortless preparation of vast quantities of food, such as “80 meat pies” and “100 pounds of cucumbers,” pickled “with the ease that most people chew gum.” Aziza’s five-foot-long rolling pin is a particular point of fascination.
- Lacto-Fermentation Life Hack: Inspired by Aziza, McKinnon has embraced lacto-fermentation. She details her precise method: placing vegetables in a clean jar, covering them with water, calculating 3.5% of the produce and water’s net weight in salt, shaking, and letting it ferment for seven days.
- Three-Year DIY Project: A testament to her dedication to acquiring skills, McKinnon recently completed a three-year project installing faux-beams on her bedroom ceiling. This intricate DIY involved sourcing, cutting, oiling, bug-treating, and installing the wood herself.
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A Souvenir from Barbie Land: From the meticulously crafted set of the film Barbie, McKinnon was “given—I didn’t steal” a unique chess piece. She praised the “incredible artists and artisans” whose work on the Dreamhouse and Weird Barbie house, including a full chess set in the Weird Barbie aesthetic, deserves museum recognition. She believes her piece might have been a bishop.
Fans can now purchase a doll inspired by Kate McKinnon’s ‘Weird Barbie’ character from the hit movie. - Impulse Power Tool Purchase: Driven by practical need, McKinnon made an impulse purchase of a portable band saw, a tool typically used by electricians and plumbers for cutting metal. After years of “sweating and grunting with a hacksaw” for metal-cutting tasks, she declared, “Today’s the day” for this significant upgrade.
- Sisterly Pride in Collaboration: A recent highlight for McKinnon is her ongoing audio recording work with her sister, Emily Lynne. They are currently recording a scripted series for Audible that they wrote together, as well as the audiobook for McKinnon’s second children’s novel. McKinnon expressed profound gratitude for her sister’s brilliance, kindness, and their seamless creative synchronization.
- Starstruck Encounters: McKinnon admits to being easily starstruck, particularly by figures from the “Bachelor universe,” recounting meeting Jesse Palmer at the SNL 50th Anniversary Special. Her ultimate starstruck fantasy, however, involves encountering someone from the HGTV universe, or, topping them all, meeting Aziza, the Azerbaijani vlogger, at whose feet she claims she would “fall.”
As McKinnon continues to balance a flourishing career across film, television, and literature, her candid sharing offers a charming and relatable look into the life of a beloved entertainer, proving that even a benign medical condition can become a source of humor and connection.
