TV & Movies

Ahead of Her Maiden Saturday Night Live Hosting Gig, 21 Vintage Pictures of the Indomitable Jean Smart

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Photo: Courtesy Getty Images

I’m going to admit something here: I have never, not once, been normal about Jean Smart. Not when I was first introduced to her, as the voice of Kim Possible’s mom, on the Disney Channel; not when I saw her in Mare of Easttown; and not when I interviewed her and her Hacks costar Hannah Einbinder about the show’s third season and was so drawn in by their effortless wit that I tried too hard to be part of it and definitely came off very weird (sorry, ladies). Now, at 73 years old, Smart is set to host Saturday Night Live for the first time, and I, for one, will be seated.

Even to normal people, though, Smart is something of an acting legend; she first broke out playing Charlene Frazier Stillfield on your aunt’s (and my) favorite show Designing Women, and she has no fewer than six Emmys to her name for her performances on Frasier, Samantha Who?, and Hacks. (I also just found out via Wikipedia that Smart is a maternal descendant of Dorcas Hoar, one of the last women convicted of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials. Iconic lineage alert!) As the show celebrates its 50th anniversary, it’s shaping up to be a discourse-heavy SNL season, what with the presidential election forthcoming and the likes of John Mulaney and Chappell Roan due to appear. But personally, all I need in this life is Smart’s opening monologue.

Watch her already-hilarious SNL promo above, and then check out 21 vintage photos that prove Jean Smart has always been the coolest, hottest woman alive (in a way that not even the pervasive perm trend of the 1980s could damage):

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    Photo: Getty Images
    1/21

    1983

    In a promotional photo for the short-lived ABC sitcom Reggie, Smart’s first television series.

  • Image may contain Richard Mulligan Blazer Clothing Coat Jacket Face Head Person Photography and Portrait
    Photo: Getty Images
    2/21

    1983

    With Richard Mulligan in Reggie.

Emma Specter is the Culture Writer at Vogue, where she covers film, TV, books, politics, news, and (almost) anything queer. She has previously worked at Garage and LAist and has freelanced for outlets including The Hairpin, Bon Appetit, them, The Hollywood Reporter, and more. Her first book, More Please: On ... Read More