Finesse Mitchell Biography

Alfred Langston "Finesse" Mitchell (born June 12, 1972) is an American actor, author and stand-up comedian. From 2003 to 2006, he was a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Mitchell has also appeared on such television shows as Showtime at the Apollo, BET's ComicView, Comedy Central Presents, Disney's A.N.T. Farm and NBC's Late Friday.

Early life

Finesse Mitchell was born in Atlanta, Georgia. After attending Douglass High School, he graduated from the University of Miami, where he was a member of the University of Miami's football team and the Iota Chi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Career

Mitchell made his first television appearance on BET"s Comic View in 1999 where he instantly became a favorite among the show"s loyal followers. Shortly after Comic View, Mitchell moved to both Los Angeles and New York City where he had several appearances on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn and two on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. This sparked high demands from universities, corporate events, and concert promoters all over the U.S. and internationally. He was offered his own Comedy Central half hour special and is now headlining various comedy clubs on the circuit.

In 2003, Mitchell was asked to be a feature player on Saturday Night Live. In 2005 he was promoted to cast member. Mitchell was a featured player on SNL's 29th and 30th seasons, and became a full cast member at the start of the 31st. His screen time was drastically reduced after this promotion. On September 20, 2006, Saturday Night Live announced that the show was dropping Mitchell, Chris Parnell and Horatio Sanz from the show due to budget cuts.

After his stint on SNL, he has continued performing stand-up comedy and appeared in the films Who's Your Caddy? The Comebacks and Mad Money. From 2008 to 2009 Mitchell made several appearances on The Today Show as a guest correspondent and on Tyra and Chelsea Lately as a guest panelist. In 2010, he appeared in the Comedy Central sketch series Nick Swardson's Pretend Time.

With the help of Quincy Jones"s son, QD3, Mitchell released his stand-up comedy available in DVD form entitled, "Snap Famous." He is also a writer and offers relationship advice in Essence magazine. In addition to his column, he has released a book entitled, "Your Girlfriends Only Know So Much" (Simon & Schuster), that gives dating advice to African-American women.

On September 13, 2008, he married Jessica Santos in Atlanta. On May 20, 2011 Mitchell and Santos divorced and Mitchell now resides in Los Angeles. In 2012, he participated in Fox's dating game show The Choice.

Currently, Mitchell plays Darryl Parks, Chyna's (China Anne McClain) father, and a recurring character on the hit Disney Channel sitcom A.N.T. Farm.

In 2012-2013 he tours the U.S. as a feature act in Shaquille O"Neal"s All Star Comedy Jam tour, playing over twenty major venues in the nation"s biggest markets.

Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live

• Starkisha, a stereotypically ghetto woman with a bad attitude.

Celebrity impressions on Saturday Night Live

• 50 Cent
• Al Reynolds
• Andre 3000
• apl.de.ap
• Bobby Brown
• BooG!e
• Colin Powell
• Corey Clark
• Donovan McNabb
• Ed Lover
• Gayle King
• Kelis
• Kevin Eubanks
• Kobe Bryant
• Michael Powell
• Morgan Freeman
• O. J. Simpson
• Sean Combs
• R. Kelly
• Ralph Carter (as Michael Evans on Good Times)
• Ray Nagin
• Robbin Grider
• Ron Artest
• Shucky Ducky
• Stephen A. Smith
• Stuart Scott
• Venus Williams
• Willie Gault