Michael Che

Born in 1983 in New York City, actor and comedian Michael Che was the youngest of 7 children. He was born and raised on Manhattan's Lower East Side, and attended the prestigious Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music & Performing Arts. Che's full name was Michael Che Campbell; his father, a history buff and admirer of Latin revolutionary Che Guevara, gave his son his middle name. Che began in New York City's standup circuit at the age of 26, and was the winner of New York's Funniest Stand-Up Competition. A major focus of Che's comedy was racial discrimination and inequality in the United States and the particular struggles faced by African-American men. Che joined legendary comedy ensemble show "Saturday Night Live" (NBC 1975- ) in 2013 as a writer. The following year Che joined news show parody "The Daily Show" (Comedy Central 1996- ) as a correspondent. In September of 2014 it was announced that Che would join the on-camera cast of "Saturday Night Live," taking over the Weekend Update anchor spot from fellow cast member Cecily Strong. Che was the first African-American co-anchor on Weekend Update in the series' history, a momentous occasion for the show, whose lack of cultural diversity had been criticized.