How I Found Myself — by Impersonating Other People | Melissa Villaseñor | TED - Summary

Summary

Melissa Villaseñor is a voice impressionist who performs impressions of various celebrities and characters. She was born in Los Angeles to a Mexican-American family and developed her voice impression skills at a young age. She started performing at open mic shows after high school and eventually got her break on "America's Got Talent" in 2011. After moving to New York, she joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2016, where she continued to perform her impressions. However, she left the show after six seasons due to the pressure and a desire to explore other aspects of her personality. Despite leaving SNL, she continues to perform and use her voice impressions to connect with her audience. She encourages others to be authentic and express their true selves.

Facts

Here are the key facts extracted from the text:

1. Melissa Villaseñor is a voice impressionist.
2. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, to a Mexican-American family.
3. She is the middle child and was very shy.
4. She didn't do well in school but was very observant.
5. She discovered her superpower of doing voice impressions when she was 12 years old.
6. She started doing voice impressions of pop singers, including Britney Spears and Shakira.
7. She looked up to Gwen Stefani in high school and tried to copy her style.
8. She got the opportunity to be on "America's Got Talent" season six in 2011.
9. She did a series of impressions on the show, including Barbara Walters, Natalie Portman, and Christina Aguilera.
10. After being on the show, she was able to quit her part-time job and become a headlining comedian.
11. She had to learn to do an hour-long set at comedy clubs, which was a challenge for her.
12. She noticed that people laughed more at her impression bits than her personal stories.
13. She became determined to write about herself and find her own voice.
14. She likes making fun of her own energy and talks about how it's not sexy.
15. She talks about being Mexican and how people don't believe her because she doesn't look it.
16. She doesn't speak Spanish but is working on it to communicate with her relatives.
17. She has been working on imitating her family members, including her mom, and talks about them in her comedy sets.
18. She auditioned for Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 2016 and got cast on the show.
19. She was on SNL for six seasons before leaving.
20. She left SNL because she wasn't strong enough to handle the pressure and wasn't having fun anymore.
21. She is now figuring out what to do next and is exploring new talents and things to learn.
22. She talks about struggling with low self-esteem and uses her Dolly Parton impression to give herself positive affirmations.