Ashley Padilla Is on the 2026 TIME100 Next - Time Magazine
Ashley Padilla came to Saturday Night Live fully formed and ready to roll. She hopped on the back of the beast with confidence and steely fortitude. Her inspiration was her family, who are, in her words, “frankly, unable to be serious.” High marks to her hardworking, and hilarious, mom, who encouraged her to chase her dream.
Read TIME’s interview with Ashley Padilla here.
Ashley’s self-awareness, skills, and fearless willingness to “get up there and laugh at myself” brought us the lady with the worst (and most expensive) haircut ever (“I like it,” she sadly insists); the woman trying to tell a joke about dogs; and, of course, “MAGA Mom,” who confesses she is beginning to “feel like ... he might be ... bad for our country.” She creates beautiful, human comedy out of small moments, with precision and joy that somehow always comes from a place of love.
Sketch comedy can crystallize the human condition like no other art form—it beats ol’ Shakespeare hands down—and Ashley delivers on this promise. She shows us recognizable people who, in compromised moments, fight like hell to restore their dignity; who can’t let it go; and who remind us of us ... if we can take it.
Art Direction and Set Art by Jana Frost for TIME; Photography by Stefano Giuliano for TIME; Hair by Joseph Maine at A-Frame Agency; Makeup by Andrea Ventura at The Only Agency; Styling by Tom Broecker; Cover: Wolford tights, Stuart Weitzman boots; Staircase look: Aknvas dress, Wolford tights, Lanvin shoes, vintage YSL pin.
