'Saturday Night Live' alum Jan Hooks dead at 57, reports say

'Saturday Night Live' alum Jan Hooks Dead at age of 57

Actress died Thursday in New York of a serious illness

Actress and comedian Jan Hooks, famous for her five years on “Saturday Night Live,” died on Thursday at 57, according to multiple reports.

Her death was confirmed by her agent, who did not provide any other details.

Hooks joined “SNL” in 1986 and was regarded by many as part of one of the best casts in the show’s history, alongside stars Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz.

Among the people she impersonated were Donald Trump’s wife, Ivana, and the TV evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. She was also the first cast member to portray Hillary Clinton.

But being on a live weekly broadcast proved hard on the comic actress.

"The show changed my life, obviously. But I have horrible stage fright," she said in an oral history of "SNL." While other performers wanted to "get in there and do it," she said, "I was one of the ones that between dress (rehearsal) and air was sitting in the corner going, 'Please cut everything I'm in.'"

After leaving SNL in 1991, she played Carlene Dobber on “Designing Women" and made appearances in “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “30 Rock.”

Born April 23, 1957, in Decatur, Georgia, Hooks studied for a time at the University of West Florida in Pensacola before leaving to begin her acting career, which included the 1985 movie "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure."

Kevin Nealon, who appeared with Hooks on "Saturday Night Live," remembered his former castmate at an event in Los Angeles, reports People magazine.

"She was totally amazing as a sketch player,” he said. “She so immersed herself in her characters, and her timing was amazing. She got it from some crazy stratosphere, and I was so attracted to that talent in her, and I don't think she ever knew how well respected and admired she was for her talent."

The pair, who were friends before “SNL,” even dated for a while before being cast on the show.

Nealon, 60, also remembered that Hooks introduced him to the world of “kitschiness. I remember how much she loved watching the Princess Di wedding. It was like the Super Bowl for her.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.