Crista Flanagan (born February 24, 1976) is an American comedic actress best known for her work as a cast member on the FOX sketch comedy series MADtv from 2005 to 2009 and for her recurring role as Lois Sadler on the AMC series Mad Men.
Flanagan was born in Mount Vernon, Illinois, the daughter of Bonnie Jerdon and David Flanagan. She received a Bachelor of Science in Theatre from the University of Evansville. Flanagan received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Irvine where she sharpened her theatrical skills in plays including Fool for Love, The Time of Our Life, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Marriage of Figaro and Oklahoma!. Her extensive background in theater led to the development of Flanagan's one-person show titled But wait…I have Impressions!. Flanagan currently lives in Los Angeles.
Flanagan officially joined the cast of MADtv in 2005 as a feature performer, for the tenth season, then became a repertory cast member at the beginning of the following season. Her frequent impersonations were of Alex Hooser, Ellen Pompeo, Heidi Klum, Patricia Arquette (as Allison DuBois from Medium), Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, and Miley Cyrus (as herself and as Hannah Montana from the Disney Channel show of the same name).
Crista had a long standing gag with fellow cast member Bobby Lee, where their behind scenes characters had a love/hate relationship. This relationship can be seen in the Secret Santa skit, where Bobby proposes to Crista, to which she replies "I cannot marry someone I have a restraining order against." This can also be seen in the celebrity Triathlon skit, where Crista slams the door after Bobby asks for her help where she makes reference to not helping him dig up a dead body, but reluctantly agrees to help him train.
In one of her "Jazzed for Crafts" sketches, as Epic Movie is playing on the TV, her character Denise says "I love Epic Movie. I especially like that girl who plays Hermione". She is talking about herself, since Flanagan played Hermione in Epic Movie.
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