Kenan Thompson has an estimated net worth of $14 million, accumulated over a career that spans more than three decades in television, film, and comedy. Best known as the longest-tenured cast member in the history of Saturday Night Live — joining the NBC sketch series in 2003 and remaining through at least Season 51 in 2025–26 — Thompson also built his reputation on Nickelodeon’s All That, Kenan & Kel, and a string of animated and live-action film roles.
Updated March 2026: According to The Hollywood Reporter (January 2026), Thompson remains active on SNL as its longest-serving cast member, entering his 23rd season on the show. Separately, Deadline reported in September 2025 that Thompson’s production company AFA is developing a reimagining of the Sleepaway Camp franchise, marking his expanding role as a producer and content creator.
Kenan Thompson was born on May 10, 1978, in Columbus, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta. He attended Tri-Cities High School in East Point, Georgia, a visual and performing arts magnet school that helped cultivate his early comedic instincts. Thompson showed an interest in performing from a young age, participating in local theater and school productions. He later attended Santa Monica College in California after launching his professional career.
Thompson’s entertainment career began at an unusually young age. At 15, he joined the original cast of Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy series All That in 1994, which served as a launching pad for an entire generation of young comedic talent. His natural charisma and ability to embody distinct characters quickly set him apart from his peers. By 1996, Nickelodeon had given Thompson his own spin-off sitcom, Kenan & Kel, which ran for four seasons alongside Kel Mitchell.
Thompson joined Saturday Night Live in fall 2003 as a featured player during Season 29, graduating to full repertory cast member by Season 31. Over 22-plus seasons, he has appeared in more than 1,500 sketches and performed over 139 celebrity impressions, cementing himself as one of the most versatile character performers in the show’s history. His recurring characters include Darnell Hayes in the Black Jeopardy! sketches, Diondre Cole in What Up With That?, and a rotating catalogue of political and celebrity impressions.
In October 2017, Thompson broke Darrell Hammond‘s record of 14 seasons to become the longest-tenured cast member in SNL‘s history, a milestone recognized by NPR at the time. As of Season 51 (2025–26), Thompson has extended that record to 23 seasons. He received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his work, winning once in 2018 for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the sketch “Come Back, Barack” (co-written with Will Stephen).
Beyond SNL, Thompson starred in the NBC sitcom Kenan (2021–2022), playing a widower and sports anchor juggling fatherhood with his career. He reprised his role as Dexter Reed in the Peacock sequel Good Burger 2 (2023) alongside Kel Mitchell, more than 25 years after the original film. In November 2025, Thompson co-hosted Good Sports on Prime Video — a 12-episode weekly sports comedy talk series paired with comedian Kevin Hart, produced by both Hart’s Hartbeat and Thompson’s production company AFA. The show launched following the duo’s viral success as commentators during the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock.
Thompson’s film credits include D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994), Heavyweights (1995), Fat Albert (2004, title role), and a substantial voice-acting resume covering The Smurfs (2011, 2013), The Grinch (2018), Wonder Park (2019), and Trolls World Tour (2020). He also published his memoir When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown (HarperCollins, 2023) and released a children’s book, Unfunny Bunny, in January 2026.
Thompson married model and interior designer Christina Evangeline on November 11, 2011. The couple had two daughters together: Georgia Marie Thompson, born June 20, 2014, and Gianna Michelle Thompson, born July 31, 2018. Rumors of a separation emerged in April 2022, and Thompson filed for divorce in June 2022 after more than ten years of marriage, per reporting by E! Online. The divorce included an equal-split custody arrangement for both daughters.
Thompson has been candid about keeping the details of the divorce private out of respect for Evangeline. In his 2023 memoir, he addressed the split while noting his desire not to speak on behalf of someone who was not there to tell their own side. He discussed the book during a Today show interview with Hoda Kotb in December 2023. As of early 2026, Thompson is focused on co-parenting his daughters and described Georgia and Gianna’s reactions to watching him on SNL in an E! Online interview from March 2025.
Thompson grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and retains strong ties to the city. While he works primarily in New York (for SNL) and Los Angeles (for film and streaming projects), he has been reported to maintain residences in both markets. In early 2026, Thompson faced a legal dispute over a rental property, according to reporting cited by the New York Daily News.
Kenan Thompson’s net worth is estimated at approximately $14 million as of 2026. The majority of this wealth derives from his more than two decades as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, where his salary is estimated between $2 million and $3 million per year according to industry reports cited by Variety. Additional income streams include voice acting in major animated films, his NBC sitcom Kenan, streaming projects on Peacock and Prime Video, and his production company AFA.
Kenan Thompson was married to Christina Evangeline, a model and interior designer, from November 11, 2011, until their divorce filing in June 2022 after more than ten years of marriage. The couple had two daughters together — Georgia Marie (born 2014) and Gianna Michelle (born 2018) — and agreed to an equal-split custody arrangement following their separation. Thompson addressed the divorce in his 2023 memoir, noting he chose not to publicly detail the split out of respect for Evangeline’s privacy.
Kenan Thompson was born on May 10, 1978, making him 47 years old as of March 2026. He was born in Columbus, Georgia, and grew up in Atlanta, where he attended Tri-Cities High School. Thompson began his professional entertainment career at age 15 when he joined the original cast of Nickelodeon’s All That in 1994.
Kenan Thompson stands 5 feet 8.5 inches tall (approximately 174 cm), according to his IMDb profile. At this height, he falls in the average range for American men. His on-screen presence has rarely been defined by physicality — Thompson’s comedy relies primarily on character work, timing, and vocal range.
Kenan Thompson has two daughters with his ex-wife Christina Evangeline: Georgia Marie Thompson, born June 20, 2014, and Gianna Michelle Thompson, born July 31, 2018. The two co-parent the girls following their 2022 separation, with an equal-custody arrangement. Thompson has spoken frequently about fatherhood in interviews, describing his daughters’ reactions to watching him on SNL and their shared love of cooking together, as reported by People and E! Online.
Kenan Thompson’s annual salary from Saturday Night Live is estimated at $2 million to $3 million per year, based on industry reports referenced by Variety (December 2024). This translates to roughly $95,000 to $143,000 per episode across a standard 21-episode season — a figure well above the reported $25,000-per-episode cap that applies to most veteran cast members. NBC has not officially confirmed Thompson’s contract terms, but his 22-plus years of tenure and unmatched longevity have clearly earned him exceptional leverage in salary negotiations.
Kenan Thompson maintains residences in New York City (for his ongoing work on Saturday Night Live at 30 Rockefeller Plaza) and in the Los Angeles area, where he films streaming projects including Good Sports on Prime Video (taped at Culver Studios). Thompson grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and retains strong ties to the city. In January 2026, he faced a legal dispute tied to a rental property, according to reports from the New York Daily News, suggesting he has maintained multiple residential arrangements across markets.