United States of Chloe
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Funny Girl & Berkeley, California native Chloe Fineman is American Studies’ Summer Girl of 2022.
Words by Dio Anthony
Funny girl. That’s probably the furthest thing Chloe Fineman had in mind as one of the things she could be when moving to New York City to study theater. She could be many things of course. But with hopes of being a '“Meryl Streep type” a “serious actor,” as she puts it, funny just wasn’t the card she was picking up. “I wanted to do indie films forever.” New York had other plans for her, as it does for frankly anyone who steps foots in it.
Today, she’s a part of Saturday Night Live’s Repertory cast. And has a role in this summer’s Father of The Bride that’s sure to increase all the odds already in her life’s favor. It’s been my belief that there isn’t an un-cool ‘Chloe’ in the world. How could there be? The name is inherently chic? I Sat down with for some quick banter on being a New Yorker with this particular Chloe and like the impressions she’s become known for, I laughed and smiled the whole way through.
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DIO ANTHONY: In your humble opinion––what are common qualities of a New Yorker?
CHLOE FINEMAN: a New Yorker is somebody who is relentlessly okay with being beat up and being exhausted. They might like chaos and struggle.
ANTHONY: Might always be a little tired too.
FINEMAN: Yes. You’re always a little tired and maybe a little cold? You like the hustle, you’re happiest around commotion. You also never have enough space to hold what you need in a bag. It’s like you don’t understand the concept of the bag, because it’s never been enough. You might always have to pee. When I moved to New York to do theater school, I was so serious all the time. I picked up chain-smoking. I cut my hair really short. I wanted to be Natalie Portman. I was addicted to cigarettes, too. Oh my gosh, and I cried all the time.
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ANTHONY: New York is really rough for most if not all during the first few years. But you always find your small little pleasures that make you feel warm. What’re some of your favorite places in New York? Those warm places.
CHLOE FINEMAN IN MARSHALL COLUMBIA FOR AMERICAN STUDIES, SUMMER 2022.
FINEMAN: Hmm. There’s just something about Nolita. It’s too expensive, and the apartments are so small. I’ll never have my dream place there. But I think I just had a really happy time there, maybe 15 years ago before it became what it is now, and it’s just a happy place for me. It was like 2006, I was listening to The Strokes and ‘Garden State’ had just come out [laughs].
Nolita is one of those rare places that for me there’s just so much familiarity.
ANTHONY: What do you think turns a good impression into a great impression?
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Full look by Diesel , Glasses by amorir
FINEMAN: I think, fundamentally the way I like to approach impressions is––it’s like a character. It’s a full person. So, it's not just a voice or a gesture–– or that you sound like them. Instead you become a full person and then you also bring a funny take on them into it. I like to be Meryl about it. I want to fully inhabit this person and get lost. Where you don’t see Chloe. That’s my approach on the show too. It’s been so interesting watching all these Trump impressions on the show, because we’ve had so many. James’ [Austin Johnson] is very goofy. His is a goofy take on it. Everyone puts their own bit into it. You have to do that in order to make it your own.
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Top by saint sintra, Glasses by amorir
ANTHONY: What’ one thing you hadn’t realized about Saturday Night Live until working there?
FINEMAN: I didn’t realize until my first day on the job that there was a dress rehearsal. The dress rehearsal is a full live audience. It’s really no different than the air day audience except mentally you’re trying to sell your sketch or thing harder. This is unrelated but, since working at SNL I have nightmares that I can’t read the cards off camera [laughs]. The longer I’ve been on the show the more realistic they’ve become. I had a waking dream recently where I was out there and came close to the camera and said—Wait, what does that say? On live television. In the dream, my producer Lorne Michaels came out and said Just act! I thought that was it. The end of my time on the show as I knew it.
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ANTHONY: That is really terrifying. The show is such a part of the cultural footprint. It has been, continues to be through the years and will remain being part of it too. For me, I think it’s one of the things that makes SNL so valuable as an art form. It’s always depicting the times on screen. If you could spend a week in another SNL decade, which would it be?
FINEMAN: Ooh. Lorne, our producer, who I mentioned earlier. He always says that people’s favorite SNL era is what they were watching when they were in high school. I do feel like if I were to go back, and had the chance to be on the show back when Kristen Wiig was on, during the Lonely Island era— I’d be freaking out a bit. Another part of me would want to explore what it would be like to be with origins like Chris Farley, and that whole set of the SNL history gang. I feel like there would be a lot of drugs involved.
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Full look by Balenciaga, Crown by Frwd
ANTHONY: Maybe. Absolutely? For what it’s worth, that’s the visual I had in mind when asking.
FINEMAN: It’d definitely interesting.
ANTHONY: What’s one life lesson you’ve learned from doing comedy?
FINEMAN: Comedy has taught me that you just have to keep going. I mean, you bomb so much in comedy. You fall in your face so much. The people that are great at comedy, they bomb and get back up and start over again. That’s one thing I’ve learned. It’s very forgiving. No matter what, you get to make something again, and start new. It’s a good reminder to have in life.
Dress BAD BINCH TONGTONG, Glasses by Gucci, Necklace by area
Dress BAD BINCH TONGTONG, Glasses by Gucci
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. A full unedited transcript is featured in the VOLUME III SUMMER 2022 release of American Studies under the title Chloe Fineman: Summer Girl ‘22
Full Team Credits
Words & Creative Direction: Dio Anthony
Styling: Yael Quint
Photography: Sam Hylton
Hair: Clara Leonard
Makeup: Marc Reagan
Styling Assistants: Mina Erkli & Josh Mooiweer
Manicurist: Mamie Onishi
Lighting Director: Evadne Gonzalez
Digitech: Julian Lopez
Post Production: Mario Ernun