Molly Shannon’s Husband Fritz Chestnut: Meet The ‘SNL’ Star’s Spouse

Molly Shannon, a former cast member of 'Saturday Night Live', has been married to her husband since 2004. Meet him here.

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April 5, 2023 8:48PM EDT
Molly Shannon Fritz Chestnut
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Editor's note: These images have been shot with a halo lens filter. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Lawrence Sumulong/Shutterstock (9698988i) Molly Shannon 'Divorce' TV show FYC Event, New York, USA - 01 Jun 2018
Molly Shannon and husband Fritz Chesnut 'Whatever Works' Film Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, New York, America - 22 Apr 2009 New York welcomed back its favourite son last night as the Big Apple's Tribeca Film Festival staged the premiere of Woody Allen's latest film comedy, 'Whatever Works'. Like his early works, the film is set in the City That Never Sleeps and stars his current young muse of the moment, Evan Rachel Wood. Wood plays the naïve young wife of Larry David's Scrooge-like character. The film is a dark comedy starring Larry David as an eccentric man from Greenwich Village who gets caught up in a series of love stories which get him tangled up with a young girl from the south (Evan Rachel Wood) and her parents. The guest list for the screening was nothing if not star-studded, with the likes of Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Debra Messing, Mary Kate Olsen, Larry David, Patricia Clarkson, Mickey Dolenz and Morgan Spurlock all attending.
Molly Shannon 25th Annual Critics' Choice Awards, Arrivals, Barker Hanger, Los Angeles, USA - 12 Jan 2020
Image Credit: Shutterstock

  • Molly Shannon is an actress and comedian best known for appearing on ‘Saturday Night Live’ for several years
  • Molly was a main cast member of the hit sketch comedy series between 1995 and 2001
  • She has continued acting since departing ‘SNL’ and started a family with her husband, Fritz Chestnut

Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon is returning to her old stomping grounds to host on April 8 — and she was so excited that she showed up a few days earlier in a hilarious new promo clip. In the video, the 58-year-old actress and comedian walked through the doorway to the iconic set, just to find that it was empty.  “Where is everyone?” she asked. Next, a crew member noticed Molly and informed her that the cast doesn’t report to Studio 8H, NBC Studios in Manhattan until Saturday. After the helpful man guided her to the exit, Molly decided she would stay put until Saturday to make sure she is “ready … for the big show”.

Molly was a main cast member on Saturday Night Live between m 1995 to 2001 and became known for playing the nervous, accident-prone Mary Katherine Gallagher. After she left, she continued pursuing entertainment through acting and film, with some of her biggest projects being 2004’s Scary Movie 4, The Other Two, and 2023’s A Good Person, in which she starred as Florence Pugh‘s mom. Molly also embarked on a new adventure following her time on SNL: She got married and started a family. Read on to learn about Fritz Chestnut, Molly Shannon’s husband of nearly two decades.

Molly Shannon Fritz Chestnut
Molly Shannon and her husband Fritz Chesnut arrive at the ‘Whatever Works’ premiere in 2009 (Photo: Shutterstock)

Fritz Is An Artist

Fritz is an artist who was born in 1973 in Santa Fe, N.M., per his website. He received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1995 and went on to earn his MFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 1997. Fritz does not post much on social media, but when he does, it’s usually about his artwork. His Instagram feed shows that he enjoys creating abstract art with acrylic and enamel on canvas.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CofWjNupAJg/

He’s also an advocate for the arts and attended the 2022 UCSC Arts Advocacy Council Summit. The council represents all areas of the arts and works to ensure the University of California, Santa Cruz is “at the forefront of the change that we need in creative industries”, according to its official description.

Fritz Is An Involved Parent

Molly and Fritz walked down the aisle in 2004 after being introduced through a mutual friend, Jane Pratt, in 2000. “All the years I was on SNL, I didn’t think about kids. I was focused on work. But toward the end, I was looking for a serious boyfriend who could turn into a husband that I could have children with,” Molly told Page Six Magazine in an interview in the late 2000s. They welcomed their first daughter,  Stella, before they were married in 2003. Molly and Fritz welcomed a son named Nolan in 2005.

Fritz appears to love being a father and was involved in the upbringing of his kids. In a June 2022 Father’s Day tribute on Instagram, Molly shared a throwback image of her husband reading Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss at bedtime, as seen below.

Fritz also helped Stella catch some waves in 2020 and shared a video of her success online. “Yeah Stella!!!! Wooooo!! Proud dad moment!” he captioned the below  clip of her riding a wave to shore.

Fritz Supports Social Causes

Fritz advocated for the Black Lives Matter movement during the protests in 2020. “Doing more listening than talking right now,” he wrote in a caption that accompanied a BLM poster. “I have a lot to learn and hope to change my consciousness and help my kids learn. Neutral isn’t enough.”

He enjoyed a peaceful march at the time with Stella as well and promised to teach his kids about white privilege. “Marched yesterday for Black Lives Matter through Hollywood for an hour and a half with my 16 year old daughter,” he explained. “Saw nothing but peaceful protest. Hoping to learn and teach the meaning of systemic racism and white privilege to my kids. White silence has to go. Racist Trump has got to go.”

He also encouraged people to vote during the 2016 presidential election. Unsurprisingly, Fritz did not vote for Donald Trump.