Molly Shannon brought a fearless, almost punk-rock energy to her characters in the late 1990s. She was a master of physical comedy and pathos, creating some of the most iconic and strange characters of her era. As the painfully awkward Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher, she would literally throw herself into walls for a laugh. As the 50-year-old dancer Sally O’Malley, she was a beacon of high-kicking, uninhibited joy. Shannon took that same go-for-broke spirit into her post-SNL career, earning acclaim for her roles in both comedy and drama, including a Spirit Award for the film Other People, proving the deep emotional core that always lay beneath her wildest characters.