Cynthia Szigeti

Cynthia Szigeti worked as a comic actress in Los Angeles and taught improv at the Groundlings and the ACME Comedy Theatre. Born in Los Angeles, she earned a master's degree in acting from UCLA, then waitressed at the Pitchell Players improv club, which led her to take classes at the Groundlings before she became a member of its main troupe. She later performed with the Comedy Store Players alongside Robin Williams, Martin Short and Taylor Negron. In the 1980s she returned to run the Groundlings school, and in 1989 she co-founded ACME and oversaw its training program. Her students included Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Joel McHale, Conan O'Brien, Adam Carolla and Julia Sweeney. On screen, Szigeti appeared in National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) and I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), and in a 1991 episode of Seinfeld she played the former high school girlfriend of Jerry Seinfeld's character.