Cheri Oteri was born on 19th September 1965, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, graduating from Archbishop Prendergast High School, then moved to Los Angeles when she was 25, where she worked in Promotions for A&M records for 4 years, and joined up with the Groundlings, an improv-sketch based comedy group. One night, a SNL 25 rep was in the audience and liked her, so she flew down to New York to audition, made it, and debuted on Sept. 9, 1995. Since then, she has appeared in four films, has been in numerous magazines.
Worked as a Co-ordinator in the Promotion Department of A & M Records [1990-1994] Cheri is most known for her role on NBC'S SNL 25. Presented at the 2000 GLAAD Media Awards to honor films and TV shows that accurately portray gay and lesbian people. Her SNL character Rita Delvechio is based on her grandmother. Cheri is the niece of production designer Barbara Pietsch.