A Chicago native, Gross is the youngest of three children born to William Oscar Gross, a tool designer, and Virginia Ruth (née Cahill), a telephone operator (the eldest being actor Michael Gross).[2][3] She attended Madonna High School—an all-girls Catholic school, since demolished[2]—and Loyola University.[4] While in high school, Gross made her performing debut—singing, in character, as France's Louis XIV, to the tune of Bernstein and Sondheim's "I Feel Pretty"—alongside fellow Madonna alumna Marilu Henner.[2][4][5]
Gross joined SNL in 1981, during the show's 7th season following the show's disastrous sixth season, when the show was nearly canceled.[7] She became co-anchor of SNL's Weekend Update segment (renamed SNL Newsbreak) during her first season. She and the rest of the cast left in 1985 following executive producer Dick Ebersol's departure from the show.
Siobhan Cahill, an Irish woman who reports on Irish events on Saturday Night News (Weekend Update's name when Brad Hall was cast as anchor). Coincidentally, Saturday Night Live would have Siobhan Fallon and Beth Cahill as cast members in the 1990s.
Gross has never married, but as of June 1982, Chicago-based photographer Jay King was referred to as "her longtime boyfriend" in a profile/interview of Gross penned by Chicago Sun-Times writer Michael Davis.[4] Duration aside, their relationship was also reported that year by the Chicago Tribune's Jon Anderson and several years later by researcher-author Mary Unterbrinker.[5][11]
^"Celebrity Birthdays". Asheville Citizen-Times. March 25, 2023. p. 5C. ProQuest2792347897. Actor Paul Michael Glaser is 80. Musician Elton John is 76. Actor Bonnie Bedelia is 75. Actor-comedian Mary Gross is 70. Actor James McDaniel ('NYPD Blue') is 65. See also:
"Today in History: Today's Birthdays". Daily Breeze. March 25, 2003. p. B5. ProQuest338554978. Actor Paul Michael Glaser is 60. Singer Elton John is 56. Actress Bonnie Bedelia is 55. Singer Nick Lowe is 54. Actress-comedian Mary Gross is 50. Actor James McDaniel is 45.
^ abcCaro, Mark (March 17, 2011). "Hollywood's Fickle; Family Ties Endure". Chicago Tribune. Sec. 3, pp. 1, 3. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
^"Obituaries". Chicago Tribune. March 22, 2005. p. 6. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
^ abcde"Mary Gross (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved October 19, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.