What a remarkable year it’s been for our favorite funny girl Kristen Wiig. If 2011 was the year Kristen finally received the attention and appreciation she truly deserves, 2012 was the year she cemented her status as an actress and writer to remember. This year started with a ton of award shows, with Kristen nominated for her portrayal of  Bridesmaids’ Annie Walker nominated at the Golden Globes, and for the movie’s screenplay at the BAFTAS, WAFCAS and the Writers Guild Awards. Kristen and the cast was a hit during the award shows, creating the Martin Scorsese drinking-game and more. Then, on January 24, Kristen received the highest film honor – and Academy Award nomination! Wiig and co-writer Annie Mumolo got nominated for Best Original Screenplay for their brilliant work on Bridesmaids. All six main actresses took the stage to present various awards during the ceremony, with Kristen and Maya Rudolph saying that size does matter. But not length. When it comes to films, that is. Who else would pull jokes like this during the Academy Awards?

At the same time, the 37th season of Saturday Night Live continued on January 7 with host Charles Barkley. This meant Kristen practically had to live in airplanes from New York to Los Angeles for the first two months of 2012. During this second half of the season, Kristen was frequently asked if she would come back for next season, wherever she went. While on The Late Show with David Letterman in February, she said “I will always feel nervous, whenever I do decide to leave. It’s my home, and it would be like leaving the nest. I’m not leaving right now.” She didn’t leave ‘right now’. But she did leave. Her last dance (literally) with the cast of SNL took place on May 19, with the help of host Mick Jagger. It was a very tearful goodbye for everyone and a very worthy farewell to one of the best players in SNL‘s history.

2012 wasn’t just the year of endings, but beginnings as well. Hollywood welcomed Kristen Wiig as leading lady in movie after movie. In March, Kristen Wiig reunited with her Bridesmaids co-stars Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph and Chris O’Dowd on screen for the romantic comedy Friends with Kids. The film received positive reviews, but with the consensus that Kristen Wiig and Jon Hamm were severely underused and still two of the movie’s strongest players. Friends with Kids did well at the box office, much thanks to the ad campaign that featured Wiig, Hamm, Rudolph and O’Dowd in prominent roles. That same month, Kristen started to film the adventure comedy The Secret Lives of Walter Mitty, directed and starring Ben Stiller, in New York City. Not much is known about the remake of an old classic, except for the story about a timid magazine photo manager who lives life vicariously through daydreams embarks on a true-life adventure when a negative goes missing. The film is scheduled to premiere on Christmas Day next year. In April she attended the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Revenge for Jolly!, a movie that has a small cameo from Kristen as a wedding bride.

After taking some well-deserved time off in early summer, Kristen returned for the world premiere of Imogene (now retitled to Girl Most Likely) at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie was met with positive reviews, not the least for the leading lady. Christopher Schobert from The Playlist wrote “Perhaps the most likable comedic actress to come down the pike since Diane Keaton threw on a Civil War-era vest and floppy hat, Wiig finds herself, post-‘Bridesmaids,’ in rarified company. She is a beloved, in-demand actress and comedienne, and a star who has something Kristen Stewart and Angelina Jolie would maim for: likability. That likability oozes from every scene in ‘Imogene.'” The film was one of the most sought-after movies of the festival and sold to Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions, who set the premiere date of July 19, 2013. Kristen also received her fourth and fifth Emmy nomination this year for her work on Saturday Night Live and voicing Lola Bunny on The Looney Tunes Show. September continued to be a great month for Kristen, as she started to film the drama Hateship, Friendship in New Orleans. The cast consists of Wiig, Hailee Steinfeld, Guy Pearce and Nick Nolte. After finishing the movie, she went straight to New York to reunite with SNL-friend Bill Hader for the drama comedy The Skeleton Twins. Still to come are projects including a rumored part in the sequel to Anchorman, her and Annie Mumolo’s next movie, voice roles in How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Despicable Me 2, etc, etc. It’s safe to say that Kristen won’t be going without work for some time ahead.

Next year will see Kristen film one or several of these movies as well as doing some heavy promotion for all the films set to be released. Whatever the year brings, you can be sure to find out all the news, photos, videos and more here on KristenWiig.org. Now tell us, what was the highlights of Kristen’s year for you?