Marcello Hernández became one of Saturday Night Live‘s most talked-about cast members in recent years thanks to his charm and jokes about his upbringing. His mother, Isabel, has been a consistent presence in his comedy career so far, even being his inspiration for countless jokes and the famous “Protective Mom” SNL sketch.
Below, get to know Marcello’s mom and dad, and learn more about his childhood before becoming one of comedy’s biggest names!
No, Marcello’s parents divorced when he was a child — specifically, after they moved to the United States. The comedian even said this during his viral 2022 Montreal “Just for Laughs” stand-up performance, joking that his mom being from Cuba and his dad from the Dominican Republic “means that they are divorced.”
“It doesn’t work out,” Marcello said. “They came to America with the same idea, just a little bit different. My mom got here, and she was like, ‘Oh my god, look at all of these opportunities.’ And then, my dad got here and was like ‘Oh my gosh, look at all of these opportunities. This is not a place to be married. This is the land of opportunities.’”
As previously mentioned, Marcello’s mother is Isabel. She fled Cuba when she was still a child and moved to Spain, then the Dominican Republic, before settling down in the U.S. She worked various jobs and went to college while still pregnant with her son.
Throughout nearly all of Marcello’s stand-up acts, he’s joked about his mother’s parenting methods. In his Netflix special, American Boy, the Miami, Florida, native claimed that he wasn’t allowed to be depressed or even have ADD (attention deficit disorder) per his mother.
Despite Marcello’s jokes about her, Isabel has been by his side in the public eye, attending events with him and even appearing in a T-Mobile advertisement with him.
