Kathy Najimy Knows She’s a Gay icon – Vogue

Sistersss! If you’re a Hocus Pocus fan, you’re already aware that Hocus Pocus 2 is now streaming on Disney+ (perfect timing for spooky season). The sequel sees Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker reprise their iconic roles as the Sanderson sisters, a trio of witches who enjoy sucking the souls of children for fun. For Najimy, rediscovering the goofy, crooked-mouthed Mary Sanderson was a delightful experience, if a slightly easy acting gig. “She isn’t a terribly complicated character who has hobbies,” Najimy tells Vogue. “She has two motivations in life: One is to eat children, and the other is to make Winnie [Midler’s character] like me the best. Like me, Winnie…I’m sorry, Winnie…You’re right, Winnie!”

Still, as one of Hollywood’s greatest living character actors, Najimy’s work in Hocus Pocus and other campy classics is the stuff of legend: There was her turn as the irreverent Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act; as the stressed-out mother in Rat Race; and she even voiced King of the Hill’s Peggy Hill (“I’m Peggy Hill—ho yeah!”). So, in honor of the sequel’s release, we couldn’t resist catching up with Najimy to talk about becoming a Sanderson sister again, how she stays so funny, being a gay icon (“I love the gays!”), and why her ongoing activism work is so important to her.

Vogue: Good morning! How are you?

Kathy Najimy: I’m good! I woke up and I had my Starbucks, then I took my dog, Petie, for a walk in Central Park.

You’re a true New Yorker. How long have you lived here?

I moved here from San Diego, where I grew up, in the ’80s to do my two-woman, feminist, Off-Broadway show, The Kathy & Mo Show. Then I moved back to L.A. in the ’90s because of films. Got a house and had my kid—and when she was about 15, [my husband], Dan, and I decided that we would rather have our daughter grow up as a teen girl in New York than L.A. I love L.A., but the pressures are a little different there. At first, she wanted to kill me in my sleep, but then she grabbed her guitar, got on the subway, and went and met other musicians. Now, she has her second album coming out!