After high school, Kathy Kinney worked for the California Conservation Corps between 1972 and 1974. After completing a six-month Back Country season in Kings Canyon, she left the program with thousands of dollars in scholarships. She attended the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point in the seventies and officially received her degree in 2016.Kathy Kinney Biography - Yahoo! Movies In 1976, she moved to New York City, where she found work as a secretary at WCBS-TV. Her boss enjoyed hunting, and sometimes she chatted with him about his hunting trips, occasionally quipping, "So, did you kill anything this week?" She used this experience to inspire herself for the role of Mimi. During this time at WCBS she worked nights at New York comedy clubs to improve her improvisational comedy skills. This led to a job teaching improv classes. Director Bill Sherwood attended; he later wrote a part for her in his 1986 film, Parting Glances.
