“People can
misunderstand me ­sometimes,” Slate
says. “I am a little silly,
but I’m not stupid.”
Peter Hapak for TIME

In Obvious Child, a film about abortion, the comedian gets serious

It’s hard not to ascribe meaning to Jenny Slate’s Shirley Temple. The actor who orders the grenadine and ginger ale is not unlike the drink itself–a little bit retro and a lot sweet. She lists embroidery among her hobbies; she doesn’t like “sourpusses” or “grumps”; and Kristen Wiig, who worked with Slate on Saturday Night Live, says her cast mate’s affect is so joyful that she “heard little birds singing and a unicorn appeared” when they first met. On the other hand, sometimes a Shirley Temple is more than an adorable beverage. Soda also happens to be one of Slate’s favorite hangover cures.