In the book "Live From New York - an uncensored history of Saturday Night Live", Julia Sweeney explains that she had created the character of Pat while she was performing as part of the Groundlings, and had also played the character during her audition for Saturday Night Live. The mannerisms and body language were based on a male co-worker she met while working as an accountant. When she first tested it out as an impression, some friends told her it was good but she didn't seem very convincing as a man. That's when she came up with the gimmick for the character, to have Pat's gender be a complete mystery to all others.