Tina Fey Bio

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Tina Fey Pictures

Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, writer, comedienne, and producer. She has received five Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1992, Fey moved to Chicago to take classes at the improvisational comedy group The Second City, where she became a featured player in 1994.

In 1997, Fey became a writer for the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). She was promoted to the position of head writer in 1999. The following year, Fey was added to the cast of SNL. During her time there, she was co-anchor of the show's Weekend Update segment. After leaving SNL in 2006, she created her own television series called 30 Rock, a situation comedy loosely based on her experiences at SNL. In the series, Fey portrays Liz Lemon, the head writer of TGS with Tracy Jordan, a fictional sketch comedy series.

In 2000, Fey and Rachel Dratch starred in the Off Broadway two-woman show Dratch & Fey, which received positive reception. Fey made her feature film debut as writer and co-star of the 2004 teen comedy Mean Girls. In 2008, she starred in the comedy film Baby Mama, alongside Amy Poehler. Fey received an Emmy nomination for her satirical portrayal of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a guest appearance on SNL.

Tina Fey: Early life

Fey was born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. She is the daughter of Zenovia "Jeanne" (née Xenakes), a brokerage employee of Greek ancestry, and Donald Fey, a university grant proposal-writer of German and Scottish ancestry. She has an older brother named Peter (born 1962).

Fey was exposed to comedy early. She recalls:

She also grew up watching Second City Television (SCTV) and includes Catherine O'Hara among her role models.

Fey attended Cardington Elementary School and Beverly Hills Middle School in Upper Darby. By middle school, she knew she was interested in comedy, even doing an independent-study project on the subject in eighth grade. Fey attended Upper Darby High School, during which time she was an honor student, and member of the choir, drama club, tennis team, and co-editor of the school's newspaper. Following her graduation in 1988, Fey enrolled at the University of Virginia, where she studied playwriting and acting. She graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama.

Tina Fey: Career

Tina Fey - Early career

After graduating from the University of Virginia, Fey originally had plans to do graduate work in drama at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, but "I just got this feeling like it wasn't going to work out ... [that] they were going to take my money and then cut me from the program." She moved to Chicago anyway, knowing about the improvisational comedy troup, The Second City. She took night classes at Second City, and had a day job working at the front desk of a YMCA facility in Evanston to pay for her classes. Once her Second City training began, she immersed herself in the "cult of improvisation", becoming, as she described it later, "one of those athletes trying to get into the Olympics. It was all about blind focus. I was so sure that I was doing exactly what I'd been put on this Earth to do, and I would have done anything to make it onto that stage. Not because of SNL, but because I wanted to devote my life to improv. I would have been perfectly happy to stay at Second City forever."

By 1994, she was invited to join the cast of The Second City, where she performed eight shows a week. She was also in the revues Citizen Gates (1996) and Paradigm Lost (1997), where she performed alongside Scott Adsit, Kevin Dorff, Rachel Dratch, Jenna Jolovitz, and Jim Zulevic. Improvisation became an important influence on her initial understanding of what it means to be an actress, as she noted in an interview for The Believer in November 2003:

While in Chicago, Fey also made what she later described as an "amateurish" attempt at stand-up comedy. She also performed at the ImprovOlympic where she met friend and future co-star Amy Poehler.

Tina Fey - Saturday Night Live (1997-2006)

While performing shows with the Second City in 1997, it was during this time that Fey began submitting several scripts to NBC's variety show Saturday Night Live (SNL), at the request of Adam McKay, a former performer at Second City and head writer of the show at the time. She was hired following a meeting with SNL creator Lorne Michaels. Fey told The New Yorker, "I'd had my eye on the show forever, the way other kids have their eye on Derek Jeter." She moved to New York to become a staff writer. Originally, Fey "struggled" while at SNL. One of her first sketches starred Chris Farley in a Sally Jessy Raphael satire. Fey went on to write a series of parodies, including ABC's morning talk show The View. She also co-wrote the "The Boston Teens" sketches, alongside Rachel Dratch, who plays one of the teens.

Fey played an extra in one of the episodes in 1998, and after watching herself, decided to diet, in which she lost 30 pounds. She told The New York Times, "I was a completely normal weight. But I was here in New York City, I had money and I couldn't buy any clothes. After I lost weight, there was interest in putting me on camera." In 1999, McKay stepped down as head writer, which led Michaels to approach Fey for the position. She became SNL's first female head writer, a milestone she downplays in light of the fact that there have not been very many head writers.

In 2000, Fey and Jimmy Fallon became co-anchors of SNL's Weekend Update segment. Fey admitted she did not ask to audition, but that Michaels approached her. Michaels explained that there was "chemistry" between Fey and Fallon. Michaels, however, revealed that choosing Fey was "kind of risky" at the time. Her role in Weekend Update was well received by critics. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "...Fey delivers such blow darts -- poison filled jokes written in long, precisely parsed sentences unprecedented in Update history -- with such a bright, sunny countenance makes her all the more devilishly delightful." Dennis Miller, a former cast member of SNL and anchor of Weekend Update, was pleased with Fey as one of the anchors for the segment. "...Fey might be the best Weekend Update anchor who ever did it. She writes the funniest jokes". Robert Bianco of USA Today, however, commented that he was "not enamored" with the pairing. Fey was also co-writer of the Weekend Update segment. It was also in 2000 that she began performing in sketches.

In 2001, Fey and the writing staff won a Writers Guild of America Award for SNL's 25th anniversary special. The following year at the 2002 Emmy Awards ceremony, she and the writing team won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program.

The pairing of Fey and Fallon ended in May 2004 when Fallon last appeared as a cast member. He was replaced by Amy Poehler. It was the first time that two women co-anchored Weekend Update. Michaels, in regards to this, noted that Fey and Poehler "have been the strongest thing on the show in recent years because they can do it all. And the good news is they all do different things." Fey revealed that she "hired" Poehler as her co-host for the segment. The reception to the teaming of Fey and Poehler was positive.

In September 2005, Fey went on maternity leave after giving birth to her daughter, Alice. Her Weekend Update role was covered by cast member Horatio Sanz for two episodes before her return to the show on October 22, 2005, at which time she noted, "I had to get back to work. NBC has me under contract; the baby and I only have a verbal agreement."

The 2005-2006 season was her last, as she thereafter departed to develop 30 Rock.

Tina Fey - 30 Rock (2006-present)

In 2002, Fey suggested a pilot episode for a situation comedy about a cable news network to NBC, who rejected it. The pilot, and subsequent series, was reworked to revolve around an SNL style series. She signed a contract with NBC in May 2003, which allowed her to remain in her SNL head writer position until at least the 2004-2005 television season. As part of the contract, Fey was required to develop a primetime project to be produced by Broadway Video and NBC Universal. During the 2004-2005 pilot season, she began developing a pilot project under the working title Untitled Tina Fey Project. The pilot, which became 30 Rock, centered on the head writer of a variety show and how she managed her relationships with the show's volatile star and executive producer. In the series, Fey portrays the lead character, Liz Lemon. She acknowledged similarities between Liz and her own life when she became head writer on SNL, primarily a heavy focus on her job.

In October 2006, the pilot for 30 Rock aired on NBC, directed by Adam Bernstein. Although the episode received generally favorable reviews, it finished third in its timeslot. The show's ratings improved when NBC moved it to the Thursday night "Must See TV" comedy block. The network renewed the series for a second season, which began in October 2007.

For her work, Fey received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. The show itself won the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. In 2008, she won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Emmy all in the category for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. The following year, Fey again won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award in the same categories. On July 16, 2009, 30 Rock received 22 Emmy nominations, including a nomination for Fey for Best Actress.

Along with the rest of the show's writing staff, Fey participated in the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike, which began on November 5, 2007 and concluded on February 12, 2008. While picketing in Rockefeller Center on the first day of the strike, Fey was quoted as saying, "I'm a member of the Guild and I am here to support my fellow Guild members. This strike affects the show in which I work. We put our pens down yesterday, and we will not write until negotiations resume." Fey, however, continued with her acting and producing duties on 30 Rock, as required by her contract. Production on 30 Rock ended Friday, November 9, 2007 and resumed 95 days later, at the conclusion of the writers strike, on February 12, 2008.

The show's third season premiered on October 30, 2008, during which it received its highest ratings in the series. In January 2009, 30 Rock was renewed for a fourth season by NBC.

Tina Fey - Sarah Palin

Web promo for 2008 web video of Palin (Fey) and Clinton (Poehler) from NBC.com.

Fey is considered to bear a resemblance to former Governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and in the immediate aftermath of John McCain's announcement of Palin as his running mate, speculation rose as to whether Fey might portray Palin in sketches on SNL. On the 34th season premiere episode, aired September 13, 2008, Fey returned to SNL to imitate Palin in a sketch, alongside Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton. Their repartee included Clinton needling Palin about her "Tina Fey glasses". It quickly became NBC.com's most-watched viral video ever, with 5.7 million views by the following Wednesday. In an interview with the Associated Press, Lorne Michaels said, "The whole world cast her in that role." Michaels, however, noted that she was unlikely to remain in the role for long. Palin's campaign said that Palin was amused, particularly because she had once dressed up as Fey for Halloween, though Palin later said she had seen the sketch without hearing the audio. John McCain's top economic advisor, Carly Fiorina, dismissed the sketch as sexist. The sketch received generally favorable reviews. James Poniewozik of Time wrote that "Fey's Palin was perfectly good enough" and that "the skit itself did a good job of what SNL-which has lately cultivated a strong set of female comics-tried hard to do through Hillary's campaign, which is try to address sexism without either simply going for the easy stereotypes or letting female candidates off the hook". Erin Fox of TV Guide wrote that Fey "nails Palin's mannerisms and accent. My favorite line was Tina saying 'I can see Russia from my house!'" Fox added that "this was a much anticipated and hoped-for pairing and we got it!"

During the 2008 Emmy Awards, Fey told the media, in discussion of Palin: "I want to be done playing this lady November 5th. So if anyone could help me be done playing this lady November 5th, that would be good for me." In an interview with TV Guide, Fey reiterated her desire that her role as Palin will be temporary. "If she wins, I'm done. I can't do that for four years. And by 'I'm done,' I mean I'm leaving Earth."

On September 27, 2008, she reprised her role as Palin, parodying the CBS News interview with Katie Couric, who was played by Poehler. Portions of the sketch were direct quotes and gestures from interviews with Couric on September 24. On October 4, she played the role of Palin at the 2008 vice-presidential debate, with Jason Sudeikis playing Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden and Queen Latifah as moderator Gwen Ifill. Michaels, referring to the 50 percent audience increase in the 34th season, told the New York Times, "I think the gods smiled on us with the Palin thing." On October 18, Fey came face-to-face with Palin herself, when impersonating the vice presidential candidate in a fake news conference on SNL. When Fey appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on October 29, she recounted that Palin actually offered the services of her daughter Bristol to babysit Fey's daughter.

Alessandra Stanley, television critic for the New York Times, wrote that the McCain campaign apparently believes that Fey's comedy sketches have "undermined Palin's plausibility" as a candidate qualified to be Vice President, and Stanley speculated that the candidate's appearance on SNL was calculated to "disarm" Fey.

On the October 23 episode of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, Fey as Palin appeared alongside John McCain (played by Darrell Hammond), as President George W. Bush (played by Will Ferrell) gave his endorsement to the pair. On November 1, she once again portrayed Palin, this time in a sketch featuring the real John McCain. In the sketch, McCain poked fun at himself and his campaign, as well as Barack Obama's purchase of airtime on several major networks earlier in the week. In the sketch, McCain and Palin can only afford to buy airtime on QVC, a home-shopping channel.

On November 5, 2008, she told reporters she was retiring her impersonation of Palin, in order to focus on 30 Rock. Fey was nominated for an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Palin.

Tina Fey - Other work

In 2000, Fey partnered with fellow SNL cast member Rachel Dratch in the Off Broadway two-woman show Dratch & Fey at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City. The production was well received by critics. Tim Townsend of The Wall Street Journal in review of Dratch & Fey, wrote that the fun part of watching them perform is "seeing how comfortable they are with each other". He concludes with, "...Dratch & Fey isn't about two women being funny. [...] Dratch and Fey are just funny. Period." One of SNL's sketches, "The Boston Teens", originated at Second City in Chicago. Fey played Dratch's mother.

On August 13, 2007, Fey made a guest appearance on the children's television series Sesame Street, in the episode, "The Bookaneers". She appeared as a guest judge on the November 25, 2007 episode of the Food Network program Iron Chef America. Fey has appeared in Disney's campaign "Year of a Million Dreams" as Tinker Bell, along with Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan and Gisele Bí¼ndchen as Wendy Darling. She has also done commercials for American Express credit card.

On February 23, 2008, Fey hosted the first episode of SNL after the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, becoming the third female cast member to host overall. For this appearance, she was nominated for an Emmy in the category of Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.

Tina Fey - Feature films

Fey at the premiere of her film Mean Girls.

In 2002, Fey appeared in Martin & Orloff, a surreal comedy that premiered at Austin's South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival. She made her feature film debut as writer and co-star of the 2004 teen comedy Mean Girls. Characters and behaviors in the movie are based on Fey's high school life at Upper Darby High School and on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. The cast includes other past cast members of SNL including Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, and Amy Poehler. The film received favorable reviews, and was a box office success, grossing $129 million worldwide.

In an interview, Fey expressed that she would like to write and direct movies in which she has small parts. As of April 2006, Fey has been working on a movie script for Paramount Pictures, which will feature Sacha Baron Cohen, by the name of Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill that is based loosely on the true story of a Hasidic rock musician. In 2007, she was cast in the animated comedy film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters as the team's mother, a giant burrito.

Fey and former SNL castmate Amy Poehler starred in the 2008 comedy Baby Mama. The movie was written and directed by Michael McCullers. The plot concerns Kate (Fey), a business woman, who wants a child but, discovering she has only a million-to-one chance of getting pregnant, decides to find a surrogate: Angie (Poehler), a white-trash schemer. Baby Mama received mixed reviews, but many critics enjoyed Fey's performance. Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "Fey is a delight to watch throughout. Able to convey Kate's intentions and feelings through the simple looks and inflections, she never melodramatizes her situation; nor does her efficient, perfectionist side become overbearing." The movie grossed over $64 million at the box office.

Fey's projects after 2008 include her lending her voice to the character Lisa in the English language version of Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (titled Ponyo for its U.S. release); the film was released in August 2009. She has completed work in The Invention of Lying, where she will star alongside Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, and Christopher Guest. In April 2009, production began for Shawn Levy's Date Night, a film about a married couple, played by Fey and Steve Carell, who go on a date, however, their night goes awry for the two. Date Night is scheduled to be release in April 2010. In addition, she has agreed to do voice work for the DreamWorks animated film Oobermind.

Tina Fey: In the media

Viewed as a sex symbol, Fey was ranked in the Hot 100 List at number 80 on Maxim in 2002. The following year, she was named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2003, in which she repeated in 2006, 2008, and 2009. In 2007, she was included in People's 100 Most Beautiful issue. Also in 2007, Fey placed seventh on the Hot 100 List on AfterEllen.com. She repeated the appearance the following year, however, being voted as number one on the list.

In 2001, Entertainment Weekly named Fey as one of their Entertainers of the Year for her work on Weekend Update. She again was named one of the magazine's Entertainers of the Year in 2007, and placed number two in 2008. Also in 2008, the Associated Press voted Fey as Entertainer of the Year. She has appeared on the annual Celebrity 100 list by Forbes in 2008 and 2009 at No. 99 and No. 86.

Fey was among the Time 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2007 and 2009. Fey's featured article in 2009 was written by 30 Rock co-star, Alec Baldwin. She was selected by Barbara Walters as one of America's 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008. In 2009, Fey was listed in Rolling Stone's annual 100 People Who Are Changing America list.

Tina Fey: Personal life

Fey is married to Jeff Richmond, a former composer on Saturday Night Live. They met at Chicago's Second City and dated for seven years before marrying in a Greek Orthodox ceremony on June 3, 2001. They have a daughter, Alice Zenobia Richmond, who was born on September 10, 2005, in New York City, where they reside. In April 2009, Fey and Richmond purchased a 3.4 million dollar apartment in the Upper West Side.

Fey has a scar a few inches long on the left side of her chin and cheek. Responding to questions about its origin, Fey was quoted in the November 25, 2001, New York Times article as saying: "It's a childhood injury that was kind of grim. And it kind of bums my parents out for me to talk about it". But in an interview with Fey and Richmond in the January 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, Richmond revealed the scar resulted from a slashing incident, which happened when she was five. Richmond said: "It was in, like, the front yard of her house, and somebody just came up, and she just thought somebody marked her with a pen." She has said she was reluctant to discuss the incident in part because "It's impossible to talk about it without somehow seemingly exploiting it." In addition, Fey favors the right side of her face when acting.

Her charity work includes support of Autism Speaks, an organization that sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, and the public. At the 65th Golden Globe Awards, Fey wore a blue puzzle piece to raise awareness for the organization. In April 2008, she participated in Night of Too Many Stars, a comedy show benefit for autism education.

Fey is also a supporter of Global Envision, an organization to raise awareness of the spread of more open markets and the global fight against poverty. Fey narrated a video centering around rising food prices and the financial crisis. She also supports the Love Our Children USA organization, which named her among their Mothers Who Make a Difference in 2009. In 2009, she became the spokesperson for Light The Night, which benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Tina Fey: Detailed works

Tina Fey - As a writer

Tina Fey - As an actress

Tina Fey: Awards and nominations

The following awards are categorized under the year they were announced (and not necessarily the year covered by the award ceremony).