On May 18, 1970, Tina Fey was born in Upper Darby, PA. She grew up to become an Emmy-winning actress, comedian, writer, and important cultural commentator. Through her comedy, Fey has been a pioneer in bringing a feminist message to audiences. Fey may soon be adding Tony winner to her impressive resume. The Broadway musical “Mean Girls,” based on her 2004 film of the same name, was recently nominated for an impressive 12 Tony Awards.
Raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Fey was a self-proclaimed “super nerd” who later studied drama at the University of Virginia. After college, she joined the Chicago-based improv troupe, Second City, in pursuit of a career in comedy. In the mid-1990’s, Fey landed a writing job for “Saturday Night Live” and in 1999, she became the first female head writer of the show. A year later she was tapped to anchor the “Weekend Update” desk alongside Jimmy Fallon. She became famous for her feminist-infused deadpan humor.
While working at SNL, Fey penned the screenplay for “Mean Girls.” Starring Lindsay Lohan, the 2004 movie is about a “home-schooled jungle freak” navigating the waters of popularity at her new high school. Fey wrote a musical based on the movie and the show opened on Broadway in April 2018.
Fey left SNL to create “30 Rock,” a television show based on her experiences as a writer at the sketch comedy show. A critical and commercial success, the show’s 17 Emmy nominations in 2008 were the most ever for a comedy series. During “30 Rock’s” seven-year run, Fey won a total of six Emmys.
2008 was also a big year for Fey thanks to her scathingly accurate impersonation of 2008 vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. Her appearances as Palin on “Saturday Night Life” gave the show a 46 percent bump in ratings and, to this day, most people think Palin said the famous line, “I can see Russia from my house.” In fact, the pervasive quip came out of Fey’s mouth in an SNL skit.
“30 Rock” had its final season in 2013, and in 2015, Fey churned out another Emmy-nominated series, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” Her autobiography, “Bossypants,” was an important book for fans, with its anecdotes and advice for women: “This is what I tell young women who ask me for career advice. People are going to try to trick you. To make you feel that you are in competition with one another…You’re up for a promotion. If they go for a woman, it’ll be between you and Barbara…Don’t be fooled. You’re not in competition with other women. You’re in competition with everyone.”