Elizabeth Stamatina “Tina” Fey (born May 18, 1970) is an American writer, comedian, actress, and producer. She has won six Emmys, three Golden Globes, and three SAG Awards. Fey is best known for her work on Mean Girls, Saturday Night Live, and her starring and creative roles on 30 Rock, a situation comedy loosely based on her experiences at Saturday Night Live. Fey was selected by Barbara Walters as one of America’s “10 most fascinating people of 2008”.
Fey became a writer on SNL in 1997. She was promoted to the position of head writer in 1999. She was added to the cast of SNL in 2000.[3] After leaving SNL in 2006, Fey created her own television series called 30 Rock. In the series, she portrays Liz Lemon, the head writer of TGS with Tracy Jordan, a fictional sketch comedy series.[3] In early 2008, she starred in the movie Baby Mama, alongside Amy Poehler.
OTHER FACTS:
• Is left handed.
• Her father is of German and Irish descent, and her mother is Greek.
• Graduated from Upper Darby High School.
• Admits was a mean girl in high school.
• Considered herself a supernerd during her high school days.
• Attended the University of Virginia, graduating in 1992. She majored in Drama.
• Came out of Chicago’s famed Second City comedy troupe where she was a writer-performer.
• Is Saturday Night Live’s first ever female head writer.
• As a writer for SNL she has written: Old French Whore, The View parodies, Boston Teens, Monica Lewinsky, Colonel Angus and Mom Jeans sketches among others.
• Was chosen by Entertainment Weekly as the #8 entertainer of the year in 2001.
• Was voted one of People’s 50 Most Beautiful in the World.
• Made screenwriting debut with “Mean Girls” (2004).
• Likes to sew and bake cookies.
• Her husband, Jeff Richmond, is a Second City director. He is ten years older than her.
30 Rock
Fey developed a sitcom, 30 Rock, for NBC’s fall 2006 schedule. The show is produced by NBC and Broadway Video, with Lorne Michaels and two former producers of The Tracy Morgan Show, David Miner, who is also her manager at 3 Arts, and Joann Alfano. Fey also writes and stars in the sitcom, said to be based on her experiences at SNL.
The show made its debut with mostly positive reviews but weak ratings. Ratings improved when NBC moved it to the Thursday night “Must See TV” comedy block. NBC renewed the series for a second season, which began in October 2007.
In July 2007, Fey was nominated for an Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy for her role as Liz Lemon. The show itself won the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. In 2008, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical, and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series on January 27.
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.