- Fey, Tina
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▪ 2009Elizabeth Stamatina Feyborn May 18, 1970, Upper Darby, Pa.In April 2008 American writer-actress Tina Fey added to her already impressive résumé when the motion picture Baby Mama, which she starred in, was the top box-office hit in the U.S. and Canada in its opening weekend. The female buddy movie—a rarity among Hollywood films—gave Universal Studios its first box-office winner of the year. Fey was named the Associated Press Entertainer of the Year in December.Fey was educated at the University of Virginia, where she studied drama, and following graduation in 1992 she moved to Chicago to take classes at The Second City, a training ground for comedians. After about two years of instruction in improvisational comedy, she joined the Second City cast, first as a touring company understudy and later as a performer on the company's main stage. In 1997 Fey submitted samples of her sketch writing to the Saturday Night Live television show staff. The show's executive producer, Lorne Michaels, interviewed her, and within a week she was hired, one of the show's few female writers. In 1999 Fey became the first woman to be named Saturday Night Live's head writer, and during the 2000–01 season, she debuted onscreen as coanchor of the show's “Weekend Update” feature. She went on to join the cast as a regular. In 2002, with the rest of the show's writing staff, she shared the Emmy Award for outstanding writing for a variety, music, or comedy program.In 2004 Fey extended her reach into motion pictures with Mean Girls, writing the screenplay and appearing as one of the supporting characters. In 2006 she returned to TV to produce, write, and star in 30 Rock, a comedy based on her Saturday Night Live experiences. For 30 Rock she, with the other producers, shared the 2007 and 2008 Emmys for outstanding comedy series, and in 2008 she won Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Emmy awards for her performances in that show. In addition to continuing her work on 30 Rock, Fey returned as a guest on Saturday Night Live, satirizing Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, whose facial resemblance to Fey seemed to provide too good an opportunity for the comic actress to pass up. Fey also was scheduled for a role in the big-screen comedy This Side of the Truth and screenwriting duties for Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill, both planned for release in 2009.Barbara Whitney
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byname of Elizabeth Stamatina Feyborn May 18, 1970, Upper Darby, Pa., U.S.American comedian, writer, and actress whose work on the television shows Saturday Night Live (SNL; 1997–2006) and 30 Rock (2006– ) helped establish her as one of the leading women in comedy in the early 21st century.Fey was educated at the University of Virginia, where she studied drama. Following graduation in 1992, she moved to Chicago to take classes at The Second City, a training ground for comedians. After about two years of instruction in improvisational comedy, she joined the Second City cast, first as a touring company understudy and later as a performer on the company's main stage. In 1997 Fey submitted samples of her sketch writing to the Saturday Night Live television show staff. The show's executive producer, Lorne Michaels, interviewed her, and within a week he hired her to be one of the show's few female writers. In 1999 Fey became the first woman to be named SNL's head writer, and during the 2000–01 season she debuted onscreen as coanchor of the show's “Weekend Update” feature. She went on to join the cast as a regular. In 2002, with the rest of the show's writing staff, she shared the Emmy Award for outstanding writing for a variety, music, or comedy program.In 2004 Fey extended her reach into motion pictures with the teenage-angst comedy Mean Girls, writing the screenplay and appearing as one of the supporting characters. In 2006 she left Saturday Night Live to produce, write, and star in 30 Rock, a comedy based on her SNL experiences. Fey played Liz Lemon, the uptight head writer of a comedy sketch show. For 30 Rock she, with the other producers, won an Emmy for outstanding comedy series in 2007 and 2008. In 2008 she also won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild awards for her portrayal of Lemon. In addition to her work on 30 Rock, Fey continued to star in motion pictures, including Baby Mama (2008), a female buddy movie that also featured Fey's former Saturday Night Live costar Amy Poehler. In 2008 Fey returned multiple times as a guest on SNL in order to satirize Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin (Palin, Sarah Heath), to whom she bore a striking resemblance.Barbara Whitney* * *
Universalium. 2010.
