Tina Fey

Tina Fey is an American writer, comedian, and actress, best known for her work on Saturday Night Live. Elizabeth Tina Fey was born on May 18, 1970 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Coming from a diverse background (her mother is Greek, her father German-Irish) she grew up with multiple influences, humor among them. Her mother’s biting wit pushed Tina to start making snappy remarks when she was just a kid. But both parents loved comedy and they watched funny movies and TV shows with Tina all the time.

Fey studied amp; finished drama at the University of Virginia in 1992, maintaining her livelihood with a job at the local YMCA and rapidly excelling through Second City’s exhausting course load. Advised by her instructor to skip forward to the more selective Second City Training Center, Fey took him up on his advice and, though rejected at first, she was eventually accepted into the fold.

When Saturday Night Live came to Second City seeking some fresh new talent in 1995, Fey and friend Adam McKay stood out from the pack. It was McKay’s prompting that eventually found Fey hired as a writer for the enduring sketch comedy series. In addition to opening the door for her entrance into SNL, her tenure at Second City also found Fey making the acquaintance of future husband Jeff Richmond, who served as director for the Chicago comedy troupe.

After joining the cast as a staff writer in 1997, Fey soon made history as SNL’s first female writing supervisor two short years later. She was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program three years in a row from 2001-2003, and her mark both behind the scenes and as one-half of the Weekend Update crew (opposite SNL favorite Jimmy Fallon) was unmistakable. In the midst of her hectic schedule at Studio 8H, Fey somehow found time to perform the critically praised two-woman comedy show Dratch and Fey in both Chicago (1999) and New York (2000).

Fey’s other work has included writing for such programs as the confrontational comedy series The Colin Quinn Show, shown on pay-cable mainstay Comedy Central. If fans had wondered when—as all high-profile SNL cast members eventually do—Fey would set her sights on feature films, their curiosity would soon be answered when it was announced that Fey would be writing and appearing in Mean Girls (2004), an adaptation of author Rosalind Wiseman’s popular book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence.