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Tina Fey Profile |
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Birth Date: May 18, 1970
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Birth Place: Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, USA
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Birth Name: Elizabeth Stamatina Fey
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Height: 5'4"
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Biography |
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.
A self-described "supernerd," Tina wrote a humor column for
her high school newspaper while taking part in the drama
club and the choir. She reserved her smart-ass remarks for
the popular crowd, the kids who glorified their own boozing
and sleeping around.
Fey studied drama at the University of Virginia, graduated
in 1992 and moved to Chicago. Her goal was to join the elite
Second City comedy troupe, which had been the breeding
ground for such past Saturday Night Live as John Belushi,
Chris Farley and Bill Murray. She failed her first audition
for the selective Second City Training Center in 1994 and
took a job at the YMCA until, eight weeks later, she tried
again and got it.
Second City honed Fey's talents as a writer and performer
for several years, sharpening her improvisational skills in
particular. In 1995, scouts for NBC, who were looking for
fresh talent for SNL, called upon Second City and were
impressed by Fey. Her friend Adam McKay was a writer himself
and he invited Tina to send in some sketches for review.
Shortly thereafter, she went to New York and met SNL
executive producer Lorne Michaels, who was instantly smitten
and gave her a job the following week.
After a few years writing for the show, including the
recurring parodies of Live with Regis and Kelly and The
View, Tina was named head writer for SNL, becoming the first
woman to occupy that position.
Not long after that, Tina made her debut in front of the
camera, co-hosting "Weekend Update" with Jimmy Fallon. It
became their permanent gig and many lauded it as the best
incarnation of "Update" ever.
As she continued writing for the show, she went on the road
with fellow cast member Rachel Dratch for a two-woman sketch
show called Dratch & Fey, which received widespread praise.
But her latest and most successful independent undertaking
was writing a screenplay based on a book that had been
receiving a lot of attention. Queen Bees and Wannabes:
Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends &
Other Realities of Adolescence by Rosalind Wiseman reminded
Fey of the backstabbing and conniving girls of her high
school. Adding some of her comedic spins, she wrote the
screenplay for the hit movie Mean Girls (2004), which
starred her niece, Lindsay Lohan.
Fey continues to write for SNL;in fact, her leadership
pulled the show from a dip in ratings. She lives in New York
with her husband Jeff Richmond, a director at Second City. |
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Other
Information |
Came out of Chicago's famed Second City comedy troupe where
she was a writer-performer.
She is "Saturday Night Live" (1975)'s first ever female head
writer.
Was chosen by Entertainment Weekly as the #8 entertainer of
the year for the year 2001
Brother: Peter, who is 8 years older than Tina
Her husband, Jeff Richmond is a Second City director. That's
how they met. He is ten years older than her.
As a head writer for SNL she has written: Old French Whore,
The View, Sully and Denise and the Monica Lewinsky skits
among many, many others.
Fey's mother is from Greece
Was voted one of People's 50 Most Beautiful in the World.
Her father is of German and Irish descent, and her mother is
Greek.
Told Bust magazine in 2004 that she considers herself a
feminist.
In her first session as a member of the SNL writing staff,
the 5' 4" Tina found herself almost a foot shorter than the
mostly-male writing staff, and felt for awhile like she'd
shrunk!
Attended the University of Virginia, graduating in 1992.
Graduated from Upper Darby High School.
Recorded the voices for the British and German princesses
for Williams' "Medieval Madness" pinball machine.
Tina and her husband, Jeff Richmond, had a girl, Alice, on
September 10, 2005.
Attended the same high school as Cheri Oteri. |
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