History Creator / TinaFey

Fey, a self-confessed FagHag, spent her youth hanging around the local theater scene. Following a string of disastrous jobs, she joined The Second City improv in {{Chicago}}, where she met her longtime friend and future colleague AmyPoehler. She submitted scripts to Lorne Michaels during this period, eventually landing a job at SNL.

Fey's [[CelebrityResemblance physical resemblance]] to former Republican [=VP=] nominee UsefulNotes/SarahPalin was played with by having Fey make guest appearances on ''[=SNL=]'' as Palin. In the first Fey-as-Palin sketch, AmyPoehler (as HillaryClinton) made reference at one point to her "[[CelebrityParadox Tina Fey glasses]]". It was further played with when Palin herself (who had earlier dressed up as Fey one Halloween) made an appearance on the show with Fey, both wearing the same outfit. And an incident where show host Alec Baldwin started bad-mouthing Sarah Palin because he thought he was talking to Tina Fey... only to be told by Palin herself that he was [[YourCostumeNeedsWork actually talking to Palin]].

* HeterosexualLifePartners with former [[SaturdayNightLive Weekend Update]] coanchor and frequent film collaborator AmyPoehler.

Fey's [[CelebrityResemblance physical resemblance]] to former Republican [=VP=] nominee UsefulNotes/SarahPalin was played with by having Fey make guest appearances on ''[=SNL=]'' as Palin. In the first Fey-as-Palin sketch, AmyPoehler (as HillaryClinton) made reference at one point to her "[[CelebrityParadox Tina Fey glasses]]". It was further played with when Palin herself (who had earlier dressed up as Fey one Halloween) made an appearance on the show with Fey, both wearing the same outfit. And an incident where show host Alec Baldwin started bad-mouthing Sarah Palin because he thought he was talking to Tina Fey... only to be told by Palin herself that he was actually talking to Palin.

''See what I meant about the question being [[FreudianSlip a reflection of the asker?'']]

-->"''Do you think your attacker marked you so he could find you later?''"\\
She what I meant about the question being [[FreudianSlip a reflection of the asker?]]

Despite graduating to SNL cast member in 2000, she disliked participating in most sketches, finding it difficult to immerse herself in the characters. Despite this, she had some celebrity impressions she did (pre-SarahPalin). Ironically, most, if not all of them, were female celebrities who are only famous for being in scandals (Mary Jo Buttafuoco, GeorgeWBush's daughter, Barbara Pierce, and Kathleen Willey[[note]]one of many women who have claimed they were sexually harassed by BillClinton[[/note]]) or were [[BrainlessBeauty brainless beauties]] (Paris Hilton, Vanna White, LindsayLohan's mother, Dina, and Mary Ann Mobley).

Despite graduating to SNL cast member in 2000, she disliked participating in most sketches, finding it difficult to immerse herself in the characters. Acting-wise, Fey's specialty seems to be in playing neurotic women with a droll sense of humor and varying degrees of nerdiness, a persona apparently based on herself. Thanks to this as well as [[{{Meganekko}} her glasses]], she is seen by some as proof that NerdsAreSexy. However, while she wore glasses for ''Weekend Update'', since she is nearsighted enough to need them to read her cues, she does not actually need glasses. At the same time, they became so iconic that she [[BrainySpecs rarely appears on TV without them]]. This was {{Lampshaded}} in an episode of ''30 Rock''.

* TakeThat: Perhaps understandably annoyed that ''30 Rock'', the big breakthrough of her career, had to share the NBC spotlight with the much more-hyped, much better-funded ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,'' Fey heaped scorn on the latter show for years. Accepting an award at a fancy celebration, Fey said, "I hear Creator/AaronSorkin is wearing the same dress I am, but it's twice as long and not nearly as funny." To his credit, the famously thin-skinned Sorkin never responded, and even put in a self-deprecatory cameo on ''30 Rock.''

Fey, a self-confessed FagHag, spent her youth hanging around the local theater scene. Following a string of diasasterous jobs, she joined The Second City improv in {{Chicago}}, where she met her longtime friend and future colleague AmyPoehler. She submitted scripts to Lorne Michaels during this period, eventually landing a job at SNL.

* TwerpSweating: Her father is a former U.S. Army codebreaker, has a face like ClintEastwood, and apparently scares other men shitless -- even Lorne Michaels and Alec Baldwin, two men not known for their timidity. Don Fey serves as a notice that his daughter won't tolerate lazy or stupid men in her life.

* BadassFamily: Her father is a former U.S. Army codebreaker, has a face like ClintEastwood, and apparently scares other men shitless -- even Lorne Michaels and Alec Baldwin, two men not known for their timidity. Don Fey serves as a notice that his daughter won't tolerate lazy or stupid men in her life.

* EveryScarhasAStory: Has a noticeable scar along her mouth from a knifing incident. She since uses it as a Rorschach test for how long it takes for strangers to mention it.
-->"''Do you think your attacker marked you so he could find you later?'' She what I meant about the question being [[FreudianSlip a reflection of the asker?]]"

Acting-wise, Fey's specialty seems to be in playing neurotic women with a droll sense of humor and varying degrees of nerdiness, a persona apparently based on herself. Thanks to this as well as [[{{Meganekko}} her glasses]], she is seen by some as proof that NerdsAreSexy in RealLife. However, while she wore glasses for ''[[NewsParody Weekend Update]]'' since she is nearsighted enough to need them to read her cues, she does not actually need glasses all the time. At the same time, they became so iconic that she frequently appears with them in her acting roles. This was {{Lampshaded}} in an episode of ''30 Rock'' in which it was stated that she actually didn't even need glasses.

->"You remember the beginning of the book where I said I was the underdog? No? [[BadassBoast Me neither.]]"

* DreamTeam: With SteveCarell in ''DateNight''? [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Pure comedy gold.]]

* HeterosexualLifePartners with former [[SaturdayNightLive Weekend Update]] coanchor and frequent film collaborator AmyPoehler

Fey's [[CelebrityResemblance physical resemblance]] to former Republican [=VP=] nominee SarahPalin was played with by having Fey make guest appearances on ''[=SNL=]'' as Palin. In the first Fey-as-Palin sketch, AmyPoehler (as HillaryClinton) made reference at one point to her "[[CelebrityParadox Tina Fey glasses]]". It was further played with when Palin herself (who had earlier dressed up as Fey one Halloween) made an appearance on the show with Fey, both wearing the same outfit. And an incident where show host Alec Baldwin started bad-mouthing Sarah Palin because he thought he was talking to Tina Fey... only to be told by Palin herself that he was actually talking to Palin.

Acting-wise, Fey's specialty seems to be in playing neurotic women with a droll sense of humor and varying degrees of nerdiness, a persona apparently based on herself. Thanks to this as well as [[{{Meganekko}} her glasses]], she is seen by some as proof that NerdsAreSexy in RealLife. She does not actually need glasses all the time, however - she merely wore them on ''[[NewsParody Weekend Update]]'' since she is nearsighted and would not have been able to read her cues otherwise. However, the glasses became so iconic that she frequently appears with them in her acting roles. This was {{Lampshaded}} in an episode of ''30 Rock'' in which it was stated that she actually didn't even need glasses.

** Justified in a way when you know that Childish Gambino is the rapping identity comedian/actor Donald Glover (the star of Series/{{Community}}), someone who cites her as his mentor.

** Justified in a way when you know that Childish Gambino is the rapping identity comedian/actor Donald Glover (the star of {{Community}}), someone who cites her as his mentor.

** Justified in a way when you know that Childish Gambino is the rapping identity comedian/actor Donald Glover (the star of {{Community}}, someone who cites her as his mentor.

** Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin on ''Series/ThirtyRock'' as Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghey, respectively. You can feel the awesome emanating from your TV/computer/iDevice.

Comedy actress/writer of ''SaturdayNightLive'' and ''Series/ThirtyRock'' fame, who seems destined to be remembered as "[[CelebrityResemblance that woman who looks like Sarah Palin]]" (or vice versa). She was also the writer of ''Film/MeanGirls''.

* HeterosexualLifePartners (with former [[SaturdayNightLive Weekend Update]] coanchor and frequent film collaborator AmyPoehler)

* ACupAngst: Occasionally played for laughs on SNL.

* CelebrityResemblance: Looks a lot like Sarah Palin, and more oddly, [[http://www.comedycv.co.uk/edbyrne/ed-byrne-2010-october.jpg Irish comedian Ed Byrne]].
* {{Defictionalization}}: Sarah Palin never actually said "I can see Russia from my house!" (she said Alaskans can see Russia, technically true for the few residents of tiny Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait), but a lot of people seem to think she did after the MemeticMutation of a line that originated with Fey on SNL.
** Another Palin example: in the SNL episode with John [=McCain=] and Palin (played by Fey), she calls her last-minute "Palin 2012" shirt sale as "going rogue." Guess what SarahPalin's biography is titled?

** JimmyFallon and Tina Fey as the Weekend Update team were great. Fey and Amy Poehler? Even better.
** Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin on ''Series/ThirtyRock'' as Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghey, respectively. You can feel the awesome emanating from your TV/Computer/iDevice.

[[quoteright:327:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tina-fey-pic_5157.jpg]]

** Not exactly. Fey was referencing a term coined by an aide for John McCain who was finding Palin to be someone impossible to work with.

* TakeThat: Perhaps understandably annoyed that ''30 Rock'', the big breakthrough of her career, had to share the NBC spotlight with the much more-hyped, much better-funded ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,'' Fey heaped scorn on the latter show for years. Accepting an award at a fancy celebration, Fey said, "I hear AaronSorkin is wearing the same dress I am, but it's twice as long and not nearly as funny." To his credit, the famously thin-skinned Sorkin never responded, and even put in a self-deprecatory cameo on ''30 Rock.''

* {{Showrunner}}: From the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s on ''SaturdayNightLive''