Line #13 Creator/TinaFey


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7	->''"You remember the beginning of the book where I said I was the underdog? No? Me neither."''
8	-->-- Excerpt from ''Bossypants''
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10	Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (born May 18, 1970 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania) is an American comedy actress and writer of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and ''Series/ThirtyRock'' fame, who seems destined to be remembered as "[[CelebrityResemblance that woman who looks like]] UsefulNotes/SarahPalin" (or vice versa). She was also the writer of ''Film/MeanGirls''.
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12	While growing up in suburban UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}, Fey, a self-confessed FagHag, spent her youth hanging around the local theater scene. Following a string of disastrous jobs, she joined the improv troupe Creator/TheSecondCity in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, where she met her longtime friend and future colleague Creator/AmyPoehler. She submitted scripts to Creator/LorneMichaels during this period, eventually landing a job at ''SNL''.
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14	Despite graduating to ''SNL'' cast member in 2000, Fey disliked participating in most sketches, finding it difficult to immerse herself in the characters. Nevertheless, she had some celebrity impressions, most if not all of which were of women who were mostly famous for their involvement in scandals (such as Mary Jo Buttafuoco, UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush's daughter Barbara, and Kathleen Willey[[note]]one of many women who have claimed they were sexually harassed by UsefulNotes/BillClinton[[/note]]) or widely viewed as [[BrainlessBeauty brainless beauties]] (including Creator/ParisHilton, Vanna White, Creator/MaryAnnMobley, Creator/LindsayLohan's mother Dina, and most famously UsefulNotes/SarahPalin).
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16	Acting-wise, Fey's specialty in sketches was playing neurotic women with a droll sense of humor and varying degrees of nerdiness, a persona apparently based on herself. Thanks to this, along with her trademark glasses, she is seen by some as proof that NerdsAreSexy. However, although she wore glasses for ''Weekend Update'' (being nearsighted enough to require them for reading her cue cards), she does not actually need them in her day-to-day life. 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''.
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18	In general, her writing style is usually characterized by an [[RapidFireComedy extremely high density of jokes]], a surreal and cartoonish tone, and a fair bit of SelfDeprecation to go along with it.
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20	Fey's [[CelebrityResemblance physical resemblance]] to former Republican [=VP=] nominee UsefulNotes/SarahPalin was played with by having Fey make guest appearances playing Palin on ''SNL''. In the first Fey-as-Palin sketch, Creator/AmyPoehler (as UsefulNotes/HillaryRodhamClinton) 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, along with one "backstage" sketch in which episode host Creator/AlecBaldwin started bad-mouthing Palin, because he thought he was talking to Fey... only to be informed by Creator/LorneMichaels that he was [[YourCostumeNeedsWork actually talking to Palin]].
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22	Fey's memoir, ''Bossypants,'' was published in 2011, and reveals much about her views on life, her rise to stardom, and her misadventures involving mountain climbing, the YMCA, and cruise ships catching on fire. ItMakesSenseInContext, just buy the book.
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24	----
25	!! Selected filmography:
26	* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (1997-2006) {{as herself}} [[note]](also writer)[[/note]]
27	* ''Film/MeanGirls'' (2004) as Mrs Norbury [[note]](also writer)[[/note]]
28	* ''Series/ThirtyRock'' (2006-2013) as Liz Lemon [[note]](also creator, executive producer, and writer)[[/note]]
29	* ''[[Anime/PonyoOnTheCliffByTheSea Ponyo]]'' (2008) as Lisa [[note]](English dub)[[/note]]
30	* ''Film/TheInventionOfLying'' (2009) as Shelley Bailey
31	* ''Film/DateNight'' (2010) as Claire Foster
32	* ''{{WesternAnimation/Megamind}}'' (2010) as Roxanne Ritchi
33	* ''Film/MuppetsMostWanted'' (2014) as Nadya
34	* ''Series/UnbreakableKimmySchmidt'' (2015-2020) as Marcia (Season 1) and Dr Andrea Bayden (Seasons 2 + 3) [[note]](also creator, executive producer, and writer)[[/note]]
35	* ''{{Film/Sisters\|2015}}'' (2015) as Kate Ellis [[note]](also producer)[[/note]]
36	* ''Film/WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot'' (2016) as Kim Baker [[note]](also producer)[[/note]]
37	* ''Film/WineCountry'' (2019) as Tammy
38	* ''{{WesternAnimation/Soul}}'' (2020) as 22
39	* ''Series/OnlyMurdersInTheBuilding'' (2021-) as Cinda Canning
40	* ''Film/AHauntingInVenice'' (2023) as Ariadne Oliver
41	* ''Film/{{Mean Girls\|2024}}'' (2024) as [[RoleReprise Mrs Norbury]][[note]]also writer[[/note]]
42
43	!!Tropes which apply to Tina Fey:
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45	* ACupAngst: Occasionally played for laughs on ''SNL''.
46	* AuthorAvatar: Hers is quite blatantly [[Series/ThirtyRock Liz Lemon]].
47	* BilingualBonus On the 5/8/10 episode of SNL (the one with Creator/BettyWhite) she reprised part of her ''Weekend Update'' role with a Greek version of "Really?"
48	* BrainyBrunette: In most of her roles.
49	* CelebrityResemblance: Not only does she bear a striking resemblance to UsefulNotes/SarahPalin, but she also looks like [[http://www.comedycv.co.uk/edbyrne/ed-byrne-2010-october.jpg Irish comedian Ed Byrne]].
50	* CoveredInGunge: She got slimed with Creator/SteveCarell at the 2010 [[UsefulNotes/KidsChoiceAward Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards]].
51	* DeadpanSnarker: Let's put it this way: if WesternAnimation/BugsBunny was a human and female, Tina Fey would be that.
52	* {{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 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.
53	** 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." It's HilariousInHindsight for two reasons: 1) ''Going Rogue'' was the title of her memoir, and 2) She didn't run for President in 2012 (in fact, she dropped out of politics in 2010).
54	* IAmNotPretty: Her looks are often the butt of her own jokes. Fans tend to disagree.
55	* ICanSeeMyHouseFromHere: Inverted. [[Series/SaturdayNightLive You know]] [[MemeticMutation the line.]]
56	* ScarsAreForever: She was the victim of a street slashing as a child and has a scar on her jaw because of it.
57	* SesameStreetCred
58	* {{Showrunner}}: From the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', and then the whole run of ''30 Rock''.
59	* TakeThat: Annoyed that ''30 Rock'', the big breakthrough of her career, had to share the NBC spotlight with the much more-hyped, much better-funded ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip,'' 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.''
60	** He never seemed to take her ribbing personally; apparently he even sent her flowers the night that ''30 Rock'' first went to air.
61	* TwerpSweating: Her late father was a former U.S. Army codebreaker, had a face like Creator/ClintEastwood, and apparently scared other men shitless – even Creator/LorneMichaels and Creator/AlecBaldwin, two men not known for their timidity. Don Fey served as a notice that his daughter won't tolerate lazy or stupid men in her life.

Context Creator / TinaFey