And that's the truth.
"No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up."
Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American comedian and actor.
She first gained fame on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, and has had a steadily career in television, film, and theatre ever since.
Tomlin is an open lesbian and is half of a Creator Couple with her longtime partner (and as of 2013 her wife) Jane Wagner.
Notable for:
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Film roles
- Nashville (1975): as Linnea Reese, a role that earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
- 9 to 5 (1980): as Violet Newstead
- The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981): as Pat Kramer/Judith Beasley
- All of Me (1984): as Edwina Cutwater
- Big Business (1988): as Sadie Ratliff and Sadie Shelton
- The Player (1992): as herself
- Shadows and Fog (1992): Jenny
- The Beverly Hillbillies (1993): as Miss Jane Hathaway
- Short Cuts (1993): as Doreen Piggot
- Flirting with Disaster (1996): as Mary Schlichting
- Krippendorf's Tribe (1998): Prof. Ruth Allen
- Orange County (2002): as Charlotte Cobb
- I ♡ Huckabees (2004): as Vivian Jaffe
- The Ant Bully (2006): as Mommo (voice)
- A Prairie Home Companion (2006): as Rhonda Johnson
- The Pink Panther 2 (2009): as Mrs. Berenger
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018): as Aunt May (voice)
- 80 for Brady (2023): as Lou
Television roles
- Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In (1969–73): as a plethora of recurring characters, including Ernestine the telephone operator and Edith Ann, the little girl in the big rocking chair. The former character also appeared in a skit on The Electric Company (1971), while the latter made a few appearances on Sesame Street.
- The Magic School Bus (1994–97): as Ms. Frizzle (voice)
- The Magic School Bus Rides Again (2017–18): as Professor Frizzle (voice)
- Homicide: Life on the Street (1996): as Rose Halligan
- Murphy Brown (1996–98): as Kay Carter-Shepley
- The X-Files (1998): as Lydia
- The West Wing (2002–06): as Deborah Fiderer, the replacement for Mrs. Landingham as Secretary to the President.
- The Simpsons (2005): as Tammy (voice)
- Will & Grace (2005–06): as Margot
- Desperate Housewives (2008–09): as Roberta Simonds
- Damages (2010): as Marilyn Tobin
- NCIS (2011): as Penelope Langston
- Eastbound & Down (2012): as Tammy
- Malibu Country (2012–13): as Lillie Mae
- Grace and Frankie (2015–22): as Frankie Bergstein
