TINA FEY Biography - Theater, Opera and Movie personalities

 
 

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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.