Lily Tomlin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lily Tomlin
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Tomlin at the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors
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| Born |
Mary Jean Tomlin
September 1, 1939 |
| Education | Wayne State University |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1965–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Awards | Full list |
Lily Tomlin, born Mary Jean Tomlin on September 1, 1939, is a famous American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career performing stand-up comedy and sketch comedy. Later, she became well-known for her acting roles in movies and TV shows.
With a career lasting over 50 years, Lily Tomlin has won many important awards. These include seven Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards. She was also nominated for an Academy Award. In 2014, she received the Kennedy Center Honors, and in 2017, she got the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
Tomlin first became famous on the TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1969 to 1973. She created many memorable characters on this show. Her special one-woman show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, won her a Tony Award in 1985. She also won an Emmy for her TV special Lily (1973) and a Grammy for her comedy album This Is a Recording (1972).
In 1975, Tomlin made her movie debut in Nashville, earning an Academy Award nomination. She also starred in films like All of Me (1984) with Steve Martin. She is well-known for working with Jane Fonda in movies such as 9 to 5 (1980) and 80 for Brady (2023).
Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda also starred together in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie. This popular show ran for seven seasons from 2015 to 2022. Tomlin also voiced the beloved character Ms. Frizzle in the children's animated series The Magic School Bus (1994–1997) and The Magic School Bus Rides Again (2017–2021).
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Early Life and Education
Lily Tomlin was born in Detroit, Michigan. Her mother, Lillie Mae, was a housewife and nurse aide. Her father, Guy Tomlin, worked in a factory. Her parents moved to Detroit from Paducah, Kentucky, during the Great Depression.
Tomlin graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1957. She then attended Wayne State University, where she first studied biology. However, after trying out for a play, she discovered her love for theater. She changed her major to focus on acting. After college, Tomlin started performing stand-up comedy in nightclubs. She performed in Detroit and later in New York City. She also continued to study acting at the HB Studio.
Career Highlights
Early Career and TV Breakthrough
Lily Tomlin's first TV appearance was on The Merv Griffin Show in 1965. A year later, she joined the cast of The Garry Moore Show. In 1969, Tomlin became a cast member on NBC's popular sketch comedy show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. She quickly became a success on the show. She created many famous characters that she would play again in later specials and recordings.
Famous Characters
Lily Tomlin is known for creating many unique and funny characters. Here are some of her most famous ones:
- Ernestine was a funny telephone operator who wasn't always polite to customers. She often snorted when she heard something interesting. Her hair was styled in a 1940s look, and she often said, "one ringy dingy... two ringy dingy." She also asked, "Have I reached the party to whom I am speaking?" Tomlin brought Ernestine back for a PETA ad against SeaWorld in 2016. She also played Ernestine on Sesame Street.
- Edith Ann is a very smart five-and-a-half-year-old girl. She shares her thoughts on everyday life, often about being a kid. She usually ends her talks with "And that's the truth," followed by a noisy raspberry sound. Edith Ann sits in a huge rocking chair with her rag doll, Doris. She often talks about her family and her dog, Buster. Tomlin also voiced Edith Ann in three cartoon specials in the 1990s.
- Mrs. Judith Beasley is a housewife from Illinois. She often gives "good consumer advice" in commercials. She also appeared in the movie The Incredible Shrinking Woman.
- Mrs. Earbore, also known as The Tasteful Lady, is a proper and elegant middle-aged woman. She gives advice on how to live gracefully.
- Susie the Sorority Girl is a blonde college student. She is very serious and dramatic. Her biggest worries are small things, like who took her missing album by The Carpenters.
- Lucille the Rubber Freak is a woman who loves to eat rubber. Her stories describe how her habit started, from chewing pencil erasers to eating the tip off her mother's cane.
Tomlin also played male characters, like Tommy Velour and Rick. In 1982, she introduced Purvis Hawkins, a rhythm-and-blues soul singer. He had a mustache, beard, and short afro hairstyle, and wore a three-piece suit.
Comedy Albums and Film Success
In 1970, AT&T offered Tomlin a lot of money to play Ernestine in a commercial. But she said no, wanting to keep her artistic freedom. In 1976, she did appear as Ernestine on Saturday Night Live in a funny ad. She said, "We don't care, we don't have to...we're the phone company."
Tomlin released her first comedy album, This Is A Recording, in 1971. It featured Ernestine's funny phone calls. This album reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. It became the highest-charting album ever by a solo female comedian. She won a Grammy award for Best Comedy Recording that year. Her second album, And That's The Truth (1972), featured Edith Ann. It was also very successful and earned another Grammy nomination.
Film Stardom and Broadway Shows
Tomlin made her serious acting debut in Robert Altman's movie Nashville (1975). She played Linnea Reese, a gospel singer and mother of two deaf children. For this role, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award. In 1977, she starred with Art Carney in the comedy-mystery The Late Show, which critics loved.
In March 1977, Tomlin made her Broadway debut in her one-woman show Appearing Nitely. She wrote and directed it with Jane Wagner. She received a special Tony Award for this show. The same month, she was on the cover of Time magazine.
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In 1980, Tomlin co-starred in 9 to 5. She played a secretary named Violet Newstead who teams up with Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton. They seek revenge on their boss, played by Dabney Coleman. This movie was one of the highest-earning films of the year. Tomlin then starred in the 1981 science fiction comedy The Incredible Shrinking Woman. She played three different roles in this film.
Tomlin had another big hit with All of Me (1984), starring opposite Steve Martin. In this movie, she played a sick heiress whose spirit gets trapped in Martin's body. In 1985, Tomlin starred in another one-woman Broadway show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. This show was written by her long-time partner, Jane Wagner. It won Tomlin a Tony Award. The show was later made into a feature film in 1991.
Continued Work and TV Roles
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Tomlin played Doreen Piggott in Robert Altman's 1993 film Short Cuts. From 1994 to 1997, Tomlin voiced Ms. Valerie Frizzle on the animated television series The Magic School Bus. In the 1990s, she also appeared on the popular sitcom Murphy Brown.
From 2002 to 2006, she had a recurring role as presidential secretary Deborah Fiderer on the TV drama The West Wing. Tomlin also appeared in two films by director David O. Russell: Flirting with Disaster and I Heart Huckabees. She worked with director Robert Altman again in his last film, A Prairie Home Companion (2006). She played Rhonda Johnson, one half of a singing duo with Meryl Streep.
In 2010, Tomlin guest-starred as Marilyn Tobin in the third season of Damages. She also appeared in the NCIS episode "The Penelope Papers" as Penelope Langston, the grandmother of Agent Timothy McGee. In 2012, Tomlin guest-starred on the HBO series Eastbound and Down as Tammy Powers. She also co-starred with Reba McEntire in the TV series Malibu Country.
Grace and Frankie and Recent Work
From 2015 to 2022, Tomlin starred with Jane Fonda, Martin Sheen, and Sam Waterston in the Netflix comedy series Grace and Frankie. Tomlin plays Frankie Bergstein, who recently separated from her husband. Grace and Frankie become friends after learning their husbands are leaving them for each other. Tomlin received her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2015 for this role.
In 2015, Tomlin starred in the film Grandma, which was inspired by her. The movie received great reviews and earned Tomlin a Golden Globe Award nomination. Tomlin returned to voice Professor Frizzle in the 2017 Netflix sequel The Magic School Bus Rides Again. In 2018, she had a small voice role as Aunt May in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Personal Life
Lily Tomlin met her future wife, writer Jane Wagner, in March 1971. After watching a TV special written by Wagner, Tomlin invited her to Los Angeles to work together on Tomlin's comedy album. Tomlin and Wagner have been together for a very long time. On December 31, 2013, they got married in a private ceremony in Los Angeles after 42 years together.
Beliefs and Activism
Tomlin has been involved in many projects that support women's rights and the LGBTQ+ community. On her 1975 album Modern Scream, she made fun of actors who try to distance themselves from their gay characters. In 2013, Tomlin and Wagner worked together on the film An Apology to Elephants. Wagner wrote the film, and Tomlin narrated it.
Awards and Achievements
Lily Tomlin has received many awards throughout her career. These include seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Grammy Award. She was also nominated for an Academy Award.
Her first two Emmy Awards were for her 1973 special Lily. She won more Emmys for other specials and for narrating the 2013 documentary An Apology to Elephants. She also won a Daytime Emmy for voicing Miss Frizzle in The Magic School Bus. Tomlin won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording in 1972 for This Is a Recording.
She received a Special Tony Award in 1977. Later, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1986). Tomlin's role in the film Nashville (1975) earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. This makes her one of the few artists to be nominated for all four major American entertainment awards (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). She has won the Emmy, Grammy, and Tony, meaning she is just an Oscar away from achieving the "EGOT."
Tomlin's performance in The Late Show (1977) earned her nominations for the BAFTA and Golden Globe Award. She received more Golden Globe nominations for her roles in All of Me (1984) and Grandma (2015). Her role as Frankie Bergstein in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie (2015–2022) earned her more Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.
In 1992, she received the Women in Film Crystal Award. Tomlin was added to the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2003, she was given the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. She was also recognized by Women in Film again with the Lucy Award. This award honors her excellent work that has improved how women are seen on television.
In December 2014, she was one of five people honored at the annual Kennedy Center Honors. In January 2017, Tomlin won the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award at the 23rd SAG Awards ceremony. In 2022, Tomlin received the Career Achievement Peabody Award. Her 1971 album This Is a Recording was chosen for the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2024.
See also
In Spanish: Lily Tomlin para niños
