Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy and sketch comedy before moving into acting on stage and in movies. Over a career lasting more than fifty years, Tomlin has received many awards, including seven Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, two Tony Awards, and a nomination for an Academy Award. She was also honored with the Kennedy Center Honor in 2014 and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2017.

Tomlin started her career as a stand-up comedian and performed in off-Broadway plays during the 1960s. Her first major role was on the television show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, where she appeared from 1969 to 1973. Her most famous role was in the play The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, written by her then-partner (now wife) Jane Wagner. The play opened on Broadway in 1985 and earned Tomlin the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She won Emmy Awards for her special Lily (1973) and received a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for This Is a Recording (1972), becoming the first solo female artist to win this award.

In 1975, Tomlin appeared in her first movie, Nashville, directed by Robert Altman. This role earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1977, her performance as Margo Sperling in The Late Show won her the Silver Bear for Best Actress and earned her nominations for the Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards for Best Actress. Other notable films she has appeared in include All of Me (1984), Big Business (1988), Flirting with Disaster (1996), Tea with Mussolini (1999), I Heart Huckabees (2004), A Prairie Home Companion (2006), Grandma (2015), and the voice of Aunt May in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).

Tomlin is known for working with Jane Fonda in the films 9 to 5 (1980), 80 for Brady (2023), and Moving On (2023). She also starred with Fonda in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie, which aired for seven seasons from 2015 to 2022. For this role, she received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. From 2002 to 2006, she played Deborah Fiderer on the television show The West Wing. She also voiced Ms. Frizzle in the children’s animated series The Magic School Bus (1994–1997) and The Magic School Bus Rides Again (2017–2021).

Early life and education

Tomlin was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Lillie Mae (born Ford on January 14, 1914, and died July 12, 2005), who worked as a housewife and nurse aide, and Guy Tomlin (born March 3, 1913, and died October 24, 1970), who worked in a factory. She has a younger brother named Richard Tomlin. Tomlin’s parents were members of the Southern Baptist church and moved to Detroit from Paducah, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. As a child, she attended a Southern Baptist church, but she later stopped practicing religion. She graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1957. Tomlin studied biology at Wayne State University but changed her major after trying out for a play, which led her to pursue a career in theater. After college, she performed stand-up comedy in nightclubs in Detroit and later in New York City. She continued her acting training at the HB Studio.

Career

Lily Tomlin first appeared on television in 1965 on The Merv Griffin Show. In 1966, she joined the third and final version of The Garry Moore Show.

In 1969, after working as a hostess on ABC’s Music Scene, Tomlin became part of NBC’s Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. She replaced Judy Carne and quickly became a popular performer on the show. She created several well-known characters, which she later portrayed in other shows and recordings:

• Ernestine was a telephone operator who treated customers harshly. She often made sarcastic remarks and wore a 1940s hairstyle with a hairnet. Her famous lines included, “One ringy dingy… two ringy dingy.” She sometimes called her boyfriend, Vito, or her friend, Phenicia. Tomlin played Ernestine in a 2016 PETA ad against SeaWorld and on Sesame Street.
• Edith Ann was a five-and-a-half-year-old girl who gave thoughtful, sometimes funny opinions about life. She sat in a large rocking chair with her doll, Doris, and talked about her family. She ended her speeches with, “And that’s the truth,” followed by a loud sound. Tomlin performed Edith Ann on Sesame Street in the 1970s and in cartoon specials in the 1990s.
• Mrs. Judith Beasley was a housewife from Illinois who gave advice on shopping. She appeared in the movie The Incredible Shrinking Woman.
• Mrs. Earbore (The Tasteful Lady) was a polite, conservative woman who gave advice on living elegantly.
• Susie the Sorority Girl was a college student who worried about small things, like a missing album.
• The Consumer Advocate Lady was a strict woman who tested products for quality.
• Lucille the Rubber Freak was a woman who loved eating rubber. Tomlin performed this character during her Laugh-In audition.
• Tess/Trudy was a homeless woman who shared strange stories about aliens.
• Bobbi-Jeanine was a singer who gave advice on performing.

Tomlin was one of the first female comedians to perform in male drag with characters like Tommy Velour and Rick. In 1982, she introduced Purvis Hawkins, a Black rhythm-and-blues singer with a mustache and afro hairstyle. She avoided using dark makeup for the character, relying on lighting instead.

In 1970, AT&T offered Tomlin $500,000 to play Ernestine in a commercial, but she refused, saying it would harm her artistic goals. In 1976, she appeared on Saturday Night Live as Ernestine in a parody ad for the phone company. She later played Ernestine at an event in 1994 and in a 1998 ad for Fidelity Investments. In 2003, she updated Ernestine for a WebEx ad. Tomlin also brought Edith Ann back in the 1990s with animated specials and co-wrote her “autobiography,” My Life (1995).

Tomlin’s first comedy album, This Is A Recording (1971), featured Ernestine’s phone calls. It reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 200 and won a Grammy for Best Comedy Recording. Her second album, And That’s The Truth (1972), included Edith Ann and peaked at No. 41.

Tomlin acted in Robert Altman’s Nashville (1975), earning Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for her role as a mother of two deaf children. Her 1977 film The Late Show was critically praised. However, her 1978 film Moment by Moment received mixed reviews. Her 1975 album Modern Scream parodied celebrity interviews, and her 1977 album Lily Tomlin On Stage was based on her Broadway show.

In 1977, Tomlin made her Broadway debut in Appearing Nitely, earning a Tony Award. She was featured on Time magazine’s cover that year with the headline “America’s New Queen of Comedy.” In 1980, she starred in the film 9 to 5, playing a secretary who teams up with coworkers to fight their boss.

Personal life

In March 1971, Tomlin met Jane Wagner, a writer, after watching a TV special called J.T., which Wagner wrote. Tomlin invited Wagner to Los Angeles to work together on Tomlin’s comedy album And That’s The Truth. The couple did not make a formal announcement about their relationship. In 2006, Tomlin said:

In 2008, Tomlin stated, "Everyone in the entertainment industry knew I was gay and that Jane was my partner. In interviews, I often mentioned Jane, but others did not always write about it." In 2015, Tomlin said, "I did not share everything openly. Everyone in the business knew I was gay, and those I worked with also knew this." Tomlin has generally kept her personal life private. On December 31, 2013, Tomlin and Wagner married in a private ceremony in Los Angeles after being together for 42 years.

Tomlin has participated in many films that support feminist and LGBTQ+ causes. On her 1975 album Modern Scream, she humorously criticized straight actors who pretend to be different from their gay or lesbian characters. When asked, "How did it feel to play a heterosexual?" she replied, "I’ve seen these women all my life. I know how they walk and how they talk." In 2013, Tomlin and Wagner worked together on the film An Apology to Elephants, which Wagner wrote and Tomlin narrated.

Acting credits and accolades

Tomlin has received many awards throughout her career, including seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Grammy Award. She also received a nomination for an Academy Award.

Her first two Emmy Awards were for her 1973 special Lily. She later won three more Emmy Awards for the specials Lily Tomlin (1976), The Paul Simon Special (1978), and Lily: Sold Out (1981). She also won a Daytime Emmy Award for voicing Miss Frizzle in the animated children's series The Magic School Bus (1994–1997). Her seventh Emmy Award was for narrating the 2013 documentary An Apology to Elephants. Tomlin won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording in 1972 for her 1971 album This Is a Recording. She received a Special Tony Award in 1977 and later won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in the one-woman play The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1986). Her performance as a gospel singer in the film Nashville (1975) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her one of the few artists to receive nominations for all four major American entertainment awards (EGOT). She has won the Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards and is only one Oscar away from achieving both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT.

Tomlin’s performance in the mystery film The Late Show (1977) earned her nominations for the BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress. She received two more Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for her roles in All of Me (1984) and Grandma (2015). Her highly praised role as quirky artist Frankie Bergstein in the Netflix comedy series Grace and Frankie (2015–2022) earned her nominations for another Golden Globe Award, four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards, and three consecutive SAG Awards.

In 1992, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award. Tomlin was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2003, she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and was recognized again by Women in Film with the Lucy Award for her excellence and innovation in television. In March 2009, Tomlin received Fenway Health’s Dr. Susan M. Love Award for her contributions to women’s health. On March 16, 2012, Tomlin and her partner Jane Wagner received a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. In December 2014, she was one of five honorees for 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, she received the Career Achievement Peabody Award. Her 1971 album This Is a Recording was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2024.