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Lily Tomlin

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000762
Lily Tomlin
Take a closer look at the various roles Lily Tomlin has played throughout her acting career.
Play clip1:19
Lily Tomlin | Career Retrospective
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
Lily Tomlin was born September 1, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, to Lillie Mae (Ford) and Guy Tomlin, who moved to Michigan from Paducah, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Her mother was a nurse's aide and her father was a factory worker. She graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1957, and later enrolled at Wayne State University. She began career by doing stand-up comedy in nightclubs in Detroit and New York City. Her first television appearance was on "The Merv Griffin Show". She went on to have astronomical success with several characters, notably Ernestine, a nosy, condescending telephone operator who generally treated customers with little sympathy and regard, on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967). Other notable characters are in film include Linnea Reese, a gospel-singing mother of two deaf children who has an affair with a womanizing country singer (played by (Keith Carradine) in Robert Altman's Nashville (1975), a performance for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. Violet Newstead who joins her on-screen coworkers (played by Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton) in seeking revenge on their monstrous and sexist boss, Franklin M. Hart Jr., (played by Dabney Coleman) in the comedy 9 to 5 (1980), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), Doreen Piggot in Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993), Cher's best-friend and American compatriot Georgie Rockwell in Tea with Mussolini (1999), deadpan private investigator, and existentialist Vivian Jaffe in I Heart Huckabees (2004), and Country-Western singer Rhonda Johnson in Robert Altman's final film A Prairie Home Companion (2006).
BornSeptember 1, 1939
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BornSeptember 1, 1939
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000762
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 49 wins & 78 nominations total

    Leading Ladies of the 1980s

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    Known for

    Nashville (1975)
    Nashville
    7.6
    • Linnea Reese
    • 1975
    Lily Tomlin and Julia Garner in Grandma (2015)
    Grandma
    6.7
    • Elle
    • 2015
    Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman, and Lily Tomlin in 9 to 5 (1980)
    9 to 5
    6.9
    • Violet Newstead
    • 1980
    Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin in All of Me (1984)
    All of Me
    6.7
    • Edwina Cutwater
    • 1984

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actress



    • The Road Home
      • Mrs. Cambridge
      • Pre-production



    • Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Lily Tomlin in 80 for Brady (2023)
      80 for Brady
      5.9
      • Lou
      • 2023
    • Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in Moving On (2022)
      Moving On
      6.0
      • Evelyn
      • 2022
    • Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in Grace and Frankie (2015)
      Grace and Frankie
      8.2
      TV Series
      • Frankie Bergstein
      • 2015–2022
    • Hunter G. Williams in The Madness Within (2019)
      The Madness Within
      4.6
      • Lily
      • 2019
    • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
      Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
      8.4
      • Aunt May (voice)
      • 2018
    • The Magic School Bus Rides Again: Kids in Space (2020)
      The Magic School Bus Rides Again
      6.3
      TV Series
      • Professor Frizzle (voice)
      • 2017–2018
    • Melissa McCarthy in Take Flight - The New York Times (2015)
      Take Flight - The New York Times
      5.0
      Short
      • Performer
      • 2015
    • Lily Tomlin and Julia Garner in Grandma (2015)
      Grandma
      6.7
      • Elle
      • 2015
    • Lisa Kudrow in Web Therapy (2011)
      Web Therapy
      6.7
      TV Series
      • Putsy Hodge
      • 2011–2015
    • Web Therapy (2008)
      Web Therapy
      7.4
      TV Series
      • Putsy Hodge
      • 2012–2014
    • Reba McEntire in Malibu Country (2012)
      Malibu Country
      6.1
      TV Series
      • Lillie Mae MacKenzie
      • 2012–2013
    • Tina Fey and Paul Rudd in Admission (2013)
      Admission
      5.7
      • Susannah
      • 2013
    • Ctadc (2013)
      Ctadc
      9.0
      Short
      • Lily
      • 2013
    • The Procession (2012)
      The Procession
      7.9
      Short
      • Jason's Mom
      • 2012
    • Call to Action (2012)
      Call to Action
      7.6
      Short
      • Lily Tomlin
      • 2012

    Producer



    • Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin: Ladies Night Live (2022)
      Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin: Ladies Night Live
      5.6
      TV Special
      • executive producer
      • 2022
    • Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in Grace and Frankie (2015)
      Grace and Frankie
      8.2
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 2015–2022
    • Cara Seymour, Ivy Rose Lynn, Joey King, Colby Minifie, Susan Heyward, Abby Quinn, and Olivia Macklin in Radium Girls (2018)
      Radium Girls
      6.3
      • executive producer
      • 2018
    • An Apology to Elephants (2013)
      An Apology to Elephants
      8.0
      Short
      • executive producer
      • 2013
    • Citizen Reno
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 2001
    • Mary Tyler Moore, Lily Tomlin, and Reno in Reno Finds Her Mom (1998)
      Reno Finds Her Mom
      4.9
      • executive producer
      • 1998
    • Lily Tomlin in Edith Ann's Christmas (Just Say Noël) (1996)
      Edith Ann's Christmas (Just Say Noël)
      5.4
      TV Movie
      • executive producer
      • 1996
    • Marlene Dietrich, Charlton Heston, Elizabeth Taylor, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon in The Celluloid Closet (1995)
      The Celluloid Closet
      7.8
      • co-executive producer
      • 1995
    • Lily Tomlin in Edith Ann: A Few Pieces of the Puzzle (1994)
      Edith Ann: A Few Pieces of the Puzzle
      7.8
      TV Short
      • executive producer
      • 1994
    • Lily Tomlin in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1991)
      The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe
      7.4
      • executive producer
      • 1991
    • Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, Paul Anka, Lily Tomlin, Liberace, Melanie Mayron, and Audrey Meadows in Lily: Sold Out (1981)
      Lily: Sold Out
      6.2
      TV Special
      • executive producer
      • 1981
    • Sherlock Holmes (1981)
      Standing Room Only
      7.7
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 1979

    Writer



    • Lily Tomlin in Edith Ann: A Few Pieces of the Puzzle (1994)
      Edith Ann: A Few Pieces of the Puzzle
      7.8
      TV Short
      • creator
      • 1994
    • The Paul Simon Special
      7.1
      TV Special
      • Writer
      • 1977
    • The Lily Tomlin Special
      7.7
      TV Special
      • Writer
      • 1975
    • Lily
      TV Special
      • Writer
      • 1975
    • Lily Tomlin in Lily (1973)
      Lily
      7.3
      TV Special
      • written by
      • 1973
    • The Lily Tomlin Show
      7.9
      TV Special
      • writer
      • 1973

    Videos109

    Call to Action
    Full Movie 10:28
    Call to Action
    Lily Tomlin | Career Retrospective
    Clip 1:19
    Lily Tomlin | Career Retrospective
    Lily Tomlin | Career Retrospective
    Clip 1:19
    Lily Tomlin | Career Retrospective
    Ponyo - "Fish Out of Water"
    Clip 1:52
    Ponyo - "Fish Out of Water"
    Ponyo – “A Jarring Find”
    Clip 1:42
    Ponyo – “A Jarring Find”
    Grandma
    Clip 0:49
    Grandma
    Official Teaser
    Trailer 1:31
    Official Teaser

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Official site
      • Lily Tomlin's Official Site. Uniquely interactive.
    • Alternative name
      • Lily
    • Height
      • 5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
    • Born
      • September 1, 1939
      • Detroit, Michigan, USA
    • Spouse
      • Jane WagnerDecember 31, 2013 - present
    • Children
      • No Children
    • Parents
        Lillie Mae Tomlin
    • Other works
      TV commercial: All detergent
    • Publicity listings
      • 1 Biographical Movie
      • 8 Interviews
      • 5 Articles
      • 3 Pictorials
      • 6 Magazine Cover Photos

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      During her one-woman show in Las Vegas, Nevada, she appeared as her own opening act: a smarmy male lounge singer billed as Tommy Velour.
    • Quotes
      There will be sex after death - we just won't be able to feel it.
    • Trademark
        She is still best known for her Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967) characters, Edith Ann, a precocious 5 1/2 year old girl in an oversize rocking chair, and Ernestine, a telephone operator.
    • Nickname
      • Lily

    FAQ11

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