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, actor, writer, and producer.
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 Rose Ratliff and Rose 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
- Getting Away with Murder (1996) as Inga Mueller
- 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.
- She released some comedy albums featuring these characters, including This Is A Recording (1971), featuring Ernestine, which won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album.
- The Magic School Bus (1994–97): as Ms. Frizzle (voice)
- A Magic School Bus Halloween (1995): as Dauntless/Ms. Frizzle
- 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
Theatre roles
- The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1985 one-woman show): as various characters