Tina Fey's Real Name: Tina Fey

Quick answer: Tina Fey is known professionally and in major reference works as Tina Fey. A Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television-style Encyclopedia.com entry gives the full name Elizabeth Tina Fey and records that she was born on May 18, 1970, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Encyclopaedia Britannica describes her as an American writer, comedian, and actress whose work on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock established her as a leading comic voice of the early twenty-first century (Britannica; Encyclopedia.com).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress heading is "Fey, Tina, 1970-." The Encyclopedia.com personal heading uses "Full name, Elizabeth Tina Fey." A longer form circulating online, Elizabeth Stamatina Fey, was not independently confirmed in the sources used here, so the public name appears in the title. The same Encyclopedia.com entry says she is the daughter of Donald, a grant writer, and Jeanne, who worked at a brokerage firm, and that she earned a B.A. in drama from the University of Virginia in 1992, then studied at the Second City Training Center and ImprovOlympics in Chicago. Britannica likewise records the Virginia degree, the move to Chicago, and her path from Second City understudy to the company's main stage.

Career highlights

In 1997 Fey submitted sketch writing to Saturday Night Live and was hired by executive producer Lorne Michaels. In 1999 she became the show's first female head writer, a post Britannica dates through 2006, and during the 2000–01 season she debuted on-screen as coanchor of "Weekend Update." In 2002 she shared an Emmy Award with the writing staff. She wrote and appeared in Mean Girls (2004), then left SNL in 2006 to produce, write, and star in 30 Rock (2006–13) as Liz Lemon. The series won three consecutive Emmys for outstanding comedy series (2007–09), and Fey earned additional Emmys in 2008 for acting and writing. In 2008 she also returned to SNL to satirize Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Later credits include Baby Mama (2008), with former SNL costar Amy Poehler; Date Night (2010); the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–19), which she cocreated; and a 2018 Broadway musical of Mean Girls, for which she wrote the script.

Name notes for searchers

Tina Fey is the professional name used in Britannica and the Library of Congress heading. Encyclopedia.com records Elizabeth Tina Fey as a full name. Searchers looking for Liz Lemon, the Mean Girls writer, or SNL's first female head writer are usually aiming at the same person.