Lily Tomlin’s transformation from stunning 1960s stand-up comedian to award-winning actress as she turns 87

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Lily attended Wayne State University and studied biology. But after auditioning for a play, she discovered a love for performance and changed majors. 

After graduation, she began stand-up comedy in clubs in Detroit, and later moved to New York City to pursue her career. 

She made her TV debut on The Merv Griffin Show in 1965, and in 1969 had a stint as a hostess on the ABC series The Music Scene as a musical-variety show.

She then joined the NBC sketch comedy show Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In that allowed her to explore her comedy chops with sketches and original characters such as a five-year-old girl, a housewife, and telephone operator Ernestine. 

She was also known for male drag with characters Tommy Velour and Rick.

Ernestine later appeared on Saturday Night Live, and Lily won her first Grammy for the comedy album This Is a Recording that featured Ernestine’s run-ins with her phone customers.

It was in the early 1970s  that Lily met writer Jane Wagner. 

Lily invited Jane to Los Angeles to collaborate on a comedy album, and they fell in love. They never had an official coming out, with Lily once sharing that “everybody in the industry was certainly aware of my sexuality and of Jane.”

They married in 2013.

Lily made her big-screen debut in 1975 in Robert Altman’s Nashville, getting Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for her role. 

Throughout the late 1970s, she earned further Grammy nominations and made her Broadway debut.

In 1980, she starred in 9 to 5 with Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda ; the film was based on an idea by Jane, who was pivotal in casting Lily and Dolly.

The film remains one of Lily’s biggest films, and she remained close friends with Dolly and Jane.

In the 1990s, Lily voiced Ms. Valerie Frizzle on the animated television series The Magic School Bus from 1994 to 1997, for which she won an Emmy.

She also joined the award-winning drama The West Wing for four years (2002–2006) as President Jed Bartlet’s secretary, Deborah Fiderer.

The show ended in 2022, and Lily has since taken a step back from the camera. 

Her last film was with Jane, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field, for the 2023 comedy 80 for 80.

However, she has remained a vocal supporter of causes she cares about, including joining Jane in 2024 at the Era Coalition Forward Women’s Equality Trailblazer Awards, and attending the 26th Annual Beverly Hills Film Festival in April 2026.