What is it about Tina Fey that makes her so funny? Is it the art of her awkwardness as Liz Lemon on 30 Rock? The silliness of her Weekend Update style on SNL? Or the dozens of LOL-worthy quips from her most recent writing and acting project, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt? Or is it that she just nails every single one-liner in all of her roles ever?
Whatever the case, it's undeniable that Fey has mastered the whip-fast execution of smart humor.
Fey turns 46 on May 18, and we're pretty sure that she just keeps getting funnier every year. She started out in comedy as a writer and improv comedian. After moving from Chicago to New York to write for SNL with the esteemed Lorne Michaels, she became the first female head writer at the show. Under her "regime" (as Janeane Garofalo called it in the New Yorker profile of Fey), the show underwent a major facelift, transitioning from a testosterone-fueled clubhouse to a balanced, yet still tastefully crude, sketch show that continues to win Emmys and Writers Guild Awards.
Beyond the writing gigs, Fey shines most when delivering her quick hits. And in good comedy, one well-delivered line is often all it takes to get the big laughs. Here are her 12 best.
"Oh hi, did you want to buy some drugs?" — Ms. Sharon Norbury
via Giphy."Please welcome the woman I have been assigned to mentor — Lindsay Lohan." — Tina Fey
via YouTube.
"Yes, may I please speak to pizza." — Liz Lemon
via GIphy."I know what Al is going though. In the last year, I've gained 400 pounds." — Tina Fey
via YouTube.
"Because I'm a pusher. I push people." — Ms. Sharon Norbury
via Giphy."How do you expect me to see your nasty-looking eye ball if you don't look straight ahead?" — Tina Fey
via YouTube.
"Ugh, my period!" — Liz Lemon
via Giphy."So tonight, her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award." — Tina Fey
via YouTube.
"The only reward for anything is food." — Tina Fey
via Giphy."KA KA KA KA KA [gun shot noises]" — Tina Fey as Sarah Palin
via YouTube."I also have OCD — Old Cow Disease. That is why I have rubber hand." — Blerta
via YouTube.
"Another successful interaction with a man!" — Liz Lemon
via Giphy.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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