Name: Amy Poehler and Tina Fey
Birthdate: September 16, 1971 (Amy) and May 18, 1970 (Tina)
Birthplace: Newton, Massachusetts (Amy) Upper Darby, Pennsylvania (Tina)
Claim to fame: Amy appeared on SNL from 2001-2008, and then starring in the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation from 2009-2015. Tina appeared on SNL as a writer and performer from 1998-2006 and becoming the first-ever head female writer of the show. Also being the creator, writer, and star of the hit NBC comedy 30 Rock from 2006-2013.
What are they up to next: Even with her show Parks and Recreation finishing its seven-year run next month, Poehler is still one of TV’s busiest women. She serves as executive producer on three separate shows: the NBC summer comedy Welcome to Sweden, Comedy Central’s Broad City, and Hulu’s upcoming Difficult People. She will also be heard in the upcoming film from Pixar Inside Out.
Tina is currently co-writing and co-producing the Netflix show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which will be released on Netflix in March. Fey is also attached, as executive producer for a show created by writer Fortune Feimster. The still untitled series is set to air on ABC.
Together: I’m sure everyone will be happy to hear that Fey and Poehler have teamed up to once again bring to their chemistry back to the big-screen. They are co-starring in a movie titled Sisters, written by longtime SNL writer Paula Pell, which will be releasing in December 2015.
Interesting fact about Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s friendship: They have been friends for over 20 years and met at the ImprovOlympics in Chicago, where they were introduced by the theatre’s co-founder because she thought they were similar (I wonder where she got that crazy idea?). One of the first conversations they ever had was Fey giving Poehler a beauty lesson on how to pluck her eyebrows. That sounds about right for their first conversation, doesn’t it?
Three of the best jokes from their 2015 Golden Globes opening monologue: “George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin. Amal is a human rights lawyer who worked on the Enron case, was an advisor to Kofi Annan regarding Syria and was selected for a three-person UN commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza strip… so tonight her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award.”
“Patricia Arquette is here, so wonderful. So, so wonderful in the film Boyhood. Boyhood proves that there are still great roles for women over 40, as long as you get them when you’re under 40.”
“In Into the Woods, Cinderella runs from her prince, Rapunzel is thrown from a tower for her prince, and Sleeping Beauty just thought she was getting coffee with Bill Cosby.”
Why We Love Them: Our #WCW this week is the irresistible comedy-duo of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. Often categorized as two of the most likeable people in show business, as well as two of the fiercest female voices in the comedy world. Both have received numerous Golden Globe and Emmy nominations and awards through their work in television over the years. Simply put, these two are brilliant, both together and on their own. But as a unit, they’re completely dynamite, as was put on display for a third, and final time, this past Sunday when the hosted the 2015 Golden Globe Awards.
This year they opened the show with another 10 minutes full of zingers. But as always, managed to perfectly balance taking jabs at the room crowded full of stars, but refrain from crossing the line. Even when they took the obvious bait and went after Cosby toward the end, which had the room half gasping and half laughing, they still managed to keep it appropriate and reasonably classy. This is definitely what makes these two so brilliant, is they show you can still be sassy, even sometimes mean, as long as you’re smart. So it’s no wonder they closed out their epic run of hosting the Golden Globes for three straight years in pitch-perfect Fey-Poehler fashion.
At the heart of their loveability is a hilarious, and extremely loyal, 20-year friendship. They met back in 1993 at the ImprovOlympics in Chicago, where Fey won Poehler over with her beauty lesson on how to properly pluck your eyebrows. From there the two of them individually worked their way up the comedy ladder, where they eventually both landed on Saturday Night Live. Fey was on the show as a performer, but eventually became head writer, while Poehler was a standout, earning two Primetime Emmy Award Nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. From there, came two hit television shows, 30Rock for Fey and Parks and Recreation for Poehler. They both have even written hilarious autobiographical/memoir books, where they each dedicated an entire chapter to declaring their love for the other.
Now with their hit TV shows mostly behind them (30Rock finished in 2013, while Parks and Recreation wraps its final season at the end of February) and their Golden Globes hosting gig entirely behind them, it’s onto new shenanigans for TV’s comedy queens. One thing is forsure: it will be good and it will be funny. Thank you Amy Poehler and Tina Fey for teaching us time and time again that the best way to make someone love you is by making fun of them.
