Elizabeth Stamatina was born in Philadelphia back in 1970, to a Greek mother and German father, both of whom loved comedy.

I remember my parents sneaking me in to see Young Frankenstein. We would also watch Saturday Night Live, or Monty Python, or old Marx Brothers movies. My dad would let us stay up late to watch The Honeymooners.

She decided she wanted to be a comedienne by the time she was 12, even doing a study on comedy for school. She was a bit of a swot too – an honor student, in the choir, drama club, and the tennis team as well as co-editor of the school newspaper. How many hours were in the day?

After college, Tina moved to Chicagoand joined the comedy troupe,  The Second City, and was as happy as a pig in poo.

I was so sure that I was doing exactly what I’d been put on this earth to do, and I would have done anything to make it onto that stage.  I would have been perfectly happy to stay at Second City forever.

In 1997, she landed a job as a writer for the American comedy institution Saturday Night Live and was on her way. She eventually joined the cast and started doing sketches while still writing for the show. She was on the staff of writers when they won  a Writers Guild of America Award for SNL’s 25th anniversary special as well as an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program. Nice.

In 2006, having been in SNL for 9 years, Tina left to develop 30 Rock, a sit-com about the head writer of a variety show and her relationships with the show’s star and executive producer. The first season got lukewarm review and a mild reception but the second season was a huge hit. In2007, the show won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series and Tina was nominated for Best Actress. In 2008, she won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. This year, she again won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award in the same categories, and was nominated for an Emmy Award.

Although Tina had offically left SNL, she still popped in and out doing cameo sketches. In 2008, she went internet-viral with her portrayal of Sarah Palin, vice-prez nominee for the Republicans. Her pitch-perfect impersonation is a killer – right on the mark and side-splittingly funny. It turned Tina into an international star and enabled her to make a go of her movie career as well as expand the appeal of 30 Rock.

After making her debut as writer and co-star of  Mean Girls, in 2004. In 2008, She starred with her SNL cohort, my Poehler,  in the oh-my-god-that’s-so-lesbian film, Baby Mama.

Speaking of lesbians, Tina has been voted in the top tens of many mags and websites’ Most Beautiful People lists, but it was winning AfterEllen’s 2008 list that really made her day. She told Empire magazine

I take it all with a grain of salt. I think I’m a bit of a token on the People list, like when they put the odd scientist on there. But the AfterEllen one is flattering. I think those girls take more of a 3-D picture before they decide they like somebody.

Yes we do Tina, yes we do.

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