Biscuit Models.. Oops, I Mean Role Models

TV has always been an important part of my life, specifically comedies. Saturday Night Live, one of America’s most popular comedy shows, has been on since 1975 and has included many historical moments in television history. For years, comedy was considered a boys’ club. Of course the women of SNL in its earliest days, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, and Laraine Newman, did quite a bit to change that. However, the biggest influence of our generation for women in comedy is undoubtedly Tina Fey.


Fey started writing for Saturday Night Live in 1997, and in a matter of three years, became head writer. She was the first woman to do so. Along with her writing job, she also joined the cast in 2000 as a Weekend Update anchor alongside Jimmy Fallon while also appearing in occasional sketches. In 2006, Fey said goodbye to working for SNL and tried her hand in situational comedy, creating, writing, and starring in 30 Rock. The show made sitcom history with its quirky characters and clever quips.


Since I started watching 30 Rock, Tina has been a huge inspiration in my life. She has influenced me to aspire to study improv and eventually write comedy. Tina has worked to break down barriers previously set in the world of entertainment that has made a path for others to follow, not to mention she is hard working, intelligent, a feminist, and very, very funny. I could go on and on about Fey’s achievements and successes, but this is what it all boils down to: Tina has worked for where she is and remains humble and those are both very admirable achievements.


When I think of Tina Fey, my brain almost instantaneously jumps to Amy Poehler. The two met in 1993 at the Second City improv theatre in Chicago, where they both took classes, and have been close friends ever since. In her book Bossypants, Tina writes this upon Amy’s arrival to Saturday Night Live: “I was so happy. Weirdly, I remember thinking, ‘My friend is here! My friend is here!’ Even though things had been going great for me at the show, with Amy there, I felt less alone.” (Fey) Even just the friendship between these two hilarious ladies is something I admire; they aren’t catty with each other like society has tried to persuade female relationships to be. They know that they aren’t in competition with each other as women in the entertainment industry; they are in competition with everyone. They completely support each other’s careers and constantly promote each other.


Her friendship with Fey aside, I just really look up to Amy Poehler. She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s crass, and she refuses to fit into a typecast. In another quote from Fey’s book, she states “…With that exchange, a cosmic shift took place. Amy made it clear that she wasn’t there to be cute. She wasn’t there to play wives and girlfriends in the boys’ scenes. She was there to do what she wanted to do and she did not f***ing care if you like it.” (Fey) I admire Amy because she hasn’t allowed her career to be defined as a funny lady. She’s just funny.


Sticking with the funny people theme that I’ve created for this post, I decided my last person should be Ellen DeGeneres. Not only is Ellen a successful comedienne, she also has her own daytime talk show with fun games, interesting guests, and at least one altruistic act per episode. Along with this, Ellen is a strong advocate against bullying. Coming out as a lesbian in 1997, DeGeneres has been a huge supporter in the Trevor Project and other LGBTQ projects (IMDB). It is because of her huge anti-bullying voice, especially in the LGBTQ community, that I really admire Ellen. In our society today, so often we forget about the feelings of others, but Ellen does not. She ends every show with the words “Be kind to one another” as a reminder to all her viewers. I just think it is really cool that someone with her following makes sure to so vocally stand up against bullying. I hope that if by some anomaly in the universe occurs and I achieve what Ellen has achieved, I will be able to have the positive influence she does.






Fey, Tina. Bossypants. New York, NY: Little, Brown & Company, 2011. Print.


"Ellen DeGeneres." The Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc, n.d. Web.
29 Oct. 2009. <http://www.imdb.com/>.