Lily Tomlin life and biography

Lily Tomlin is an American stage, television, and film actress and comedienne.

Tomlin's recurring role in Desperate Housewives as Roberta Simmons is slated to become a starring role in an ABC spin-off series. In the spin-off, Tomlin stars opposite Kathryn Joosten, who plays Karen McCluskey Simmons' sister on Desperate Housewives. The series is scheduled to begin production in Summer 2009.

In addition to her numerous roles as a character actor on shows ranging from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In to The West Wing, Will and Grace and Murphy Brown, Lily Tomlin as created a number of trademark characters of her own, such as "Ernestine" the cheerfully sinister telephone operator and "Edith Ann", the five year old in a giant rocking chair.

Tomlin was born in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Lillie Mae (née Ford), a housewife and nurse's aide, and Guy Tomlin, a factory worker. Tomlin's parents were Southern Baptists who moved to Detroit from Paducah, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. She is a 1957 graduate of Cass Technical High School. Tomlin attended Wayne State University, where her interest in the theater and performing arts began. After college, Tomlin began doing stand-up comedy in nightclubs in Detroit and later in New York City. Her first television appearance was on The Merv Griffin Show in 1965.

Filmography:

2002-2006: The West Wing
2004: I Heart Huckabees
2006: The Ant Bully
2007: The Walker

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