Happy Birthday to the brilliant Lily Tomlin!

During a week when screw-ups like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Bristol Palin are dominating the headlines for being themselves, I’d like to shine a spotlight on a brilliant talent who turns 71 years young today: Lily Tomlin!

I’d put legendary Lily, nominated for a 2010 Emmy Award for her role on Damages, on the cover of Vanity Fair instead of Lohan!

Miss Tomlin has inhabited so many memorable characters including Edith Ann and Ernestine from the Laugh-In days to so many movie roles including Oscar-nominated Nashville as well as 9 to 5, All of Me, Flirting With Disaster, Big Business, Short Cuts and A Prairie Home Companion (those are just my faves – there are so many more!).

Her television specials have won eight Emmys over the years and she was the toast of Broadway in the shows Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe and Appearing Nightly.

So much else has been accomplished in her 45 year career and she has collaborated both professionally and personally with the great love of her life, writer Jane Wagner. Check out my post from last spring when Lily shared her thoughts on her career with Coco Peru at an event benefiting the LA Gay and Lesbian Center.