100 WOMEN WE LOVE 2008
Lily Tomlin’s extraordinary career as a funny lady bloomed on the TV show Laugh-In in 1969, the year of the Stonewall rebellion. Fittingly, she has woven feminism and LGBT life into her characters—the not-so-hardworking phone operator Ernestine, Violet Newstead in 9 to 5 and the numerous personas populating The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, the one-woman play written by Tomlin’s partner Jane Wagner, for which Tomlin won a Tony Award. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for her turn as Linnea Reese in Robert Altman’s Nashville, played recurring roles on TV shows from Murphy Brown to The West Wing, and has won six Emmys, a Grammy, and a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 1977. Tomlin, who has called Wagner the most influential person in her life and career, narrated 1995’s landmark LGBT documentary The Celluloid Closet. –KL
In no particular order…
Hats off to the 100 Women We Love, class of 2008 (in no particular order, ’cause we love ’em all!).
Nancy Drolet
Canadian Olympic ice hockey silver medalist Nancy Drolet led her team to victory in the 1997 and 2000 world championships. Today, as an international speaker and personal business coach, she encourages others to reach their goals. “To give tools and guide people to their full potential is my mission in life,” she says. “Joy and happiness is seeing other people challenge themselves, persevere over adversity and realize their dreams.” Drolet is one of 250 Canadians personally trained by Al Gore through Climate Project Canada to deliver presentations like the one in 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth. “Always follow your heart and your passions,” Drolet advises. “The greatest power a person possesses is the power to choose. With integrity and courage we can choose to make a difference.” –LM
In no particular order…
