Lily Tomlin, one of America's foremost comediennes, continues to successfully venture across an ever-widening range of media, extending an extraordinary entertainment career with a 29-city cross-country tour in a revival of Jane Wagner's "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," and is currently shooting a film star4ring Bruce Willis for Disney. Ms. Tomlin has starred in motion pictures, television, animation, theater, and video. Recently, Ms. Tomlin co-starred in the Franco Zeffirelli film, "Tea With Mussolini," with Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Cher. She also guest starred on the popular series "X-Files," and continues to be the voice of the science teacher Ms. Frizzle on the popular children's animated series, "The Magic School Bus," for which she was awarded an Emmy.

In 1998, Ms. Tomlin wrapped her second season, as the boss on "FYI," on the last season of the hit CBS series "Murphy Brown." She also received an Emmy nomination for her critically acclaimed appearance on the NBC drama "Homicide."

Ms. Tomlin has received numerous awards: six Emmys, a special Tony for her one-woman Broadway show, "Appearing Nitely," a second Tony as Best Actress, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics' Circle Award in 1985 for her one-woman performance in Jane Wagner's "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," a Grammy for her comedy album, "This is a Recording," two Peabody awards, the first for the ABC television special "Edith Ann's Christmas: Just Say Noel" and a second Peabody for narrating and executive producing the HBO telefilm "The Celluloid Closet."

Ms. Tomlin was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in a working class neighborhood on the outskirts of one of the city's most affluent areas. Although she claims that she wasn't funny as a child, she often admits she "knew who was and lifted their material right off the TV screen." Her favorites include Lucille Ball, Bea Lillie, Imogene Coca, and Jean Carroll, one of the first female stand-up comediennes on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

In 1969, she joined the cast of the top-rated "Laugh-In" and overnight rose to national prominence with her characterizations of Ernestine, the sassy telephone operator, and Edith Ann, the devilish five-and-a-half-year-old. When "Laugh-In" left the air, she went on to co-write and star in four comedy specials: "The Lily Tomlin Show" (1973); "Lily" (1973); "Lily" (1974); and "Lily Tomlin" (1975), for which she won three Emmy Awards and a Writers Guild of America Award.

She also has had a prolific movie career, debuting in Robert Altman's "Nashville," and then co-starring opposite Art Carney in "The Late Show" (1977). She went on to star with John Travolta in "Moment By Moment" (1978) and with Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton in "9 to 5" (1980). Most recently she starred opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Jenna Elfman in "Krippendorf's Tribe" (1998).