“SNL” alumna Tina Fey has come a long way since her days on the sketch comedy show. Since her turn as an anchor of Weekend Update and head writer of the show, she’s gone on to star in movies and create one of the best comedy TV shows ever in “30 Rock.” In honor of Fey’s return to “SNL” to host the Season 43 finale this week, here are 11 of Tina Fey’s best characters, ranked from the least hilarious to the most: Liz Lemon of “30 Rock.”
11. Queef Latina — “SNL”
When Fey returned to “SNL” as host in 2013, she used her monologue to remind fans of her least-remembered recurring characters. They were, of course, all made-up characters that had never existed, but even the promo materials for some of them were amazing. Fey and “SNL” suggested the movie spin-off for her fake character “Queef Latina,” dubbed “Queef Latina Ruins Christmas,” and honestly that sounds so amazing and horrific that it really should exist. You can watch the monologue here.
10. The Lady with No Theme Song — “SNL”
Another of Fey’s made-up recurring characters from her 2013 turn as “SNL” host, this one had a whole theme song about not having a theme song. It then takes a hard left turn with the final line, “And she’s a vampire.” Forcing The Lady with No Theme Song to actually be a sketch that makes some semblance of sense sounds like it’d be hilarious. Watch the monologue here.
9. The Bush Twins — “SNL”
There’s a reason Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have teamed up a number of times, both on “SNL” and in movies: They’re hilarious together. That theory was born out as the pair played the twin daughters of President George W. Bush, Jenna and Barbara, conversing about their father’s presidency in their secret “twin language.” Check out the sketch here.
8. Mrs. Norbury — “Mean Girls”
Tina Fey’s insightful high school teacher in “Mean Girls,” the movie she wrote, is instrumental in helping the girls of North Shore High stop being so horrible to each other. She also manages to sneak in some pretty funny lines during her limited time on screen. Mrs. Norbury is the kind of teacher you wish you had in high school. Here’s a clip of her trying to help Lindsay Lohan’s character Cady excel.
7. Claire Foster — “Date Night”
Fey pairing with Steve Carell makes for a solid comedy duo, and the two make “Date Night” work by selling how extremely relatable they are as their night becomes increasingly more insane and dangerous. Fey’s Claire is a mom you’ve definitely met before, but much, much funnier.
6. Wendy Altman — “This Is Where I Leave You”
Fey has most of the best lines in “This Is Where I Leave You,” a comedy-drama about a family who loses their father. Wendy is constantly needling her brothers in the film with some great one-liners, but her real best moment is when she gets a chance to punch out Dax Shepard. Watch that scene here.
5. Marcia (Clark) — “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Before Sarah Paulson played O.J. Simpson trial prosecutor Marcia Clark, and helped totally redefine America’s cultural understanding of the woman, Fey created a ludicrously bad-at-her-job version of Marcia for “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” While not in line with the real Clark, Fey’s mega-inept prosecutor lets her go a little comedically crazy, committing to being as over-the-top as possible.
4. Weekend Update Tina Fey — “SNL”
Though she didn’t have a lot of recurring characters on “SNL,” Fey appeared every week for years as an anchor on the satirical news segment of the show, Weekend Update. The segment gave her a great opportunity to rattle off quick jokes, one of her talents. Check out her turn as special “Women’s News” correspondent on Weekend Update.
3. Dr. Andrea Bayden — “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Fey returned to “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” to play Kimmy’s therapist, Andrea. It was actually an opportunity to play two characters: Andrea during the day, the responsible therapist, and Andrea at night, the blackout drunk. The dichotomy between the two is always funny, particularly when night Andrea messes up day Andrea’s life somehow — it’s as if they’re two people, because neither remembers anything the other does. You can see both Andrea’s in this clip.
2. Sarah Palin — “SNL”
Fey’s most memorable “SNL” character was her impression of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin during her run for vice president in 2008. Fey managed to skewer just about everything Palin said during the presidential race between John McCain and Barack Obama, and even brought the character back during the 2016 election when she endorsed Donald Trump. Check out that clip here.
1. Liz Lemon — “30 Rock”
Fey’s over-the-top version of herself as lead writer of a sketch comedy show was incredibly funny and incredibly relatable. Liz Lemon tried to have a career, a family and a social life, but she was also hopelessly nerdy and addicted to Mexican cheese curls. Fey brought all kinds of nuance to Lemon over the years on “30 Rock,” making Liz her greatest, most hilarious character ever. Here’s Liz singing her night cheese song, here’s Liz trying to do promos for her show “Dealbreakers,” and here’s Liz showing up to her own wedding dressed as Princess Leia.
Speaking of “SNL,” check out our list of the 20 very best sketches of Season 43, ranked.
