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Milana Vayntrub

Milana Aleksandrovna Vayntrub (/ˈvaɪntruːb/ VYNE-troob, Russian: Милана Александровна Вайнтруб;[4] born March 8, 1987) is an American actress, comedian, and activist. Born in the Soviet Union, she began her career as a child actress shortly after immigrating to the United States. She came to prominence for her appearances in AT&T television commercials as saleswoman Lily Adams from 2013 to 2016 and since 2020. In addition to her commercial appearances, she was a series regular on the Yahoo! Screen science fiction comedy Other Space (2015) and had a recurring role on the NBC drama This Is Us (2016–2017). Vayntrub has also voiced Squirrel Girl in the Marvel Rising franchise since 2018 after being cast as the character in the unaired television pilot for New Warriors.

Early life and education

Milana Vayntrub was born on March 8, 1987, to a Jewish family in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, then a Soviet republic.[5] When she was two years old, she and her parents immigrated to the United States as refugees from antisemitism,[6] settling in West Hollywood, California. She started acting in Mattel Barbie commercials at the age of five, in part to mitigate her family's financial problems. Vayntrub dropped out of Beverly Hills High School after her sophomore year, obtained a GED, and went on to earn a BA in Communication from University of California, San Diego.[7] She studied improv comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade.[8][9]

Career

Vayntrub in 2012

Vayntrub made her acting debut appearing in three episodes of the NBC television series ER in 1995.[10] She and Stevie Nelson teamed up to start the YouTube comedy channel Live Prude Girls where they produced a number of shorts.[8] Live Prude Girls went on to be featured on NewMediaRockstars' Top 100 Channels countdown, ranked at number 93.[11] Vayntrub has had small roles in film and television, including Life Happens and Silicon Valley.[12] She has also starred in several CollegeHumor videos.[9]

From 2013 to 2016, Vayntrub portrayed a saleswoman named Lily Adams in a series of TV commercials for AT&T.[9] She returned to the role in 2020.[13] She also portrayed Tina Shukshin as a series regular on the Yahoo! Screen series Other Space, created by Paul Feig, in 2015. The following year, she appeared in Feig's Ghostbusters reboot alongside Other Space cast members Neil Casey, Eugene Cordero, Bess Rous, and Karan Soni. Between 2016 and 2017, she appeared in the television series This Is Us, playing Sloane Sandburg.[10] In July 2017, Vayntrub was cast in the lead role of Marvel Comics superheroine Squirrel Girl in the New Warriors television pilot for Freeform.[14] Freeform ultimately passed on the series that November, and despite attempts to move the series to another network, it was ultimately cancelled.[15][16] Despite the series' cancellation, Vayntrub voiced Squirrel Girl in the Marvel Rising franchise.[17] She reprised the role for a six-episode scripted podcast from Marvel and Sirius XM titled Marvel's Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show.[18][19] Also in 2017, Vayntrub starred in the Eko interactive streaming television series That Moment When as Jill.[20]

She starred in the film Mother's Little Helpers in 2019, which premiered at South by Southwest.[21] In April 2020, Comedy Central's YouTube channel released three sketches starring Vayntrub and Akilah Hughes as part of a new digital sketch series called Making Fun With Akilah and Milana.[22] She starred in the Quibi streaming television series Die Hart and in the short film The Shabbos Goy as Hannah, both released in July 2020.[23][24] In 2022, she also played a leading role in Comedy Central's television film Out of Office.

Activism

In January 2016, after visiting Greece and meeting with refugee families fleeing the Syrian Civil War, Vayntrub co-founded a website and social media movement called "Can't Do Nothing" to spotlight the European migrant crisis.[8]

Vayntrub is pro-abortion rights, and she has stated that she aborted a pregnancy as a college student due to financial concerns.[25]

Personal life

In 2020, Vayntrub was subjected to a wave of online sexual harassment, some of it based on images of her that had been manipulated. The campaign began on an AT&T social media site, and the company came to her defense, stating "We will not tolerate the inappropriate comments and harassment of Milana Vayntrub, the talented actor that portrays Lily in our ads," and shut down comments.[26] Vayntrub asked for the harassment to stop in an Instagram live stream, saying, "I'm hurting and it's bringing up, like, a lot of feelings of sexual assault."[26]

Vayntrub is married and has a son, but has chosen to keep both of their names private.[25][3]

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Music videos

Video games

References

  1. ^ Vayntrub, Milana [@MintMilana] (March 8, 2013). "I feel like the luckiest girl with the funniest fans!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 4, 2015 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Vayntrub, Milana [@MintMilana] (March 8, 2014). "My mom and my hamburger birthday cake" (Tweet). Retrieved June 4, 2015 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b Artavia, David (September 30, 2022). "AT&T actress Milana Vayntrub says prioritizing her husband makes her a better mom: 'We're better parents when our couple needs are being met'". yahoo!life. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  4. ^ "Из беженки — в звезду Голливуда". Peoples.ru. April 30, 2022. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  5. ^ Backstage Staff (July 23, 2014). "The Third Annual Backstage 30: 28. Milana Vayntrub". Backstage. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  6. ^ Shalayne Pulia (July 19, 2017). "This Is Us Star Milana Vayntrub Shares Her Refugee Story". InStyle. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  7. ^ Box (January 25, 2015). "BA #061: Milana Vayntrub". Box Angeles. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Siemaszko, Corky (November 20, 2016). "'Lily' from those AT&T ads has a message for Syrian refugees". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Kurp, Josh (April 4, 2014). "Meet The Actress Who Plays 'Lily'", Your AT&T Commercial Crush". Uproxx. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Levine, Daniel S. (July 11, 2017). "Milana Vayntrub: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Archived from the original on July 27, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  11. ^ NMR Staff (December 29, 2014). "The NMR Top 100 YouTube Channels: 100 – 76!". NewMediaRockstars. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  12. ^ Bradley, Diana (August 31, 2020). "'We will continue to fight to support her': AT&T backs spokesperson Milana Vayntrub after online harassment". PRWeek. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  13. ^ Smiley, Minda (May 12, 2020). "AT&T's Beloved 'Lily' Is Back, This Time Working From Home". Adweek. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  14. ^ "Marvel's 'New Warriors' Sets Its Cast — Including Squirrel Girl (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. November 1, 2017. Archived from the original on July 7, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  15. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (November 1, 2017). "Marvel's 'New Warriors' Won't Air on Freeform, Series Will Be Shopped Elsewhere (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  16. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (September 25, 2019). "'Ghost Rider' Drama From Marvel TV Dead at Hulu". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  17. ^ a b Cheng, Susan; Flaherty, Keely (December 7, 2017). "Marvel's Launching A New Franchise Of Wonderful, Diverse Superheroes". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  18. ^ Maas, Jennifer (April 18, 2022). "Marvel Launches 'Squirrel Girl' Scripted Podcast From Writer Ryan North (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  19. ^ "Marvel and SiriusXM Launch Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Podcast From Ryan North". ComicBook. April 18, 2022. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  20. ^ Ha, Anthony (November 14, 2017). "Eko's 'That Moment When' is an interactive comedy series all about social awkwardness". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  21. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (March 7, 2019). "'Mother's Little Helpers' Trailer: Siblings Say Goodbye To Their Dying Burnout Mother In SXSW Dramedy". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Kelly-Clyne, Luke (April 10, 2020). "You've Never Seen Patty-Cake Played Like This". Vulture. Archived from the original on April 13, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  23. ^ Saveliev, Alex (November 10, 2020). "The Shabbos Goy". Film Threat. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  24. ^ "Watch the Trailer for Kevin Hart and John Travolta's Quibi Action Comedy Die Hart". Fort Leavenworth Lamp. July 6, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  25. ^ a b Vayntrub, Milana (February 7, 2022). "'This Is Us' Actress Milana Vayntrub: My Abortion Story". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on March 4, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  26. ^ a b Harris, Margot (August 26, 2020). "The actress who plays ATT's Lily faces wave of online harassment, including manipulated images and objectifying memes". Insider. Insider Inc. Archived from the original on July 7, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  27. ^ "Bad Shabbos". Tribeca Festival. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Milana Vayntrub.