We are all aware of those AT&T ads showcasing the gorgeous Lily Adams as a Store Manager. That’s right! She’s the one that somehow manages to make phone calls seem interesting and hilarious. Whenever you watch her on the screen, you can’t help but wonder whether her portrayal on TV resonates with her latest real-life personality.
If you have ever asked yourself this question, then you are in for a massive surprise. Her real life name is Milana Vayntrub, and there is more into her than the screens let you know. Read on to understand some of her characters that you won’t see on the TV.
1. A Captivating Face
It isn’t easy to imagine that Vayntrub’s on-screen personality can resonate with her real-life persona. You’d be surprised to learn that this is the case, however, to a limited degree. Lily is a much more lovable character than other commercial characters, which largely emanates from her charming demeanor and gorgeous face.
2. Keeping a Secret Safe
It is almost impossible to get wind because the bulk of Lily’s charm can be attributed to Vayntrub. She plays her as approachable and cute with an always-ready charm and wit. If you’ve watched several of her ads, you have probably noticed that many of her clients are younger than she is. This is a reflection of the target audience of the commercials.
3. Lily – Our Ever Lasting Favorite
Lily is simply the best that TV ads commercials have to offer. You can probably recall that one time she was whispering to a customer to prevent disturbing a baby who was asleep at the time. There was this other time she amusingly failed to acknowledge the presence of Grant Hill, an ex-basketball star. Now, this is not something that anyone would do and especially a person in Lily’s position.
4. Lily Means Success
Lily is the center of the success that the ads have been enjoying so far. It is impractical to imagine these commercials without Lily’s charming personality and witty smile. It is no wonder then that her portrayal gets laughed out even with no-nonsense business moguls. She can neutralize the tough approach embraced by some of her customers by offering them “eccentric” deals that they simply cannot refuse.
5. The Actual Lily
You should know about the real Lily that she has a striking name, almost unpronounceable: Milana Aleksandrovan Vayntrub. This should not surprise you too much because she was born in the present-day Republic of Uzbekistan. At the time of her birth, the country was known as the Uzbek Soviet Union Republic.
6. Difficult Upbringing
As a Jew, Vayntrub and her family were forced to contend with much religious criticism and prejudice back in Uzbekistan. The enduring persecution compelled them to attempt obtaining political asylum in the United States. This proved to be more complicated than they thought, and they culminated in getting stuck in both Italy and Austria.
7. Conquest against all Odds
It is astounding how a former refugee with a limited promise of success turned out to be a big-time actress. She began her acting career at the age of five by coincidentally featuring in an ad run by a phone company. After this, TV shows came calling, and with no time at all, Lily was a household name in American TV commercials. She was formally introduced to the TV when she collaborated with Julianna Margulies in ER.
8. A Thriving Career
Lily solidified her acting career by featuring in Lizzie MacGuire, a children’s show. She put on a splendid performance of a small girl who belches every time she thinks no one is watching. One would think that no effort at all is needed in burping, but as it turns out, Lily put a lot of effort into perfecting this character.
9. Giving Up!
After featuring in a few TV shows, Vayntrub was ready to give up her acting career. She made this confession in 2015 to Esquire magazine. As it turns out, she did not think that acting was a realistic career. She felt that she did not have what it takes to make it in the film industry.
10. Finding New Light
Vayntrub chooses to accentuate her focus on schooling as a teen. This was a good move given that she could excel at her proficiency examinations and even proceed to join the University of California, San Diego, where she graduated with a degree in communication.
11. Proactive Action
Instead of calling it quits with her acting career, she decided to return to it, which was bigger and better. She improved her acting skills by securing training with Upright Citizens Brigade. Upright Citizens Brigade is renowned for showcasing Parks and Recreation’s Army Poehler. This move was critical towards transcending her to stardom.
12. Online Celebrity
Vayntrub then decided to bring her acting skills and knowledge to YouTube through a program called “Live Prude Girls.” Even at the preliminary stages, she was still able to garner hundreds of thousands of views. She has since graduated from this program, but her videos are still available to watch.
13. Star Guests
While still selling her skills on YouTube, Vayntrub was able to host iconic names in the entertainment industry, including the likes of B.J. Novak and Bob Odenkirk. Of particular interest was the show Let’s Talk About Something More. In this show, she described how she would make her guest speakers sit between her and her co-host, and together they would gently harass them.
14. An Unexpected Turn
After YouTube, Vayntrub’s proceeded into the coveted universe of film and TV. She secured several minor roles that were, nevertheless, pivotal in solidifying her acting career. An example of this constitutes her portrayal as a woman confronted by rats in Ghostbusters. This was back in 2006. She was also cast as a vampire in the television series Key and Peele.
15. You Should See Her Face
Within no time, Vayntrub secured features in big hits that streamed with international media such as Netflix. An example of this was her casting in Love produced by Apatow. In this film, she was portrayed as the wicked ex-wife of the protagonist. She was also cast in a few episodes of the hit series Silicon Valley.
16. This is US
Series: This is us
I know it’s hard to believe, but yes, Vayntrub featured as Sloane Sandburg in this television show that debuted at the top in the 2016-17 period. She was portrayed as one of the love interests of the central character as well as a playwright. By the time the show ended, she had featured in eight episodes.
17. Turmoil in Yahoo! Screen
Other Space constitutes another high-profile film featuring the actress. Other Space was a sci-fi comedy film in which Vayntrub was portrayed as the captain of a spaceship. The show, however, came to an abrupt end when Yahoo! Screen was forced to close as a result of financial constraints.
18. Soaring Higher with Marvel
Vayntrub was almost getting her big break in the TV and film industry when she was called to act as the beloved Squirrel Girl on Marvel: New Warriors. This was back in 2017. The role of Doreen Green was highly coveted by other actors, including the ones that were more experienced in the film industry than Vayntrub.
19. Lily the Superstar
Lily’s involvement with Marvel continued when her voice was used in the role of Squirrel Girl in Marvel Rising: Secret. This was a disguise for the former Marvel: New Warriors film. This role opened up new opportunities for Vayntrub, considering the fact that it incorporated several specials and short films. She earned a significant amount of revenue due to the tie-ins with comic books and YouTube showings.
20. Going Back into TV
Series: This is us
Vayntrub’s role in the television series Threads officially welcomed her back into TV. She made an actual appearance in this show in bone and flesh. The show became famous in the universe of online chat forums. She followed this up with starring in That Moment When, where the audience decided which role she should play.
21. Must-See TV
Vayntrub is not a guest in the world of animation. After lending her voice to squirrel girl, she was asked to do the same to Ellie Moonshiner in the animation film Dallas & Robo. This narrative of space truckers featured high-profile names such as John Cena and Kat Dennings and was aired on YouTube Premium.
22. Involvement with AT&T
We can all agree that Vayntrub has had an interesting and varied career. She is, however, best recognized as Lily from the AT&T commercial ads. She has been able to maintain the same demeanor since December 2013. Her splendid acting skills saw her obtain a long-term partnership with AT&T even though she was originally supposed to feature in a single episode of the commercials.
23. An Unprecedented Call
The outstanding acting skills of Vayntrub captured the attention of the AT&T advertising vice president. To confirm this, the vice president made a press release on Ad Week where he stated that the first episode featuring Lily was highly successful that they decided to make more episodes with her.
24. A Well-Established Actress
Vayntrub became a well-established actress in the TV commercials industry. She was openly praised by the director for the Hungry Man agency, Hank Perlman, on Ad Week magazine. He asserted that Lily was able to attract a significant amount of following because of her ability to portray multiple personalities in a unique way for TV commercials.
25. Lily Attracts the Attention of Amy Schumer
Attracting the attention of a high-profile and well-known actress such as Amy Schumer is a critical success. The ad series featuring Lily was so captivating that Amy Schumer thought they were worth satirizing. This, however, failed to impress Lily, who stated that Schumer’s portrayal of Lily was dumb and insensitive.
26. Hitting Back at Schumer
Lily felt that Schumer had disrespected her and decided to hit back. She was upset that Schumer believed that Lily’s character was intended to attract the attention of men using her as eye candy. In the end, she told Ad Week that most commercials use women as props, but Lily is different.
27. Lily’s Drive and Passion
Vayntrub proceeded to state that Lily is strong, and that she is a successful store manager. She believes that Lily has beaten all odds and worked extremely hard to get there and should not be considered a prop. Her argument raises the question of how Schumer perceives women on television.
28. Activism
Vayntrub has always been willing to speak her mind whenever it comes to social issues. Growing up, she and her family suffered a great deal while trying to gain entry into the United States. This suffering has informed her passion for advocating for the rights of refugees. Accordingly, she established a movement called “Can’t Do Nothing.”
29. Social Cause
The non-profit organization “Can’t Do Nothing” has been able to secure collaborations with other organizations and individual partners. In one of her interviews with Ad Week, she stated that The Syria Fund has been pivotal in enabling her organization to set up classrooms, establish art and music programs, and hire teachers for the refugees.
30. Beyond National Responsibility
Vayntrub believes that her movement is highly critical towards meeting the social needs of refugees worldwide. She asserts that the current generation is tasked with a more prominent global responsibility than the past generations. This is the case, especially when considers the potential of the internet and of social media.
31. Entertainment and Activism
Vayntrub continued by asserting that activism and entertainment go hand in hand. She, however, cautions against perceiving the entertainer’s role as also being that of an activist. What she means to say in this regard is that entertainers can capitalize on their fame and connections to support social causes.
32. Worries
As an entertainer, it is at times advisable to stay on one’s lane and avoid dealing in numerous activities as these might bring harm to one’s career. This would have been a significant concern for Vayntrub, but AT&T has been behind her all the way. The organization acknowledges her advocacy efforts and even appreciates her remarkable passion for mitigating social issues.
33. Motivated to Act
Vayntrub states that she felt motivated to use her influence to help. She knows that it’s impractical of her to think that she could succeed at changing peoples’ minds, but Lily also believes that she cannot sit down and do nothing. In her interview with Ad Week, Vayntrub stated, “How am I supposed to act like it’s not happening?”
34. Controversy
Vayntrub acknowledges the potential of her advocacy efforts undermining her career. She states that she is aware of the possibility of studios not wanting to touch her, but she still proceeds with her activism. She believes that being an activist does not make her controversial. She strongly believes in her own will and morals and will always seek to do what she believes is the right thing no matter what.
35. It’s Not Just About Lily
Vayntrub has demonstrated her competency in effectively coping with diverse areas of expression both on-screen and off-screen. She acknowledges that, indeed, blending her activism and acting has been the result of the ability of her brain to eliminate any form of self-consciousness. This allows new ideas to come to her mind so that she is motivated to act on them.
36. Right Foot Forward
While job hunting Vayntrub did not believe that she could secure a position that did not incorporate some improvisation. This is because this is the one area where she is skilled and talented. It was her understanding that if a given position lacked the mandate for portraying a new character as you proceed, then maybe other parties would be employed because they would undoubtedly be better.
37. On-Call
Succeeding in the TV and film industry requires more than just a face. This is particularly true in the case of commercial ads. What’s needed is a combination of vigor, skill, wits, and charm. Vayntrub was able to portray her flexibility and deep understanding of what it takes to be a good actor at the 2019 New York Comedy Festival, at which point she did a perfect stand-up gig.
38. Amy Schumer
Amy Schumer is one of the most talented actresses and comedians in the current TV and film industry. Her unique acting skills and ability to make people laugh even while she’s simply staring into the sky have enabled her to maintain her presence on the screen for a few years now.
39. Personal Life
As ardent fans of Amy, we all know that she got married to Chris Fischer at the beginning of 2018. What you might not know is that Amy thinks her mind operates differently from that of her partner’s. She made this confession in the course of her 2019 Netflix special. She made several other revelations about her partner, some of which will leave you speechless.
40. Rise to Fame
Amy was born in 1981. She first tried her hand in comedy while in her 20s, and it turned out she was good at it. After featuring in numerous comedy shows, she started landing roles in acting. She has since blended the two and even tried her hand in producing. She has been awarded a Peabody for her work in Inside Amy Schumer which she produced by herself.
