You might be familiar with Lily from AT&T, but we will have you know that there is more to her than her sweet smile and perky personality. After appearing in commercials, she went on to enjoy a more successful career after snagging TV roles. When she is not working as a comedian or actress, she devotes her time to activism work. On top of that, she is not afraid to use her platform to raise awareness about the issues that are close to her heart.
Find Out Who The Woman Behind Lily From AT&T Really Is
When it comes to comedy and activism, Milana Vayntrub shared, “People are really waking up to global responsibility, especially our generation, and I think the internet has a big part in it. I think it’s maybe just a time of so much strife in the world that it’s hard to ignore. Then there are brilliant comedians that make it something digestible but also infuriating.” Even though a lot of people only know her from the AT&T ads, she is actually a very fascinating person. Most people only refer to her as Lily, but the truth is that this character has got nothing on the person who brought her to life!
Trying Her Hand At Modeling
Milana Vayntrub was the one who portrayed AT&T employee Lily, who was hilarious but not all that helpful. She is special because most people did not forget about her the instant that the commercial break has ended. With her good looks and the fact that she lived in Los Angeles, it makes sense to us that she has dipped her toes into modeling. Even though she has an innocence to her, let us just say that she is not as chaste as you might think. Among other things, she worked on a CollegeHumor Originals web series from 2011 until 2014. She appeared in 15 episodes of the series.
Trying Her Hand At Modeling
She Had A Cameo In Californication
In 2014, she worked on an episode of Californication. In case you are not familiar with it, the TV show was a big hit when it was on the air from 2007 until 2014. Starring David Duchovny of X-Files fame, it could not really be described as wholesome. Milana had a small part in an episode, but she has admitted that she loved working on it. She said it was fun to be on the set working with him.
She Had A Cameo In Californication
Her First Small Screen Role
This was not the first time she been on TV, however. She first appeared on the small screen during the mid-‘90s. In 1995, she appeared in ER and portrayed a character called Tatiana for three episodes. This was not a prominent role, but people paid attention to her. She had always been passionate about acting. Milana got her start by doing TV commercials in 1993, but they did not give her the big break she was waiting for. Her parents made her work to support the household back then.
Her Current Net Worth
At the moment, Milana Vayntrub has a net worth of around $500,000. She only got big roles in TV shows recently, which explains why her net worth is not as high as other celebs out there. Only time will tell how much it will be in the future. We have no doubt that she is only going to make it go up some more.
She Had A Stint On Silicon Valley Too
If you watch Silicon Valley, you might remember her as Tara. She played this character from 2014 up to 2016. The HBO show follows a team that founded a startup in Silicon Valley. It is hilarious and is still on the air at the moment. Even though she had a pretty small role, it is undeniable that her comedic timing made it that much better. The show is known for its satire and humor, but it has serious underlying themes as well.
She Had A Stint On Silicon Valley Too
Big Fan Of Dogs
Among other things, Milana is a big animal lover. In fact, her motto goes, “All animals all the time.” In the photo, you can see her hanging out with her furry companions! If you go through her social media pages, you are also going to find photos of cats and other animals in need. Her Instagram page is littered with ‘modeling’ dogs and department canines. Isn’t that the most adorable thing you have ever heard?
Big Fan Of Dogs
How She Became Lily Adams
At long last, she got her big break when she snagged the role of Lily Adams in 2013. The AT&T ad gave her the breakthrough that she was waiting for. When the commercial was aired, people wanted to know more about her. The commercials introduced this funny but unhelpful sales associate. Not only were they effective at advertising the AT&T brand, but they made people pay attention to the actress herself!
How She Became Lily Adams
Playing The Role
Hank Perlman is the director of Hungry Man. He shared, “I think Milana’s Lily resonates with audiences because she’s a multi-dimensional character in a way that’s rare for commercials.” He has been at the helm of the majority of AT&T commercials. He explained, “We try as hard as we can not only to make her funny but to make her as strong, smart, and human as possible. And hopefully, all of that makes her as relatable as a character in a 30-second commercial can be.”
Playing The Role
Moving To The United States
The actress was born Milana Aleksandrovna Vayntrub in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on the 8th of March 1987. Back then, Uzbekistan was still a part of the Soviet Union. As Jews, her parents feared religious persecution and fled Tashkent with Milana when she was three years old. The family went to Austria before going to Italy, where they waited for permission to head on to the United States. At last, the family made it to West Hollywood in 1990.
Moving To The United States
Her Parents Are Role Models
Asked about their arrival to the United States, Milana shared, “Once here, my parents worked their butts off to give me a good education and upbringing…They did a great job.” Both of them had been excellent role models and showed her that hard work pays off by giving her a fulfilling and respectable life. She learned the importance of a good work ethic and decided to forge a path of her own.
Her Parents Are Role Models
Her Younger Sister
Did you know that Milana has a younger sister? Even though they have a pretty big age gap, she is proud of her sibling. They look a lot alike! The actress took to Instagram to talk about her sister. The caption said, “My little sister graduated! Glad she finally got a hat to cover her enormous brain.” As you can see, Milana is family-oriented and prioritizes her family above everything else.
Her Younger Sister
Her Excellent Sense Of Humor
We are not shocked to hear that Milana has a great sense of humor. She is a comedian and a joker who likes to poke fun at herself and other people in the best possible way. She works as a TV star and a standup comedian, but we won’t be surprised to see her on the big screen soon as well. Her humor helps her connect with other people. As Lily, she has shown the entire nation what she is capable of.
Her Excellent Sense Of Humor
Her Radio Work
Milana is not shy about using her platform to spread the word about both her career and causes. Among other things, she is passionate about helping refugees. She is an activist who wants to support people in need as much as she could. AT&T expressed its support of this and said, “Milana’s passion for her cause is absolutely remarkable. We respect Milana’s personal interests outside of her role in our ads.”
Her Radio Work
Not Too Concerned About Her Looks
Can you believe that she does not a lot of things to keep her amazing figure? On top of that, she is totally fine with the way she looks. She does not promote products that will make anyone look better. In fact, she does not dabble in this industry. It seems that she prefers to focus on activism and comedy.
Not Too Concerned About Her Looks
Working On ‘Other Space’
In 2015, she snagged a main cast role in Other Space. It is a Yahoo! Screen show that follows a crew of space explorers as they venture through a new universe. There are only eight episodes and one season. You should watch the show to see her play a character called Tina Shukshin. As you might have guessed, she is excellent at providing some comic relief to the sci-fi show.
Working On ‘Other Space’
Joining The Cast Of ‘This Is Us’
Another game changer for her was when she landed a role in This Is Us. The drama show went on to be a hit and made people notice her even more. In 2016, she portrayed Sloane Sandburg in eight episodes of the show. The character was a theater director and a love interest of a main character.
Joining The Cast Of ‘This Is Us’
How The Family Migrated
Milana was only three years old when the family arrived in the United States. They decided to flee their home country because Jewish people were being persecuted in Uzbekistan at the time. Even though it was not easy, they left Eastern Europe and made it all the way to America. Not long after the Vayntrub family fled, the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.
How The Family Migrated
Playing Denise In ‘Roommates Enemies’
From 2012 to 2013, Milana Vayntrub was also on a TV show called Roommates Enemies. She played Denise for three episodes of the show. At the time, she was already making a name for herself in the industry. Even though she is not exactly the biggest star in Hollywood, we are impressed that she has been working steadily. This is already more than what many aspiring actresses can say!
Playing Denise In ‘Roommates Enemies’
She Was In ‘Lizzie McGuire’ As Well
In the photo below, you can see Milana when she appeared in Lizzie McGuire. She played a dancer on the Disney show for three episodes from 2001 to 2002. This served as her third time on TV! In 1997, she also appeared in Days of Our Lives. She had been working on bit roles on TV shows such as these ones as she built up her acting portfolio.
She Was In ‘Lizzie McGuire’ As Well
Starring In ‘All Nighter’
As you might have noticed, Milana has done a fair amount of TV work over the years. In 2017, she finally got to appear in a big screen project. She joined the cast of a movie called All Nighter, which follows an estranged dad visiting his daughter in LA only to find that she is missing. It is worth a watch!
Starring In ‘All Nighter’
Bringing Squirrel Girl To Life
When it comes to her recent projects, Milana worked on Marvel’s New Warriors. It is a TV show in which she plays Doreen Green and Squirrel Girl. Aired in 2018, the show follows six young people who have powers that they are trying to use to make a difference even though they do not possess skills as impressive as the ones the Avengers have. They need to figure out how to help others and deal with growing pains at the same time.
Bringing Squirrel Girl To Life
Supporting Refugees
An organization helped out the family when the Vayntrub family first moved to the United States. She said, “We had a lot of help when we got to America. One of the organizations that helped us, they had a record of all the money they spent on us for our health care bills and education programs, and so my favorite thing that I’ve done is just pay them back because they invested in us. It’s my karmic duty to help them because we’ve been helped so much.” We are so glad to hear that she is paying it forward.
Supporting Refugees
Syrian Refugee Crisis
While she and her dad had been on vacation in Greece, she flew out to Lesbos. It is the island that serves as the entry point of many Syrian refugees. Milana wanted to offer them as much support that she could. As a former refugee, this was something that spoke to her on a personal level. The photo shows her with a Syrian family. They were on the way from the boat to the registration camp.
Syrian Refugee Crisis
Creative Collaboration Is The Best
She is a comedian who likes to talk about her own life when she is on the stage. Asked about what she plans to do next, she shared, “I would love to keep directing commercials, I love it so much, I love working with brands and ad agencies and old white men who have been doing this for 60 years. I love creating challenging and opposing ideas and using that to make something bigger and better than just my brain, or just their brain could have come up with. The creative collaboration is my favorite thing.”
Creative Collaboration Is The Best
She Took An Unusual Path
We want you to know that there is more to her than just her pretty face. She also went to the University of California in San Diego for her degree in communications. She went to college early since she chose to drop out of high school and get the GED at the tender age of 16. Mind you, she did not waste her college education either! She eventually used what she learned to launch an organization of her own.
She Took An Unusual Path
A Subreddit About Her
It is quite funny to hear that there is a Reddit page that is dedicated to everything about her. We can see why this is the case! They must adore her sense of humor and see what she gets up to next. What makes her special is that people, young and old, adore her since she feels real and relatable, unlike other celebs.
A Subreddit About Her
Her Parents Provided For Her
When she was interviewed by InStyle magazine, she discussed what her childhood was like. “My parents worked their butts off to afford private school, summer camp, and gymnastics classes (which I’m pretty sure is a prerequisite for all Russian kids) so that I could take part in everything this Promised Land had to offer,” she said. Milana has always expressed appreciation for what her parents have done for her.
Her Parents Provided For Her
She Felt Like An Outsider
But it was not easy for her either. She shared, “Despite all their love and hard work, as a kid, I remember feeling as though I couldn’t culturally catch up to my peers. Especially when it came to beach towels—these really stupid, but really cool, but actually really stupid towels. All my classmates owned these colorful beach towels with Disney characters on them. I desperately wanted one, but instead, I had this orange and white patterned thing, a glorified Slavic doily—that my parents brought with them from Uzbekistan. To me, it was a smoke signal alerting all potential friends that I was NOT. FROM. HERE.”
She Felt Like An Outsider
Taking Pride In Her Heritage
The photo below shows the visa used by Milana and her mom when they went to the United States. At the time, she was too young to acquire a visa of her own, which was why she came with her mom. Sadly, she also could not remember Uzbekistan. It was a good thing that her parents ensured that Russian culture was present in the house. They spoke Russian in the house and continue to do so to this day.
Taking Pride In Her Heritage
Her Own Organization
Milana co-founded #CantDoNothing, which is an organization that aims to raise awareness and raise funds for refugees across the globe. “It is important for us to emphasize not just the problem, but all the things we can do to end it,” she explained. “We hope everyone will post about #CantDoNothing on their social media, and challenge three friends to participate by tagging them. I really believe we all have to power to be influencers, to use our voice and create a ripple effect of Good.”
Her Own Organization
Flashing The Whole World
Even though she is serious about her advocacies, she likes to play around when she has free time as well. She enjoys spending time with her friends and doing fun things together. There is no doubt that Milana can let go when she needs to. For example, she once flashed from inside a hotel room. We are sure that no one saw anything, although what matters here is that she had no qualms about doing it!
Flashing The Whole World
Crushing On George Clooney
When she was on ER, George Clooney was present on the set as well. This was what she said about him: “It was also season one with George Clooney, and he was amazing. I just kept trying to invite him over. He was like, “Yeah, I’ll come over for a playdate.” I was like, “Mom! Can you cook something, so we have a reason for him to come over?” My mom and I were both just goo-goo-gaga over him.”
Crushing On George Clooney
How She Knew She Was Funny
Esquire got to talk to Milana as well. Here was her response when asked when she found out that she was funny and could use it to her advantage: “Yes. Comedy came early. I knew when I was a kid that I was silly, and I knew that I liked people who were funny, but I don’t think I knew I was funny. I didn’t really think about it.”
How She Knew She Was Funny
She Knows Lily Was Her Big Break
During the same interview, she told Esquire that she is aware of the way most people found out about her. “Usually my AT&T commercials or my YouTube videos. Sometimes they’ll get introduced to me from the commercials, and they’ll go look me up and find my YouTube videos. Or they’ve been a fan for a while, and they’re really supportive of the commercials,” she explained.
She Knows Lily Was Her Big Break
On Playing Sloane
She shared her thoughts about her This Is Us character too: “Sloane is [really good at] making her dreams come true. Sure, she’s hit some road bumps and let her impulses distract her, but we’ve all been there. The Christmas/Hanukkah episode meant a lot to me for so many reasons. When I was a kid, I learned about Passover from a cartoon called Rugrats, and it really stuck with me. I was excited to potentially teach people the story of Hanukkah. I’ve actually had a teacher tweet at me saying she’s using the scene in her classroom.”
On Playing Sloane
‘Family Guy’ Mentioned Her
Do you want to know how big her AT&T commercials were? For one thing, Lily was even mentioned in Family Guy! In one scene, Peter wants to track down attractive commercial stars. When he asks his wife for their list of good-looking commercial stars, Lois tells him that she left it on the fridge!
‘Family Guy’ Mentioned Her
First Time On TV
Before the Vayntrub family made its way to the United States, they first had to stop in Austria and then Italy. While in Italy, they had to wait for approval and their visas so that they could stay in the United States. During their time there, they were interviewed for a news segment and asked about their origins and plans. The photo below shows little Milana and her dad on television!
First Time On TV
His Little Girl
Ever since she was little, Mila has always been close to her parents. This is especially true for her dad. The two of them even went on a holiday, which proved to be a pivotal moment in her life. This was when she met Syrian refugees and learned more about the struggles that they were facing.
His Little Girl
Using Her Social Media Accounts
We all know that she is a funny lady, but one of the biggest things in her life is serious. She is passionate about her organization. If you check out her Twitter page, you are not only going to find things about acting and comedy. She tends to post about articles and videos about the organization as well. She knows that it is important to utilize social media to let the world know about #CantDoNothing.
Using Her Social Media Accounts
Her Presence On Social Media
Do you want to know what she has to say about using social media for the cause? She said, “I took to social media to spread the Can’t Do Nothing word, because the truth is if I see a burger, I want a burger. If I see a kitten, I want to pet a kitten. My hope is that if you see someone doing good, you might want to do some good, too. And if we inspire each other, we can create a ripple effect of good.”
Her Presence On Social Media
Her Most Recent Role
One of her most recent projects was Marvel’s New Warriors. Milana was thrilled to have the opportunity to play Squirrel Girl, but it looks like the public was even more excited than her! Little girls started to dress up like the character. As a matter of fact, even men donned the same costume. The people who attended Comic-Con were thrilled when Milana arrived for the Q&A sessions.
Her Most Recent Role
Dropping Out Of High School
But why did Milana drop out of high school anyway? She explained, “I wanted to be an artist. I loved painting, photo-editing, and graphic design. Like at a lot of public schools, the arts program was limited, but my local community college had amazing teachers with a boatload of creative courses. I didn’t like high school, I wanted more diversity, flexibility, and freedom. I got in trouble for talking, disagreeing with teachers, and cheating on tests pretty regularly. But the strongest driving force was probably that my boyfriend at the time had dropped out and I thought he was the smartest, coolest, hottest and best person in the world. So the most real answer is a boy.”
Dropping Out Of High School
How She Landed The Role Of Lily
During an interview, she had the chance to talk about how she landed the AT&T commercial. She said, “Just your old run-of-the-mill audition. Nobody had any plans of it being a campaign. We shot the first one in November of 2013, and it started airing in December. When I was asked to come back to shoot more, I assumed it was my last time every time… but always hoped it wasn’t.”
How She Landed The Role Of Lily
Talking To Dopeness
When Milana spoke to Dopeness magazine, she posed for a photo shoot that was as vivid as she is on the inside. She gave witty yet candid answers to questions pertaining to her personal life and career. On these topics, she said, “Yeah, I always thought I’d be an actress because I got into it really young. When I was five, I was already doing commercials, and by the twelve, I was awkward, chubby, and wanted out. The insecurities that come with being a teenager made me think that I wasn’t good enough or that a career in entertainment was unrealistic. It wasn’t until college that I rediscovered how much I loved acting, and it’s also how I made my closest friends.”
Talking To Dopeness
How The Audition Went
But how did the audition for the role of Lily go? Milana recalled, “Yeah. I was actually having a bad day. I don’t remember why, but I was crying earlier and then had to sit in a waiting room for another 45 minutes. Maybe I did well because I didn’t have any fucks to give? (laughs) But I improvised a lot, and eventually, they asked me to come back and read with a bunch of different guys to make sure we work well together. We made one commercial that did well, and they kept asking me to come back. It’s been one of the luckiest experiences of my life.”
How The Audition Went
The Best AT&T Moment
According to Milana, her favorite AT&T scene has to be the one that had Gordon Ramsay in it. She shared, “Working with Gordon Ramsey was hilarious. The guy had a really hard time not dropping F-bombs. This may be bad for his image, but he’s actually a lovely human being.” It is not easy to believe this, but we will have to take her word for it! She seems to have a knack for getting along with everyone.
The Best AT&T Moment
She Nearly Gave Up
At one point in her teenage years, she was starting to think about dropping acting altogether. Back then, she was getting many minor roles but not many big ones. When it comes to this, she recounted, “I just kind of stopped for a while because I didn’t think I wanted to do it. I stopped around middle school and high school because I remember thinking, ‘I should probably focus on something more realistic.’”
She Nearly Gave Up
Having Matt Damon On Her Show
Milana Vayntrub wrote and appeared in a YouTube series known as ‘Let’s Talk about Something More Interesting.’ She was accompanied by Stevie Nelson, her friend. Each episode goes on for 3 minutes or so and features a famous guest star. The photo below shows the 2013 episode that had Matt Damon. In that episode, they talked about the global water crisis and made us laugh while at it!
Having Matt Damon On Her Show