Tina Fey shares how her daughters influenced the new 'Mean Girls' movie
In the 20 years between the premiere of the original "Mean Girls" movie and the premiere of the new "Mean Girls" musical movie, Tina Fey's life completely changed: she became a mom.
Fey has two daughters — Alice and Penelope — who she shares with husband Jeff Richmond, an Emmy-winning composer and producer.
At the red carpet premiere, Fey told ET that her daughters had a hand in some of the decisions she made about the new movie: “Sometimes I would run things by the kids, like casting, or you know, like [asking], ‘Should the burn book stay a book, or should it be a private Instagram account?’ And they’re like, ‘No, it’s a book, it’s a book.’”
Alice Zenobia Richmond, 19
Fey's oldest daughter, Alice Zenobia Richmond, was born Sept. 10, 2005.
Alice got the chance to act in an episode of "30 Rock" when she was 7 years old.
In a flashback during the wedding of Fey's Liz Lemon and James Marsden’s Criss Chross, Alice portrayed Lemon as a 7-year-old flower girl, complete with her trademark eyeroll.
Alice continued to exhibit her creative side in 2020 during COVID quarantine.
In a virtual appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight Show: At Home Edition," Fey discussed the ways that Alice was helping the family pass the time.
“My older daughter, Alice, is 14 now, and … she was saying we should do theme dinners. We did one the other night, and it was an airplane-themed dinner,” Fey said.
Alice roped her then 8-year-old sister into dressing up as a flight attendant, and the girls gave a safety speech, strapped magazines to the back of chairs and served dinner on lap trays.
“Alice was actually kind of helping her little sister get ready for it, and the little sister is so pumped when her big sister pays attention to her at all. She was pumped!”
Penelope Athena Richmond, 12
Even though Fey wanted to have a second child, the decision to pursue a pregnancy at the age of 40 was not an easy one for her.
In her memoir, "Bossypants," Fey wrote, "I went for my annual checkup and, tired of carrying this anxiety around, burst into tears the moment [my doctor] said hello. I laid it all out for her, and the main thing I took from our conversation was the kind of simple observation that only an impartial third party can provide: ‘Either way, everything will be fine.’"
Her second daughter, Penelope Athena Richmond, was born Aug. 10, 2011.
Since Fey had experience with one daughter, she thought raising a second would be a piece of cake. But as she revealed on an appearance at “The Late Show with David Letterman,” she was very wrong.
“The little one is such a … she might be a sociopath,” Fey confessed about then 2-year-old Penelope.
“I was giving her a bath one night, and she was overtired — in her defense — and I said, ‘OK, bath time over,’” she recalled. But it wasn’t OK with Penelope. “She got real mad that I took her out of the bath. ... She looked me square in the eyes, and with two tiny little hands, choked me.”
“It’s so funny because they’re not strong enough to kill you,” she said with a smile. “Not yet. Try again in a couple of years, Penelope!”
Penelope continued to have a commanding presence as she grew into an actress. She played Busy Philipps' daughter in "Girls5eva," a show Fey produced for Peacock.
In 2021, Fey admitted to Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager that she had one stage mom moment that she wasn't very proud of. The show was trying to wrap filming before lunch but Penelope's energy was dragging.
"Give her a Snickers!" Fey joked. "It's like the worst kind of stage mom thing to be like, 'Give 'em a Red Bull!' But I didn't give her a Red Bull. Just a Snickers."
During the same visit to Studio 1A, Fey told Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb the difference between raising your first child and your second child.
"It is funny when you have your first kid, you’re like, ‘Oh absolutely not.’ You’re so strict," she said. "And then when you have your second kid you’re like, ‘what do you want? You wanna get a tattoo? Let’s do it.’”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
