In July 2017, Milana Vayntrub was cast as Marvel superhero Squirrel Girl in the new
Freeform comedy series, New Warriors.
And while you might not recognize the actress's name, her face should be familiar.
From TV roles to web series, plus a certain gig with AT&T, here are all the places you've
previously seen future Squirrel Girl Milana Vayntrub.
"Drop the money, scuzz-bucket, or face the wrath of Squirrel Girl!"
A start on television
Vayntrub landed her first memorable TV role as a child, playing an HIV-positive Russian
girl named Tatiana on the classic hospital drama ER in 1995.
Carol, played by future Good Wife star Julianna Margulies, wanted to adopt the girl, but it
didn't work out, and Vayntrub left the show after three episodes.
From there, she went on to small roles in Days of our Lives and Lizzie McGuire — but
once the Internet came into play, things got more interesting.
"How do you like, h-how do you, H-h-how do you like them apples?"
"Uh."
An online star
Milana Vayntrub's most famous work online came as the costar of the internet series,
"Let's Talk About Something More Interesting."
Along with fellow actress Stevie Nelson, the 2011 series featured Vayntrub conducting intentionally
terrible interviews with celebrities like Matt Damon.
"Hi, hey."
This was also when Vayntrub started appearing in College Humor projects, including the "Jake
and Amir" series, as well as a famous public service announcement about Bitchy Resting
Face.
"That might just be her bitchface, and that’s okay!"
AT&T
In 2013, Milana Vayntrub scored the role that would define her career for years to come:
Lily, the friendly and patient wireless store clerk in a popular series of commercials for
AT&T.
Lily is a little awkward, lightly sarcastic, and occasionally flirtatious.
She's more girl next door than spokesmodel, like someone you might actually encounter
working in an AT&T store…well, if you were lucky.
As Lily, Vayntrub has shared scenes with regular wireless customers, as well as celebrities
including Gordon Ramsay and James Van Der Beek — and her natural charisma was surely
the key to the campaign's long run.
"You should negotiate more stuff, you're pretty good at it."
Key and Peele
In a role as different from her perky AT&T persona as possible, Vayntrub made a mostly
silent but highly memorable appearance on the 2013 Halloween episode of Comedy Central's
sketch series Key and Peele.
She's nearly unrecognizable asthe gorgeous vampire girl hanging on the arm of Jordan
Peele's gothic lord of the undead, who gets called out by a new member of the vampire
gang for making mealtime weird.
"I'm just saying, y'all over here licking and hissing and whatnot.
If we gon' eat, then let's eat, damn."
Although if you stick around to see the vampires get a makeover at the end of the sketch, Vayntrub
looks a little bit more like herself.
House of Lies
In 2014, Vayntrub appeared in the Showtime series House of Lies, in which she plays Christy,
a consulting firm employee who's both fired and arrested after stabbing her boss Monica
Talbot, played by Dawn Olivieri.
Although she only appears in two episodes, her memorable performance showcased yet another
very different kind of character from the one she played in those AT&T ads.
Silicon Valley
You also might have spotted Vayntrub on HBO's Silicon Valley.
Her character, Tara, is the girlfriend of Martin Starr's cynical Bertram Gilfoyle — and
like Bertram, Tara is a practicing LaVeyan Satanist.
Other Space
Created by Ghostbusters director Paul Feig, this 2015 series was part of the launch of
Yahoo's streaming service, Yahoo Screen.
Vayntrub starred as Tina Shukshin, a flighty and unpredictable starship navigator.
Unfortunately, Yahoo!
Screen failed to generate profits for the struggling company, and the whole thing was
shut down in early 2016.
"That's the spirit."
Love
Vayntrub also had a crucial if short-lived role in the first two episodes of Love, the
Netflix original series.
She plays Natalie, whose messy breakup with Gus, played by Paul Rust, sets the events
of the story in motion that lead him to a happier, healthier relationship.
Can't Do Nothing
Before she was an actress, Milana Vayntrub was actually a refugee, having fled the USSR
with her parents in the 1980s.
"The Soviet Union is finally allowing thousands of Jews to emigrate flee their lives of religious
persecution."
With her status as a celebrity, Vayntrub found herself in a position to help other refugees
around the world.
In 2016 she founded Can't Do Nothing, a charity dedicated to helping displaced people from
Syria and elsewhere.
Amid a turbulent presidential election in which the refugee crisis was an ongoing issue,
it made news that "the AT&T girl" was involved on a personal level.
This Is Us
Milana Vayntrub's most visible role to date?
It's her eight-episode arc on the massively successful NBC drama This Is Us.
She played Sloane Sandburg, a playwright and romantic interest for Justin Hartley's Kevin
Pearson.
Sadly, because the show is essentially a soap opera, their relationship ended in dramatic
fashion — as did Vayntrub's work on the show.
"It's the right thing to do."
But high-profile guest roles like this one lead to bigger things, and it's not surprising
to see Milana Vayntrub move on to New Warriors.
Sure, right now it feels like she'll always be Lily from those AT&T commercials — but
soon, Squirrel Girl might be the reason why everyone knows Vayntrub's name.
Thanks for watching!
Click the Looper icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!