While we often think of television personalities as sitcom or reality show stars, one of the most
recognizable TV faces out there is Lily, aka the woman from the AT&T commercials.
But who is she? This is the truth about Milana Vayntrub, the actress who plays Lily.
Born in Uzbekistan, Milana Vayntrub was just 2 years
old when her family moved to Los Angeles in 1989.
"I grew up here. I grew up in L.A."
The actress told NBC News,
"There was a lot of discrimination against the Jews at that time. Both my parents were born
[in Uzbekistan] but we were considered outsiders. We had some family in LA who
offered to help us get there. So when they got the chance to leave, my parents took it."
Vayntrub was later inspired to help Syrian refugees through Can't Do Nothing,
an organization she started that raises money for refugee relief.
"I don't really know what I'm going to do but I can't do nothing."
The organization's Facebook page still exists, although it hasn't been updated in years.
Lexi Shereshewsky, the executive director of The Syria Fund, told NBC News in 2016:
"It's been a tremendous help to us. It's raised thousands of dollars in donations
for our organization. And it's brought in a whole new community of people willing to get involved."
The public's obsession with Lily took a nasty turn when people began to circulate old photos
and sharing them as memes, which generated some lewd comments that distressed the actor.
In an August 2020 Instagram livestream, Vayntrub spoke about the harassment:
"Maybe it just has to do with being a person on the internet, or maybe it's specific to
being a woman on the internet. But all of these comments... it hurts my feelings."
"I'm hurting and it's bringing up, like, a lot of feelings of sexual assault."
Things got so out of control that AT&T had to issue a statement, writing,
"We will not tolerate the inappropriate comments and harassment of Milana Vayntrub [...] We have
disabled or deleted these comments on our social content that includes Lily and we will continue to
fight to support her and our values, which appreciate and respect all women."
Growing up in the acting industry was a unique experience for Vayntrub,
who was starstruck by some of the famous people she met at work. The actor explained to Esquire,
"I was on the first season of 'ER.' I played Tatiana, a little Russian girl with AIDS who
Julianna Margulies tried to adopt. 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.'"
While Clooney never did go over to Vayntrub's house, she does have
good memories of interacting with the star on set, saying,
"I hope to reunite with him one day."
Milana Vayntrub's acting skills are obvious to anyone who has ever seen her
in an AT&T commercial or anything else she's been in, but what many don't know
is that she also has some other pretty impressive talents hidden up her sleeve,
such as her directing skills. Vayntrub wrote in the caption of a 2020 Instagram post,
"It has come to attention that you don't know anything about me.
Hi. I'm Milana and I've been directing for about 7 years. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
The caption accompanied a video of her on the set of an AT&T commercial which she directed and
acted in. Other directing credits include the video Let's Talk About Something More
Interesting and an episode for CollegeHumor Originals. Vayntrub also has a handful of
writing credits, including several episodes for CollegeHumor Originals and Robot Chicken.
As if acting, directing, and writing weren't enough to keep a person busy,
Milana Vayntrub has also been involved in some political campaigning. Not only
has Vayntrub highlighted a lot of political and social issues on her Instagram account,
such as the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraging people to vote by mail, but she also
endorsed Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia's 2021 Senate runoff race.
In an Instagram post, Vayntrub also praised the work of politician and activist Stacey Abrams,
revealing that she did some work for Abrams when she ran for governor in Georgia.
Vayntrub wrote in the Instagram caption:
"I got to help a little on Stacey Abrams gubernatorial race in 2018 and knew I was in
the presence of greatness. At the time she had registered over 150,000 new voters in Georgia.
Today, she's registered of [sic] 800,000! Our country owes this woman everything."
If you've paid attention to AT&T commercials over the years, you may have noticed that
the woman in them shows less of herself these days. This was a deliberate decision
made by Milana Vayntrub after all of the harassment she faced about her appearance.
Since she's also directing the commercials, she has final say over how the promos look.
As noted by the Independent, that means that her character now stands behind a counter.
Vayntrub opened up about the decision in a March 2021 tweet, writing,
"Been getting a lot of 'why are they placing her body like that in those ads?' Well, I direct the
ads. I place myself like that. And it's because of the thousands of unwelcome comments I receive
about my body. You've lost the privilege of looking at it until I feel safe again."
Vayntrub has voiced the superhero Squirrel Girl in a number of animated productions,
including Marvel Rising: Initiation, Marvel Rising: Chasing Ghosts, and Marvel Rising:
Heart of Iron. In addition to super strength and some squirrel-esque features — including a
bushy tail — she can speak with squirrels and is skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
Vayntrub loves voicing the character, telling Showbiz Junkies that they have a lot in common.
According to Vayntrub, both she and the character she voices are into, quote,
"teamwork, girl power, [and] squirrels," making it a match made in heaven.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus,
even more List videos about your favorite celebrities are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.