Lily Tomlin Has Been With Her Wife Jane Wagner For Over 50 Years
We have loved Lily Tomlin for decades. The charming actor and comedian has served hit after hit ever since her big break in 1975, starring in "Nashville." Ever humble, Tomlin discussed her career with Vanity Fair and downplayed how funny she is. "Well I didn't think of myself as doing comedy," she began. "I thought of it as just representing life."
She's done a stellar job at representing life all along the way. She starred alongside our gals Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda in "9 to 5," as well as "Grace and Frankie." Tomlin and Fonda are close friends, which is kind of obvious judging from their on-screen chemistry. And both Tomlin and Fonda adore Parton, so the triple-threat got a reunion on "Grace and Frankie." And even in 2023, Tomlin joined forces with Fonda, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno in the completely original film "80 for Brady," starring Tom Brady himself. They went so far as to say that Brady was a "natural" and "marvelous" actor on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." But what we're really interested in here is Tomlin's personal life. The comedian has been in a long term relationship with wife Jane Wagner and their story is one for the ages.
Lily Tomlin is the comedian while Jane Wagner is the writer
Lily Tomlin met writer Jane Wagner back in the early 1970s. Wagner had written the PBS teleplay "J.T." and Tomlin wanted to meet her to get her thoughts on character development for one of her own projects. "A friend brought her to my hotel room," Tomlin told Variety. "I tell you, in two minutes, I fell in love with her. She had on hot pants, stretchy boots that went up to her knee, and a little backpack. I don't know what it was, but I was in love." Work pulled Tomlin away to Chicago, but she returned to New York as quickly as she could. "I called Jane immediately, and I said, 'Look, I don't have much time, but I have to see you.' She agreed to see me, and we had our first date," Tomlin added.
What unfolded wasn't just a love story. The two became remarkable collaborators and supporters of the other's work. "It was an ecstatic time when we found each other," Wagner told Variety, "aesthetically — and in every other way."
The two became dynamic. Wagner often wrote things specifically for Tomlin. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Tomlin spoke about acting in her 1985 Broadway hit, "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe." Tomlin said, "My partner, Jane Wagner, wrote it. That's how it came to me," and Tomlin laughed, adding that her success on Broadway legitimized her.
Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner got married after 42 years together
Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner got married early in 2014, after being together for 42 years, according to People. Liz Smith wrote of the nuptials, "[M]y longtime friends, Lily Tomlin and her love, the writer Jane Wagner, got married on the eve of 2014. ... My wish is that their happiness will be as great as their combined talents." Indeed.
In an earlier publication by People, Tomlin spoke about the combined power of their craft and relationship. "We share similar feelings about people and about the world," she said. "She's able to verbalize it and I'm able to physicalize it. She writes satirically but tenderly, and she loves farce and black comedy and broad slapstick." Tomlin further added, When you put all this together and make an audience laugh and be moved, it's just glorious.'"
The two obviously give each other a lot of support. Speaking of Tomlin's endless encouragement, Wagner told Variety, "I wish every writer could have that." She added, "It's what we all yearn for ... Acceptance and appreciation." It seems like Tomlin and Wagner have found the secret to lasting happiness and solid careers!