More than Just Lily From AT&T: Meet The Woman Blowing Up the Internet

Most people, when they get to a commercial break, tend to switch between channels to see what’s running on other media. However, when it’s the new AT&T commercial, your attention is bound to be drawn. Especially any of the famous sequels starring Lily Adams, the delightful store manager who manages to make phone plans amusing and engaging. 

Vayntrub’s true persona is similar to that of her famous on-screen counterpart in several respects. Lily, the store manager, is lovable, and she has a lot more depth in comparison to other advertising characters. We’ve gotten to know Lily very well during the time she’s been featured in AT&T ads.

It’s something you’d never guess, though, because Vayntrub is responsible for much of Lily’s appeal. With an expectant humor and allure, the actress portrays her as sweet and approachable. She even looks at home in the brilliantly painted storefronts, which serve as her backdrops.

In one of the most famous commercials, entitled, “Need The Receipts?” Lily speaks in hushed tones in a bid not to disturb a sleeping infant. In another, she hysterically fails to remember Grant Hill, an ex-basketballer. Both ads are hilariously executed.

Many people find it difficult to imagine the ads being as popular if it weren’t for Vayntrub at the helm. Vayntrub’s interactions with usually difficult to handle company executives are bound to crack you up. When these customers try to be tough, Lily responds by offering them irresistible deals. 

First and foremost, she has an extraordinary name. Her full name is Milana Aleksandrovna Vayntrub. And she was born in the former Socialist Republic, which is now known as the Republic of Uzbekistan. 

Since Vayntrub is of Jewish heritage, her and her family have faced a lot of sacrilegious attacks in Uzbekistan. As a result, they agreed to seek refuge in the United States due to their country’s political stance. 

Surprisingly, the former asylum-seeker went on to have a flourishing acting career. Vayntrub initially emerged in an advertisement at the age of five-years-old, which ironically happened to be for a telecommunications company.

Vayntrub then went on to work on the children’s program Lizzie McGuire, where she honed her skills. She did, after all, play the role of a young girl who incessantly burped when she thought that no one was watching.

Even though Vayntrub seemed to be having a lucrative start to life as an actress, you’d be surprised to know she was on the verge of abandoning acting as a profession. She recalls feeling the desire to concentrate on something more practical. 

As a result, Vayntrub spent her adolescent years concentrating on her education. She also did a decent job: she excelled in her proficiency tests earlier than the norm and pursued a university education instead. 

As a result, Vayntrub did not relinquish her life as an actress but rather did it differently than she initially began. As opposed to TV, she instead focused on honing her improv abilities. 

Like many before her, Vayntrub took her improv technique to YouTube, where she ended up becoming a YouTube sensation as the host of “Live Prude Girls.” 

If you think that we’re exaggerating, we should probably point you to an episode of the program called “Let’s Talk About Something More” in Vayntrub’s Youtube series. That particular episode involved her and a second young lady, sitting beside their guest as they politely taunted them.

The new career path then brought Vayntrub into the worlds of television and film. She landed a lot of pieces, many of which were minor. She portrayed a lady in a subway who met face to face with rats in the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters. 

Now, let’s talk about Vayntrub’s roles in Love on Netflix. This was a production by Judd Apatow in which she portrayed the protagonist’s evil ex. This was a more significant role. 

Oh Yes! In the 2016-17 TV season, This Is Us, which had just rocked the television scene, was the highest-rated new program. In the Pearson family tale, Vayntrub was cast as a woman named Sloane Sandburg. 

Other Space, a science fiction comedy that aired on Yahoo! Screen, marked one more top-notch project for the actress. Vayntrub plays an incompetent starship sailor in the film. 

Have you thought of another place where you might have spotted Milana Vayntrub? Vayntrub’s name was linked to a role that several actresses were interested in during 2017. 

This is because the venture re-emerged under another name. Vayntrub provided the voice of Squirrel Girl in Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors. 

Moving forward, Vayntrub made her first public entrance in the television series Threads. The series takes place in the online chat room realm. 

Vayntrub has also returned back to animation by agreeing to voice act in Dallas & Robo. Kat Dennings and John Cena headlined in this adult-targeted story about space truckers. It was available for premium viewing on YouTube. 

Despite a varied and fascinating career thus far, Vayntrub is perhaps best known for her role as the beloved Lily in the AT&T commercials. 

Of course, Valerie Vargas, AT&T advertising vice president, clarified why the initial proposal was changed back in 2016 during a magazine interview. 

Milana’s Lily sits well with viewers because she performs her as a multi-faceted character in a way that’s extraordinary for commercials, claims Hank Perlman. He is a Director for the Hungry Man agency that did the shoot for a large number of the commercials.

The ad series was so captivating that Amy Schumer, a notable actress and comedian, felt it was worth parodying. Vayntrub, on the other hand, was not impressed with Schumer’s sketch. 

Since Vayntrub believed Schumer just saw her as a piece of window dressing, she started in an interview that she thought the character was presented as a reinforcement that was only there to lure men. 

According to Vayntrub, her character is an efficient store manager, handling her role well, and she’s proud of the way Lily has been depicted. She adds that in the event anyone actually views Lily as simply a prop utilized to attract males, then she believes they should reconsider how they watch women on television. 

Vayntrub’s biggest passion: advocacy, reflects her ability to talk about what’s on her mind openly. Refugees are a cause dear to her heart, and she founded the “Can’t Do Nothing” campaign to support those who are less fortunate.

Vayntrub launched the campaign at the beginning of 2016 with the documentary Milana Can’t Do Nothing. The film utilized Vayntrub’s own story as a prism through which to examine the issues that refugees face. 

Surprisingly, Vayntrub’s not-for-profit group seems to be achieving results by collaborating with other organizations. One of the groups that Can’t Do Nothing collaborates with is named The Syria Fund, which has partnered with them to construct classrooms, recruit educators, develop music and art projects, and a scope of other programs, as Vayntrub explained in an interview. 

Following that, Vayntrub added why she thought her campaign was necessary. She goes on to mention that people, particularly her generation, are truly coming around to accepting their global obligation. She thinks the internet plays a big part in that. 

The talented actress says that yes, she thinks entertainment and advocacy go very much hand in hand, the actress added. However, she doesn’t believe an entertainer has to also be on the campaign route for change. 

While Vayntrub may have been concerned that her outwardness will jeopardize her future, AT&T is on her side. Milana’s enthusiasm for her cause is simply remarkable, Vargas said. 

According to Vayntrub, she felt it necessary to help in whatever way she could. She believes It’s arrogant of her to think she can change anyone’s thought pattern but says she can accomplish anything. 

Vayntrub has no intention of slowing down. “Maybe this will be the downfall of my career if people stop following me and studios don’t want to be involved with someone this controversial – not that I am controversial in any way.”

Vayntrub’s career does not seem to have been hampered by her activism. Back in 2016, she did, in reality, broaden her horizons. That’s why she took a turn behind the scenes as the director of an advertising shoot. 

When Vayntrub was questioned about how she managed to articulate herself in so many different ways, she had an explanation. She said they’re all very different parts of her brain. 

Vayntrub clarified that she didn’t think she’d be able to find a job that didn’t need her to do any improv because that was her most powerful ability.

Despite this, the adaptable actress is something more than a face in a commercial. She performed a stand-up routine at a comedy festival in the Big Apple just before Covid hit, showcasing her comedic abilities. 

You might not know standup comedian and actress Stephanie Courtney by her name alone, but we’re sure you definitely know her by her TV persona, Flo, from the Progressive Insurance commercials!

In 2007 Progressive Insurance’s brand recognition was somewhere between being mistaken for soup, or nothing at all. The company needed an identity and, Progressive’s ad agency Arnold Worldwide, came up with the concept of the superstore.

In a time where iconic brand mascots seem to be a thing of the past, the life-spans of this type of character are short to nonexistent. Flo is in a bracket all on her own. In the decade plus since her debut, Progressive’s business has more than doubled!

Flo’s very calculated first venture out of the superstore was in a dream sequence of a customer and avid outdoorsman called “Best Day.”

In terms of Flo’s longevity, the key has been Progressive’s constant attention to detail when it comes to balancing Flo with a collection of strong side characters. Strong enough to stand on their own, but not too strong that they overload the brand’s star.

Born and raised in upstate, New York Stephanie Courtney is a stand-up comedian. Who from a very young age said she always knew she wanted to be an actress.

Courtney is definitely no stranger to the spotlight! Courtney is known for her recurring roles on several television series, including the voices of Renee the Receptionist and Joy Peters on Cartoon Network’s (Adult Swim) comedy, Tom Goes The Mayor, and Marge- a switchboard operator on AMC’s drama, Mad Men.

Not only has Courtney scored some reoccurring roles on popular sitcoms, she has also been on the big screen as well!

With a successful run this long we think it’s safe to say Flo is here to stay. But with that being said do we think there is enough to keep a story line going for her and her “co-workers”, say, the next ten years?

For years, State Farm has reached TV viewers with its star-filled commercials. From Chris Paul, Patrick Mahomes, Drake, Aaron Rodgers, to Alfonso Ribeiro, these celebs have all lent their faces to the insurance company’s kitschy advertisements.

In his now-famous 2011 debut, Jake from State Farm helps a married man with filing a claim over the phone at a very late hour. The man’s wife comes down the stairs believing she’s caught her husband cheating,  she grabs the phone and demands to know what Jake is wearing.

Believe it or not the original man cast as Jake from State Farm is Jake Stone, an actual State Farm insurance agent! Jake initially worked for State Farm out of Bloomington, Illinois. In March of 2011, Jake’s roommate- also a fellow State Farm employee, mentioned a casting call for the company’s upcoming commericals.

Stone’s newfound popularity from the State Farm commercial came with the price tag of some unsavory gossip. In October of 2015, there was a false report that Jake from State Farm was murdered and the culprit was his wife.

In 2020, State Farm decided to revived the ever popular Jake from State Farm charter. With this revival the role of Jake was re-cast by professional actor Kevin Miles.

Although the world was being introduced to a new Jake from State Farm the insurance company wanted to connect the two world of “original Jake from State Farm” to “Jake from State Farm 2.0”

Some tv viewers have raised the question of why the original Jake was re-cast for the new campaign. Patty Morris, State Farm’s assistant Vice President of marketing and brand, explains that an actual company employee would not have been a right fit for the job.