Meet Lily from AT&T: The Person Who Never Expected To Blow Up The Internet

The AT&T commercials starring Lily Adams are always a delight. As the charismatic store manager, she makes phone plans fun and seems like she’s doing the viewers a favor by being in the commercials.

Milana Vayntrub, the actress who plays Lily in AT&T’s most popular commercials, is an interesting person. She’s quirky, fun, and down-to-earth—much like the character that has made her famous. We have had the pleasure of getting to know Lily through AT&T commercials, and we feel like we know her well.

Lily is an intensely compelling character. She’s sweet but not saccharine; she’s approachable without being cloying. Because of actress Milana Vayntrub’s strong presence, the audience focuses on her instead of the brightly painted storefronts in which she appears.

One of her most famous AT&T commercials– “Need The Receipts?” sees Lily speak in hushed tones attempting not to wake a sleeping infant. In another, she reacts hysterically to not remembering Grant Hill, an ex-basketball player. Both ads are hilariously executed.

Lily’s charismatic personality and hilarious interactions with difficult customers make her one of the most engaging personalities in advertising. Her irresistible deals and priceless reactions when customers try to be tough make her ads surefire hits.

She was born in the Republic of Uzbekistan, a former Socialist Republic, and Milana Vayntrub’s name is just as extraordinary as she is. Born Milana Aleksandrovna Vayntrub, she moved to the United States and became a television actress. She is funny and charming and has starred in many commercials.

Being of Jewish descent caused the Vayntrub family to face religious backlash in Uzbekistan. As a result, she and her family agreed they needed to seek refuge in the United States to avoid such incidents.

Vayntrub’s acting career took off after she appeared in a popular commercial at the age of five. She quickly went on to appear in numerous films and television shows.

Vayntrub continued her career on the children’s program Lizzie McGuire, where she played the part of a young girl who burped nonstop when she thought no one was watching. The experience helped her hone her skills, as she was able to play someone both silly and sincere simultaneously.

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.