On this week’s DIVA Dating Digest, we take a look at one of the most iconic lesbian relationships in Hollywood
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
If you think about Hollywood lesbian royalty, the chances are you’ll think of Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner. Not only have the pair been together for over 50 years, but they’ve also racked up some seriously impressive achievements in both their individual and joint careers.
Lily Tomlin is one of the biggest names in comedy and has starred in everything from Grace And Frankie to Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. She’s received Emmys, Tonys, Grammys, and Lifetime Achievement Awards for her work.
Lily’s other half, the powerhouse Jane Wagner, is also a force to be reckoned with. The director and writer has gained acclaim for works such as The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life In The Universe.
Together, the pair have been unstoppable over five decades. But how did they meet?
March 1971: The pair meet through a friend
Lily and Jane’s creative and romantic relationship began in the early 1970s after they were introduced by a friend. In an interview with Variety, the pair gushed about their adorable meet cute.
“A friend brought her to my hotel room,” Lily explained. “And 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.”
Not long after their first encounter, the pair had their first date, beginning their decades-long love story.
1975: Lily Tomlin turns down a TIME cover story about their relationship
In an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Lily shared her reasons for not starring on the cover of TIME magazine. Despite openly living together, Lily said that she feared that appearing on the cover together would be tokenised. “I just decided that I wasn’t going to play their game,” she continued. “I wanted to be recognized for my performance.”
Two years later, in 1977, Lily did appear on the cover of TIME magazine for her talent, and was even hailed as the “New Queen Of Comedy”.
1970s: The couple deal with homophobia in their work
On an episode of The Rosie Show, Lily revealed the struggles that the pair encountered while working together in the seventies. “When Jane and I were doing specials, one of our writers, who was a really terrific person, said to me, ‘I think you and Jane should come to work together in separate cars,'” Lily said.
1985: Lily and Jane work together on a hit Broadway production
The powerhouse couple collaborated on their popular show The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life In The Universe in 1985. The one-woman show starring Lily explored 12 unique characters and was even adapted into a film in 1991. Lily won a Tony for her performance in 1986 for best actress in a play.
April 2013: Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner release An Apology To Elephants
Nearly 20 years after their hit play, the pair were still firm creative partners as well as romantic ones. In 2013 they released their documentary An Apology To Elephants which explored the abuse and brutal treatment of elephants.
December 2013: The happy couple get married
After 42 glorious years together, Lily and Jane were finally able to tie the knot after the legalisation of same-sex marriage. They had an intimate ceremony on New Year’s Eve at a friend’s house.
Lily told PEOPLE magazine: “It was sweet. We didn’t have any rings, so I went into our jewellery and was digging out rings.”
January 2017: Lily thanks Jane in a SAG Awards speech
After being presented with her Screen Actors Guild lifetime achievement award by none other than her 9 To 5 costars Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda, Lily gave a special shout-out to her wife.
“My partner, writer Jane Wagner, is the one on whose shoulders I stand the tallest,” she said in her moving speech.
She also said: “Live your life so that when you’re being honoured for your achievements, the people called upon to make laudatory remarks can feel reasonably honest about their comments.”
DIVA magazine celebrates 30 years in print in 2024. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.
