Remember Lily Adams from the AT&T commercials? What happened to her?
Actress Milana Vayntrub inhabited the role of the perky store manager always there to answer your questions. She played her perfectly in the ads. There to lend a hand but with a subtle, sly sense of humor percolating below the surface.
What started out as a one-off commercial turned into a three-year run. Within the last 5-10 years, how many commercial characters do you actually recall? She’s definitely one of them.
Watch her Instagram (@mintmilana) story naked in bed.
Again, where’s the AT&T girl?
Right under your nose.
Vayntrub ended up as Sloane Sandburg in NBC’s This is Us. It sounds like of those emotional dramas.
NBC describes the show as:
A provocative ensemble drama, This Is Us follows the stories of a family at different stages in their lives. The emotionally honest, intergenerational drama explores an array of topics including marriage, abortion, racial identity, body image, the challenges of transracial adoption, and hurdles of parenting in a way that creates an open dialogue.
That’s pretty PR-ish. Its initial season received good reviews. NBC must believe in it since they picked it up for two more seasons.
I might watch it based on what I’ve read and seen about it. My testosterone level may drop doing so, but then, I’m so manly, what do I care. My chest hairs are growing through the holes in my shirt as we speak.
What’s most interesting is the career arc of Vayntrub. Imagine an actress, meant only to appear in one cell phone commercial, transforming into a potential Emmy-award winning star. Think of Tina Fey or Bob Odenkirk shilling phones early in their career and where they ended up today. That could be Milana Vayntrub.
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Vayntrub immigrated to the United States at age two. Her journey to Hollywood looked like a college kid’s summer vacation, making her way through the Soviet Union, Austria and Italy. Except her family escaped due to religious persecution and a lack of job opportunities, not because of a backpacking adventure.
That’s Milana as a baby. I wonder what her first joke was.
Vayntrub reached Hollywood at age five and the toy company Mattel put her in Barbie commercials. Fast forward to her graduating from UC San Diego with a communications degree.
Before This is Us, Vayntrub had bit parts in House of Lies, Silicon Valley and Key and Peele. Watch her as the sexy vampire in the “Sexy Vampires” sketch. She’s the one to the right of Peele.
She also has a credit for Ghostbusters as “Subway Rat Woman.” I feel like she could’ve dropped the mic right there. Subway Rat Woman. When she read for the part, do you think she said, “I was BORN to play ‘Subway Rat Woman’.”
Vayntrub’s also quick-witted and funny as hell. She joined Upright Citizens Brigade, the sketch comedy group started by Amy Poehler (among others). Vayntrub’s at the Los Angeles location and you can catch her bi-weekly show. Report back to me how it goes.
She used to have a YouTube channel, “Live Prude Girls,” with actress Stevie Nelson. Sadly that’s no longer active. The two made a great team. The Comic Con interview that got them kicked out for asking an “inappropriate” question gives an idea of their talents.
Also, she yells nuts in this video. Hehe.
Probably the most notoriety Vayntrub’s received so far is for her activism. A year ago, she filmed a mini-documentary, “Milana Can’t Do Nothing”. The documentary came about by happenstance. Vayntrub traveled to Greece on vacation and while there, learned of the refugee crisis. After that, she flew to the island of Lesbos (hehe) and started filming.
She sums up her purpose in the video:
“I don’t really know what I’m going to do but I can’t do nothing. I’m not going to be a passive citizen anymore. I want to be a force for good.”
Meanwhile, you still suck Cheetos dust off your fingers all day.
From there she started the organization, Can’t Do Nothing. Their mission is to help “new and thriving organizations like The Syria Fund, Boat Refugee Foundation, and Off Track Health to help everyone spread their voice, time, and money to help thousands of refugees.”
If you’re interested, go check them out on the webs.
To recap Milayna Vayntrub’s career arc so far: playing a solid role on an NBC show, helping refugees through the non-profit organization she started and working her sketch show with UCB where’s she probably way funnier than you. A future Emmy isn’t out of the question.
You, meanwhile, managed to wear clean underwear today. Congrats.
The article doesn’t mention why she isn’t in the AT&T commercials anymore.
I was going to say the exact same thing. I loved Other Space, and hope they make a season 2, like they said they would.
Article also failed to mention she is an extreme pro-abortion supporter.
Your comment fails to mention you’re an idiot.
Don’t worry. Millions of potential Democrat voters were killed by their mothers when they chose to abort them. If they had not killed so many, then Hillary would have won by a landslide. That’s why people like Stickson is an idiot .
If you not so ignorant SpaceRat you would realize that H.R.C. won the popular vote and it was idiots like you that put an idiot in the presidency. So don’t be so smug you are probably a product of a failed abortion.
Just Proves AT&T is TOO BIG! A Monopoly! TRUE!! And Karen, my ex hope you and AT&T end up in hell!
The ad with Lily were Awesome, surprised me, as AT&T is the opposite. So Glad I Cancelled your service. Peace.