Lily Tomlin to Host 2013 Women's Media Awards, 8/10

The one and only Lily Tomlin will host The 2013 Women's Media Awards this year. Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem, Co-Founders of the Women's Media Center, made the announcement. This celebration will be held on October 8th at 583 Park Avenue in New York City. Tables and tickets can be purchased now.

This is the one night each year when The Women's Media Awards honors game-changers for women in media. By deciding who gets to talk, what creates the debate, who writes, and what is important enough to be visible, the media shapes our understanding of who we are and what we can be.

As Lily Tomlin said, "I believe in the ongoing mission of the Women's Media Center, and its advocacy for women and girls worldwide to be more visible and powerful. I know from both a professional and personal experience the difference that the programs Jane, Robin and Gloria have initiated through The Women's Media Center are crucial to the way women view the world -- and the way the world views women."

"Lily embodies spirit, talent, kindness and authenticity," said Gloria Steinem, Co-Founder of The Women's Media Center. "If there are fifty great actors in the country, Lily may be twenty of them -- and on this night in October, you'll meet the genius behind them all. She will be using her own unique talent to celebrate the unique talent of other media women. I'm proud she will be guiding us through this night of serious fun."

"In addition to Lily's comic (and dramatic) genius, her deep dedication to women's rights and social-justice activism is important and inspiring," says Robin Morgan, Co-Founder of The Women's Media Center.

"As a long time friend and colleague I have watched Lily use her fame to shine a light on important issues, particularly those that help and promote women, and she continues to make a difference in significant ways," saysJane Fonda, Co-Founder of The Women's Media Center.

Throughout her extraordinary career, Lily Tomlin has received numerous awards, including six Emmys and a recent nomination for her narration on "An Apology to Elephants"; a Tony for each of her one-woman Broadway shows, Appearing Nitely and Jane Wagner's The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe; a Grammy for her comedy album, This is a Recording; and two Peabody Awards. In 2003, she was the recipient of the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Tomlin was born in Detroit, Michigan, and rose to national prominence in December 1969 in the cast of the top-rated Laugh-In. Tomlin went on to co-write, with Jane Wagner, and star in six comedy television specials, and has guest starred on numerous television shows, such as Homicide, X-Files, Will and Grace, Murphy Brown, The West Wing, NCIS, and the acclaimed FX series, Damages. She is also heard as The Voice of the science teacher Ms. Frizzle on the popular children's animated series, The Magic School Bus, and can be seen on the Showtime series,Web Therapy.

Tomlin has starred in over twenty films, including Robert Altman's Nashville, 9 to 5, The Incredible Shrinking Woman written by Jane Wagner, All of Me, Big Business, Robert Altman's Short Cuts, Flirting With Disaster, the Franco Zeffirelli film Tea With Mussolini, I Heart Huckabee's, A Prairie Home Companion, and Admission . She produced, with Jane Wagner, and narrated the HBO documentary, An Apology to Elephants. Tomlin also continues to make live appearances around the nation, and can be found on the popular website for women,www.WOWOWOW.com, an on-line community owned and run by women for women of all ages and origins. Tomlin's entire career in art, text, photos and videos is found at www.lilytomlin.com. Tomlin is currently working on new stage, radio, television and social media projects, including an educational game app for kids, City Adventures of Edith Ann.

The Women's Media Center works to make women visible and powerful in media. The Women's Media Center trains women experts to be in the media, does groundbreaking research and reporting on media inclusion and accuracy, produces media style guides including the first ever to cover reproductive issues (especially important now that reproductive freedom is under attack in states across the country), and documents and reports sexualized violence as a tool of war in Syria and other conflict regions. Its yearly publication, The Status of Women in U.S. Media Report, is now the industry standard on where women stand, and is the map to where we need to go.

The Women's Media Center was co-founded in 2005 by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem.

"The Women's Media Center exists to change the status of women in media. Because 51 percent of our population is women and only 3 percent of all clout positions in media are held by women, the Women's Media Center Awards were created to honor champions for women who use their media platforms to tell the stories, facts, and solutions crucial to all viewers and to advance opportunities for women in media," says Julie Burton, President of the Women's Media Center. "Because media tells our stories and influences the role of women in every part of society, we are proud to honor these amazing women who set the standard for what media should look like when it gives voice to the female half of the country."

To buy tickets or for more information about The 2013 Women's Media Awards and the ongoing work of The Women's Media Center, go to: http://www.womensmediacenter.com/