AGE: 37
OCCUPATION: Writer, producer, comedienne
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 1
PRO: 30 Rock is the most hilarious half-hour of television in existence, heir to Arrested Development's genius mantle, and proof that comediennes can be post-feminist, feminist, and funny, all at the same time. This year, Fey started leveraging her newfound power, becoming a de facto writer's strike icon and delivering a laugh-filled, yet impassioned endorsement of Hillary Clinton from her old desk at Saturday Night Live.
CON: A comment to Reader's Digest concerning "clapter" (unearned applause derived from audience approval, not actual hilarity — a phenomenon Fey said she'd observed on The Daily Show) gave the impression Fey was picking a fight with Jon Stewart. (In the untrimmed quote, Fey includes her own 'Weekend Update' amongst the 'clapter' offenders.) An unfunny media frenzy followed.