Getty Milana Vayntrub.
Milana Vayntrub is about to be known for much more than being the star of AT&T commercials. The actress, who also starred in NBC‘s hit series This Is Us, has been cast as Squirrel Girl in Marvel’s New Warriors.
Squirrel Girl, also known as Doreen Green, has been around since 1991, but has surprisingly been one of Marvel’s most popular characters. Created by Will Murray and Steve Ditko, the character became the star of her own book in 2015 with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. The series is written by Ryan North with art by Erica Henderson.
You can follow the 30-year-old Vayntrub on Twitter and Instagram. In June 2016, Vayntrub shared a photo with a boyfriend, but chose to keep his identity private.
Here’s what you need to know about Vayntrub and Marvel’s New Warriors.
1. Vayntrub Will Be Seen as Squirrel Girl in Next Year’s ‘New Warriors’
GettyMilana Vayntrub will star as Squirrel Girl in New Warriors.
Marvel Television, ABC Signature Studios and Freeform announced on July 10 that Vayntrub will play Squirrel Girl in Marvel’s New Warriors. The show picked up a full season order, but it won’t debut on Freeform until 2018.
The series will be a half-hour comedy, the first of its kind from Marvel Television. (That might mean Damage Control isn’t happening.)
Squirrel Girl is only one of six heroes featured in the series. Derek Theler (Baby Daddy) stars as Craig Hollis/Mister Immortal, while Jeremy Tardy (Dear White People) plays Dwayne Taylor/Night Thrasher. Calum Worthy (Austin & Ally) stars as Robbie Baldwin/Speedball and Matthew Moy (2 Broke Girls) plays Zack Smith/Microbe. Kate Comer (The Comeback) plats Deborah Fields/Debrii.
Kevin Biegel (Cougar Town) is showrunner. Marvel TV chief Jeph Loeb and Jom Chory are executive producers.
2. Vayntrub Plays Sloane Sandburg on ‘This Is Us’
Vayntrub also played Sloane Sandburg on This Is Us, the hit NBC show created by Crazy Stupid Love‘s Dan Fogelman.
In the series, Sloane is a playwright who dates Kevin Pearson (Justin Hartley) after Kevin agrees to star in her play. The two end up acting opposite each other after actress Olivia Maine (Janet Montgomery) leaves the show. Vayntrub appeared in eight episodes in season one.
Vayntrub’s other credits include episodes of Silicon Valley and Love. She also appeared in the movies All Nighter, Ghostbusters and Life Happens. She made her acting debut in ER in 1995, appearing in three episodes. She also played three different roles in three episodes of Lizzie McQuire in 2001 and 2002.
3. Vayntrub’s Family Fled Religious Prosecution From the Soviet Union When She Was 3 Years Old
Vayntrub is a refugee from the Soviet Union. She was born in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. When she was three years old, her parents fled religious prosecution since they are Jewish. In an interview with Elite Daily, Vayntrub said her family stopped in Austria and Italy before they arrived in the U.S.
Her parents struggled financially in the U.S. In fact, she told Box Angeles that she ended up acting in Barbie commercials when she was five years old to help them.
“Once here, my parents worked their butts off to give me a good education and upbringing… They did a great job,” she told Elite Daily.
4. Vayntrub Is the co-Founder of #CantDoNothing, a Group to Raise Awareness of the Refugee Crisis
Vayntrub’s background as a refugee herself inspired her to co-found #CantDoNothing with entrepreneur Eron Zehavi. It’s a group that supports The Syria Fund, Boat Refugee Foundation, Off Track Health and other organizations helping the refugees.
“It is important for us to emphasize not just the problem, but all the things we can do to end it,” Vayntrub said in a statement on the site. “We hope everyone will post about #CantDoNothing on their social media, and challenge three friends to participate by tagging them. I really believe we all have to power to be influencers, to use our voice and create a ripple effect of Good.”
Vayntrub told Elite Daily that her father now lives in Moscow. They went to Greece and saw the refugee crisis and that also played a role in launching #CantDoNothing.
“#CantDoNothing is the compassion aspect, it’s the humanitarian aspect of the crisis — it’s not political,” the actress told Elite Daily. “There’s no other motivation here. These are people going through a hard time and there are millions of them – we must be able to do something.”
5. Vayntrub Starred as Saleswoman Lily Adams in the AT&T Commercials
Vayntrub is best known to many as Lily Adams, the saleswoman in AT&T commercials. She started appearing in the commercials in November 2013.
In March 2017 though, Page Six reported that actor Mark Wahlberg got an eight-figure deal to pitch AT&T products. It’s not likely that Vayntrub ever earned that much. Celebrity Net Worth estimated that her net worth is an estimated $500,000.
In a July 2016 profile of Vayntrub, an AT&T spokesperson told AdWeek that they supported Vayntrub’s activism. “Milana’s passion for her cause is absolutely remarkable,” Valerie Vargas, vp of advertising and marketing communications for AT&T, told AdWeek. “We respect Milana’s personal interests outside of her role in our ads.”
Vayntrub has also directed commercials for Cracker Barrel, in addition to her advocacy and acting. In her AdWeek interview, Vayntrub said she took issue with Amy Schumer’s parody of her AT&T ads. Vayntrub said they have tried hard to make Lily more than just a prop.
“She’s the successful store manager, she’s really doing it, I’m proud of the girl we have made. I think even in that case, if you see Lily as a prop that’s there to entice men, then you need to look at the way you watch women on television,” Vayntrub told AdWeek. “You can’t say that we need to give women more roles, and then when we do, say that they’re only there because men want to look at them.”
