Saturday Night Live has been a fixture on the small screen for decades, and the show has given way to a number of stars making names for themselves before blowing up on the big screen. Names like Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy became mega stars after being featured on SNL.

Tina Fey is easily one of the biggest and most talented performers to emerge from the iconic show, and Fey's time in entertainment has been fun to watch. She has been responsible for a number of great projects, including Mean Girls, which is one of the funniest movies of its era.

Let's take a closer look at Tina Fey and how she used real life moments and people to shape the script for Mean Girls.

Tina Fey Has Had An Incredible Career

At this stage in the game, Tina Fey has seen and done it all in Hollywood, and it is remarkable to look back and reflect on all that she has done. SNL was a major launching point for the star, and once she broke out in other projects, she cemented her legacy in the business.

30 Rock was a triumph on the small screen for Fey, and she would eventually go on to co-create shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt and Mr. Mayor. Her work on television has been exceptional, but Fey has done well on the big screen, too.

In her career, Fey has been in movies like Baby Mama, Date Night, Megamind, Anchorman 2, and Soul.

Not only is Fey a solid actress, but she truly thrives when she is writing hilarious scripts. To date, one of her best works is Mean Girls, and Fey made sure to take elements from her past and incorporate them into the script.

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Fey Used Real Moments As Inspiration For 'Mean Girls'

It is pretty common for people to use their experiences as inspiration for their art, and Tina Fey is no exception. Her brilliant work on Mean Girls was taken from a number of things that happened in her younger years.

"I revisited high school behaviors of my own — futile, poisonous, bitter behaviors that served no purpose. That thing of someone saying 'You’re really pretty' and then, when the other person thanks them, saying, 'Oh, so you agree? You think you’re pretty?' That happened in my school. That was a bear trap," she revealed.

Even some of the character's names were based on real people that Fey had known in her life.

"My older brother’s good friend is Glenn Cocco. He’s a film editor in Los Angeles, and I imagine it’s a pain in the butt for him. Someone said to me, you could buy a shirt at Target that says ‘You go, Glen Coco!’ That was unexpected," she said.

There's plenty more where these came from, and Fey was able to mold them perfectly into what worked for the script. There was a huge element from the film that she also drew from her younger years, but maybe not in the way that some would suspect.

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Fey Was A Mean Girl In High School

In a surprising twist, Tina Fey actually admitted that she was a mean girl in high school.

"I was [the Mean Girl], I admit it openly. That was a disease that had to be conquered. It’s another coping mechanism — it’s a bad coping mechanism — but when you feel less than (in high school, everyone feels less than everyone else for different reasons), in your mind it’s a way of leveling the playing field. Though of course it’s not. Saying something terrible about someone else does not actually level the playing field," she said.

This definitely came as a surprise to many, as it's quite clear that Fey is a completely different person now. Of course, the mean characters in the movie are the antagonists, and most writers wouldn't paint their former selves in a negative light. Fey's openness helped her write a fantastic movie that has become a classic.

Interestingly, the writer and actress still has a healthy fear of what younger girls are capable of.

"If I meet a girl of 14 or 15 today who is that kind of girl, I am secretly, in my body, afraid. Even though I’m 45," she said.

Related: Tina Fey Called This Reality Star "Awful" During Her 'SNL' Appearance

She might have been a mean girl back when she was in school, but Fey has changed and has had herself a wonderful career in Hollywood. It's a good thing she changed her ways and grew up.

Next: Here's How Tina Fey Amassed Her $75 Million Net Worth