Tina Fey to be honored with top Mark Twain humor prize by Kennedy Center in DC

Tina Fey to get top Mark Twain humor prize in DC

WASHINGTON — The woman known for her impression of Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live” will win the nation’s top humor prize from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Tina Fey joins the ranks of Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin and others who’ve won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Fey will be the youngest honoree, having just turned 40.

In a statement Tuesday, Fey says she’s thrilled but assumes Betty White must have been “disqualified for steroid use.”

Fey got her start with Chicago’s The Second City improv group and became the first woman to be head writer on “SNL.”

She created NBC’s comedy “30 Rock” and has starred in hit movies. Her film “Date Night,” with Steve Carell, is playing in theaters.

The prize will be awarded in November.