Tina Fey, screenwriter and co-star of the film, was a long-term cast member and writer for SNL. Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels produced the film. The plot centers on a naïve teenage girl navigating her way through the social hierarchy of a modern American high school after years of her parents homeschooling her while conducting research in Africa. Fey also drew from her own experience at Upper Darby High School as an inspiration for some of the concepts in the film. It is based in part on Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 non-fiction self-help book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, which describes female high school social cliques, school bullying, and the damaging effects they can have on students. The film stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, and Fey. Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey.
