Lilly Tartikoff is one of the country’s foremost anti-cancer activists and philanthropists. She has raised literally tens of millions of dollars to fight breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Now, she has also turned her attention to colorectal cancer as co-founder of the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA).
Lilly was a member of the New York City Ballet from 1971 to 1980 under the direction of George Ballanchine. In 1982 she married Brandon Tartikoff, Chairman of Entertainment for NBC.
When Brandon was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in 1982, Lilly and Brandon turned to Dr. Dennis Slamon, a cutting-edge research physician at UCLA. "Brandon was on the receiving end of some amazing science," Lilly has often said about the treatments Brandon received, which extended his life until 1997.
In 1990, Lilly along with Ronald O. Perelman, Chairman and CEO of Revlon, created the Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program, headed by Dr. Slamon. The annual Fire & Ice Ball in Hollywood was also established in 1990 to raise funds for this program.
In 1994, the Revlon Run/Walk for Women in Los Angeles was created with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and 60,000 people participated in 2000.
In 1998, the New York Revlon Run/Walk for Women was created with 30,000 people attending making it the largest first-year event in the history of New York City. In 2000, over 40,000 people participated.
In just the past ten years, from the Fire & Ice Balls and the Revlon Run/Walks for Women over $20 million was raised for breast and ovarian cancer research.
In 1997, Lilly created the National Women’s Cancer Research Alliance (NWCRA) with EIF and seven leading scientists from around the nation. The NWCRA promotes the latest, most cutting-edge research to quickly reach breakthroughs in the treatment and prevention of breast and ovarian cancer.
In 1998, Lilly, EIF and the QVC shopping channel created the international "QVC’s Cure By The Shore" fundraising event in Cannes, France, the official charity of the Cannes Film Festival. In 2001, the event will be held in Monaco.
The funds raised for the Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program, under the direction of Dr. Slamon, were used to rapidly advance clinical trials. In September 1998 this led to a new FDA approved therapy, Herceptin, which increases responses and survival in 1/3 of the cases of women with the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. In October 2000, the European Union approved this therapy for the countries in the EU.
Not content to just fight women’s cancers, Lilly Tartikoff partnered with Katie Couric and EIF to form the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA) in March of 2000. The trio created a new program for the little discussed, but very deadly disease, colorectal cancer, and based it upon the highly successful model of the NWCRA.
After her husband’s death, Lilly became President of H. Beale Company, a Los Angeles based film and television production company.
Lilly resides in Beverly Hills with her two daughters, Calla Lianne and Elizabeth Justine. 
