Tina Fey Says Her Daughters ‘Never’ Think She’s Cool but She’s Found a Hilarious Way to Impress Them (Exclusive)

Tina Fey’s daughters Alice and Penelope don't think she’s a cool mom!

The comedian and actress attended the American Museum of Natural History 2023 Gala in New York City on Thursday where she exclusively opened up to PEOPLE about her toughest critics: daughters Alice, 18 and Penelope, 12.

“You're never cool [to your kids],” Fey, 53, says. “No, you're never cool, and you shouldn't try to be.  Just let it happen!”

The star — who enjoyed a date night at the event alongside her composer husband Jeffrey Richmond, 62 — has figured out a solution, however, for winning them over. "We watch TV and we go, ‘We know that person. You like that show? We know them,' " Fey says. "And then they say, ‘No you don't.' "

“Get some celebrity friends,” Richmond adds. "There's more than you think!"

“There's so many of them, they're easy to get," jokes Fey.

The red carpet event was also attended by actress Scarlett Johansson, 39, Hilaria Baldwin, 39, Alec Baldwin, 65, and 44-year-old actress Busy Philipps. 

Fey and Richmond have ties to Philipps. They've worked with the actress on Girls5Eva, which they both executive produce, and on the upcoming Mean Girls movie musical, based on Fey's 2004 film of the same name and the subsequent Broadway production (with a score by Richmond).

During a February appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Fey — who reprises her role of teacher Miss Norbury in the new movie — praised the "amazing cast" of the upcoming film, which includes Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall, Angourie Rice as Cady, Reneé Rapp as Regina, Auli'i Cravalho as Janis, Jaquel Spivey as Damian, and Philipps as Regina's "Cool Mom" Mrs. George.

Asked by Meyers, 49, whether they're having to adjust the Broadway show's songs for the film, Fey said they're going for a more "pop" sound. "It's a fascinating process, actually, because [on] Broadway, everything has to play to the back of the house. And in movies, you can kind of come back in and things can play really intimately," she explained.

The star went on to also shout out their "very cool directing team" and choreographer, promising, "It's gonna be good."

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Last month, Paramount released the highly-anticipated first trailer for the movie musical — though without featuring any of the musical's songs. The new Mean Girls hits theaters Jan. 12.