At the 2008 Emmy Awards on Sunday night, Tina Fey wore a black strapless dress, her hair was in waves, and her trademark glasses nowhere in sight. But the smart-girl shtick that has propelled her into the spotlight was on full display.

"I want to thank my parents for somehow raising me to have confidence that is disproportionate with my looks and abilities," she quipped as she accepted the award for best actress in a comedy series. "That is what all parents should do."

NBC would no doubt like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Fey too. Their daughter is the brains and the face of 30 Rock—she writes, produces, and stars on the show that, when it returns for a third season at the end of October, will help anchor NBC's Thursday-night comedy lineup. 30 Rock nabbed NBC's highest-profile Emmys on Sunday night. Nominated for 17 statuettes, a record for a comedy series, 30 Rock netted seven, three of which—for writing, acting, and producing—went to Fey.

Her value to the network "has jumped significantly" with the latest Emmy wins, says Steve Rossman, who leads the branded entertainment practice at R.P.A., a Santa Monica-based advertising agency. "She is becoming a brand unto herself."

That brand had been bolstered only a week earlier by the actress's guest appearance on Saturday Night Live's season premiere, playing Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. That skit powered the show to its best season premiere numbers in seven years.

Portfolio.com estimates that Fey has earned, at the very least, $17 million so far, with tens of millions—if not hundreds of millions—more possible down the road.  

The Fey franchise has legs beyond the NBC family. She wrote and had a small role in the 2004 film Mean Girls, which bullied $130 million out of moviegoers worldwide. Baby Mama, which came out this past April, did a more meager $63 million. Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations, a Los Angeles-based entertainment-research firm, estimates that Fey could have made between $8 million and $10 million for the two movies combined.

Fey's deal with American Express, another marquee brand that has her teaming up with Martin Scorsese to extol the benefits of card membership, could be worth about $1 million, according to Andy Bateman, C.E.O. of branding consultancy Interbrand.

Of course, NBC likely isn't underpaying her either. In 2005, New York Magazine reported that her salary as performer and head writer at S.N.L. was $1.5 million a year; the peacock must be ponying up at least as much cash—if not more—for Fey's multiple roles in 30 Rock. Should 30 Rock enter syndication, Fey could earn an even bigger bundle (Larry David, the creator of Seinfeld, reportedly made $200 million when that show went into syndication.)

But if NBC were really smart, says Caroline Hirsch, proprietor of Manhattan stand-up comedy venue Caroline's On Broadway, they would lock Fey in right now for a movie deal with Universal, the movie studio that falls, like NBC, under the auspices of General Electric.