Lilly Tartikoff Karatz (née Samuels; born June 23, 1953, in Los Angeles, California) is an American activist, socialite, restaurateur and fundraiser for breast cancer.
During her nine years at the New York City Ballet,[1] under the direction of Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, she danced in Russia, Germany, Denmark, London, Paris and Washington, D.C.
In 1990, along with Ronald O. Perelman, Chairman and CEO of Revlon, she created the Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program under the direction of Dr. Dennis Slamon.
Lifetime Television and Renée Zellweger produced the film Living Proof,[3] which follows the story of Tartikoff and Perelman's project to raise money for Dr. Dennis Slamon's scientific efforts.
She partnered with Katie Couric and EIF to form the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA) in March 2000.
In November 2004, along with Carcelle, the Wrights, Kelly and Ron Meyer (of Universal Studios), and Laura Ziskin, Tartikoff co-chaired the second Annual Louis Vuitton United Cancer Front Gala.