diff --git a/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.scss b/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.scss
index d2372096a135..f0024520cad3 100644
--- a/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.scss
+++ b/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.scss
@@ -1,4 +1,15 @@
-// TODO(kara): Review this to see if MD spec updates are needed
+@import "list-shared";
+
+/* height of tile header or footer if it has one line */
+$md-grid-list-one-line-height: 48px;
+/* height of tile header or footer if it has two lines */
+$md-grid-list-two-line-height: 68px;
+/* side padding for text in tile headers and footers */
+$md-grid-list-text-padding: 16px;
+
+/* font styles for text in tile headers and footers */
+$md-grid-list-font-size: 16px;
+$md-grid-list-secondary-font: 12px;
 
 md-grid-list {
   display: block;
@@ -29,32 +40,30 @@ md-grid-tile {
   // Headers & footers
   md-grid-tile-header,
   md-grid-tile-footer {
+    @include md-line-base($md-grid-list-secondary-font);
+    @include md-normalize-text();
+
     display: flex;
-    flex-direction: row;
     align-items: center;
-    height: 48px;
+    height: $md-grid-list-one-line-height;
     color: #fff;
     background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.18);
     overflow: hidden;
+    padding: 0 $md-grid-list-text-padding;
+    font-size: $md-grid-list-font-size;
 
     // Positioning
     position: absolute;
     left: 0;
     right: 0;
 
-    h3,
-    h4 {
-      font-weight: 400;
-      margin: 0 0 0 16px;
-    }
-
-    h3 {
-      font-size: 14px;
+    &.md-2-line {
+      height: $md-grid-list-two-line-height;
     }
+  }
 
-    h4 {
-      font-size: 12px;
-    }
+  .md-grid-list-text {
+    @include md-line-wrapper-base();
   }
 
   md-grid-tile-header {
@@ -64,4 +73,17 @@ md-grid-tile {
   md-grid-tile-footer {
     bottom: 0;
   }
+
+  [md-grid-avatar] {
+    padding-right: $md-grid-list-text-padding;
+
+    [dir='rtl'] & {
+      padding-right: 0;
+      padding-left: $md-grid-list-text-padding;
+    }
+
+    &:empty {
+      display:none;
+    }
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.spec.ts b/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.spec.ts
index 55fe5936478c..481369193388 100644
--- a/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.spec.ts
+++ b/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.spec.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import {Component} from '@angular/core';
 import {By} from '@angular/platform-browser';
 
 import {MD_GRID_LIST_DIRECTIVES, MdGridList} from './grid-list';
-import {MdGridTile} from './grid-tile';
+import {MdGridTile, MdGridTileText} from './grid-tile';
 
 describe('MdGridList', () => {
   let builder: TestComponentBuilder;
@@ -374,6 +374,48 @@ describe('MdGridList', () => {
           });
         });
   });
+
+  it('should add not add any classes to footers without lines', () => {
+    var template = `
+      <md-grid-list cols="1">
+        <md-grid-tile>
+          <md-grid-tile-footer>
+            I'm a footer!
+          </md-grid-tile-footer>
+        </md-grid-tile>
+      </md-grid-list>
+    `;
+
+    return builder.overrideTemplate(TestGridList, template)
+        .createAsync(TestGridList).then((fixture: ComponentFixture<TestGridList>) => {
+          fixture.detectChanges();
+
+          let footer = fixture.debugElement.query(By.directive(MdGridTileText));
+          expect(footer.nativeElement.classList.contains('md-2-line')).toBe(false);
+        });
+  });
+
+  it('should add class to footers with two lines', () => {
+    var template = `
+      <md-grid-list cols="1">
+        <md-grid-tile>
+          <md-grid-tile-footer>
+            <h3 md-line>First line</h3>
+            <span md-line>Second line</span>
+          </md-grid-tile-footer>
+        </md-grid-tile>
+      </md-grid-list>
+    `;
+
+    return builder.overrideTemplate(TestGridList, template)
+        .createAsync(TestGridList).then((fixture: ComponentFixture<TestGridList>) => {
+          fixture.detectChanges();
+
+          let footer = fixture.debugElement.query(By.directive(MdGridTileText));
+          expect(footer.nativeElement.classList.contains('md-2-line')).toBe(true);
+        });
+  });
+
 });
 
 @Component({
diff --git a/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.ts b/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.ts
index cecf34e6a050..e1b7c65804a8 100644
--- a/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.ts
+++ b/src/components/grid-list/grid-list.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import {
   ElementRef,
   Optional
 } from '@angular/core';
-import {MdGridTile} from './grid-tile';
+import {MdGridTile, MdGridTileText} from './grid-tile';
 import {TileCoordinator} from './tile-coordinator';
 import {
     TileStyler,
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import {
 } from './tile-styler';
 import {MdGridListColsError} from './grid-list-errors';
 import {Dir} from '@angular2-material/core/rtl/dir';
+import {MdLine} from '@angular2-material/core/line/line';
 
 // TODO(kara): Conditional (responsive) column count / row size.
 // TODO(kara): Re-layout on window resize / media change (debounced).
@@ -167,4 +168,4 @@ export function coerceToNumber(value: string | number): number {
   return typeof value === 'string' ? parseInt(value, 10) : value;
 }
 
-export const MD_GRID_LIST_DIRECTIVES: any[] = [MdGridList, MdGridTile];
+export const MD_GRID_LIST_DIRECTIVES: any[] = [MdGridList, MdGridTile, MdLine, MdGridTileText];
diff --git a/src/components/grid-list/grid-tile-text.html b/src/components/grid-list/grid-tile-text.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..9946619e7f13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/grid-list/grid-tile-text.html
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+<ng-content select="[md-grid-avatar]"></ng-content>
+<div class="md-grid-list-text"><ng-content select="[md-line]"></ng-content></div>
+<ng-content></ng-content>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/components/grid-list/grid-tile.ts b/src/components/grid-list/grid-tile.ts
index 3e3088f8d2c9..a709d85f8b40 100644
--- a/src/components/grid-list/grid-tile.ts
+++ b/src/components/grid-list/grid-tile.ts
@@ -4,9 +4,12 @@ import {
   Renderer,
   ElementRef,
   Input,
+  ContentChildren,
+  QueryList,
+  AfterContentInit
 } from '@angular/core';
-
-import {coerceToNumber} from './grid-list';
+import { coerceToNumber } from './grid-list';
+import { MdLine, MdLineSetter } from '@angular2-material/core/line/line';
 
 @Component({
   moduleId: module.id,
@@ -19,11 +22,8 @@ import {coerceToNumber} from './grid-list';
 export class MdGridTile {
   _rowspan: number = 1;
   _colspan: number = 1;
-  _element: HTMLElement;
 
-  constructor(private _renderer: Renderer, element: ElementRef) {
-    this._element = element.nativeElement;
-  }
+  constructor(private _renderer: Renderer, private _element: ElementRef) {}
 
   @Input()
   get rowspan() {
@@ -48,7 +48,28 @@ export class MdGridTile {
    * @internal
    */
   setStyle(property: string, value: string): void {
-    this._renderer.setElementStyle(this._element, property, value);
+    this._renderer.setElementStyle(this._element.nativeElement, property, value);
   }
 
 }
+
+@Component({
+  moduleId: module.id,
+  selector: 'md-grid-tile-header, md-grid-tile-footer',
+  templateUrl: 'grid-tile-text.html'
+})
+export class MdGridTileText implements AfterContentInit {
+  /**
+   *  Helper that watches the number of lines in a text area and sets
+   * a class on the host element that matches the line count.
+   */
+  _lineSetter: MdLineSetter;
+  @ContentChildren(MdLine) _lines: QueryList<MdLine>;
+
+  constructor(private _renderer: Renderer, private _element: ElementRef) {}
+
+  ngAfterContentInit() {
+    this._lineSetter = new MdLineSetter(this._lines, this._renderer, this._element);
+  }
+}
+
diff --git a/src/components/list/list.scss b/src/components/list/list.scss
index 9739e9caf597..c93d7c05968a 100644
--- a/src/components/list/list.scss
+++ b/src/components/list/list.scss
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 @import "variables";
 @import "default-theme";
+@import "list-shared";
 
 $md-list-side-padding: 16px;
 $md-list-avatar-size: 40px;
@@ -56,27 +57,12 @@ based on whether the list is in dense mode.
   }
 
   .md-list-text {
-    display: flex;
-    flex-direction: column;
-    width: 100%;
+    @include md-line-wrapper-base();
     padding: 0 $md-list-side-padding;
-    box-sizing: border-box;
-    overflow: hidden;
 
     &:first-child {
       padding: 0;
     }
-
-    &:empty {
-      display: none;
-    }
-
-    & > * {
-      margin: 0;
-      padding: 0;
-      font-weight: normal;
-      font-size: inherit;
-    }
   }
 
   [md-list-avatar] {
@@ -93,26 +79,6 @@ based on whether the list is in dense mode.
   }
 }
 
-/*
-This mixin provides all md-line styles, changing secondary font size
-based on whether the list is in dense mode.
-*/
-@mixin md-line-base($secondary-font-size) {
-
-  [md-line] {
-    display: block;
-    white-space: nowrap;
-    overflow-x: hidden;
-    text-overflow: ellipsis;
-    box-sizing: border-box;
-
-    // all lines but the top line should have smaller text
-    &:nth-child(n+2) {
-      font-size: $secondary-font-size;
-    }
-  }
-}
-
 /*
 This mixin provides all subheader styles, adjusting heights and padding
 based on whether the list is in dense mode.
diff --git a/src/components/list/list.ts b/src/components/list/list.ts
index face45060bf8..2e1af7513e60 100644
--- a/src/components/list/list.ts
+++ b/src/components/list/list.ts
@@ -9,8 +9,7 @@ import {
     Renderer,
     AfterContentInit,
 } from '@angular/core';
-
-
+import { MdLine, MdLineSetter } from '../../core/line/line';
 
 @Component({
   moduleId: module.id,
@@ -22,10 +21,6 @@ import {
 })
 export class MdList {}
 
-/* Need directive for a ContentChildren query in list-item */
-@Directive({ selector: '[md-line]' })
-export class MdLine {}
-
 /* Need directive for a ContentChild query in list-item */
 @Directive({ selector: '[md-list-avatar]' })
 export class MdListAvatar {}
@@ -42,27 +37,25 @@ export class MdListAvatar {}
   encapsulation: ViewEncapsulation.None
 })
 export class MdListItem implements AfterContentInit {
-  @ContentChildren(MdLine) _lines: QueryList<MdLine>;
-
   /** @internal */
   hasFocus: boolean = false;
 
-  /** TODO: internal */
-  ngAfterContentInit() {
-    this._setLineClass(this._lines.length);
+  _lineSetter: MdLineSetter;
 
-    this._lines.changes.subscribe(() => {
-      this._setLineClass(this._lines.length);
-    });
-  }
+  @ContentChildren(MdLine) _lines: QueryList<MdLine>;
 
   @ContentChild(MdListAvatar)
   private set _hasAvatar(avatar: MdListAvatar) {
-    this._setClass('md-list-avatar', avatar != null);
+    this._renderer.setElementClass(this._element.nativeElement, 'md-list-avatar', avatar != null);
   }
 
   constructor(private _renderer: Renderer, private _element: ElementRef) {}
 
+  /** TODO: internal */
+  ngAfterContentInit() {
+    this._lineSetter = new MdLineSetter(this._lines, this._renderer, this._element);
+  }
+
   /** @internal */
   handleFocus() {
     this.hasFocus = true;
@@ -72,22 +65,6 @@ export class MdListItem implements AfterContentInit {
   handleBlur() {
     this.hasFocus = false;
   }
-
-  private _setLineClass(count: number): void {
-    this._resetClasses();
-    if (count === 2 || count === 3) {
-      this._setClass(`md-${count}-line`, true);
-    }
-  }
-
-  private _resetClasses(): void {
-    this._setClass('md-2-line', false);
-    this._setClass('md-3-line', false);
-  }
-
-  private _setClass(className: string, bool: boolean): void {
-    this._renderer.setElementClass(this._element.nativeElement, className, bool);
-  }
 }
 
 export const MD_LIST_DIRECTIVES = [MdList, MdListItem, MdLine, MdListAvatar];
diff --git a/src/core/line/line.ts b/src/core/line/line.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..90935c125cab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/line/line.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import {
+    Directive,
+    Renderer,
+    ElementRef,
+    QueryList
+} from '@angular/core';
+
+/**
+ * Shared directive to count lines inside a text area, such as a list item.
+ * Line elements can be extracted with a @ContentChildren(MdLine) query, then
+ * counted by checking the query list's length.
+ */
+@Directive({ selector: '[md-line]' })
+export class MdLine {}
+
+/* Helper that takes a query list of lines and sets the correct class on the host */
+export class MdLineSetter {
+  constructor(private _lines: QueryList<MdLine>, private _renderer: Renderer,
+              private _element: ElementRef) {
+    this._setLineClass(this._lines.length);
+
+    this._lines.changes.subscribe(() => {
+      this._setLineClass(this._lines.length);
+    });
+  }
+
+
+  private _setLineClass(count: number): void {
+    this._resetClasses();
+    if (count === 2 || count === 3) {
+      this._setClass(`md-${count}-line`, true);
+    }
+  }
+
+  private _resetClasses(): void {
+    this._setClass('md-2-line', false);
+    this._setClass('md-3-line', false);
+  }
+
+  private _setClass(className: string, bool: boolean): void {
+    this._renderer.setElementClass(this._element.nativeElement, className, bool);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/core/style/_list-shared.scss b/src/core/style/_list-shared.scss
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4de8b7edfe87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/style/_list-shared.scss
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/**
+ * This mixin provides all md-line styles, changing secondary font size
+ * based on whether the list is in dense mode.
+ */
+@mixin md-line-base($secondary-font-size) {
+  [md-line] {
+    display: block;
+    white-space: nowrap;
+    overflow-x: hidden;
+    text-overflow: ellipsis;
+    box-sizing: border-box;
+
+    // all lines but the top line should have smaller text
+    &:nth-child(n+2) {
+      font-size: $secondary-font-size;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * This mixin provides base styles for the wrapper around md-line
+ * elements in a list.
+ */
+@mixin md-line-wrapper-base() {
+  @include md-normalize-text();
+
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  width: 100%;
+  box-sizing: border-box;
+  overflow: hidden;
+
+  // Must remove wrapper when lines are empty or it takes up horizontal
+  // space and pushes other elements to the right.
+  &:empty {
+    display: none;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * This mixin normalizes default element styles, e.g. font weight for heading text.
+ */
+@mixin md-normalize-text() {
+  & > * {
+    margin: 0;
+    padding: 0;
+    font-weight: normal;
+    font-size: inherit;
+  }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.html b/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.html
index 1ddfd2705072..6a915d77f7d1 100644
--- a/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.html
+++ b/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.html
@@ -57,5 +57,35 @@
       <p>Change gutter: <input type="number" [(ngModel)]="ratioGutter"></p>
     </md-card-actions>
   </md-card>
+
+  <md-card>
+    <md-card-title>Grid list with header</md-card-title>
+    <md-card-content>
+      <md-grid-list cols="3" rowHeight="200px">
+        <md-grid-tile *ngFor="let dog of dogs" style="background:gray">
+          <md-grid-tile-header>
+            <md-icon md-grid-avatar>info_outline</md-icon>
+            {{dog.name}}
+          </md-grid-tile-header>
+        </md-grid-tile>
+      </md-grid-list>
+    </md-card-content>
+  </md-card>
+
+  <md-card>
+    <md-card-title>Grid list with footer</md-card-title>
+    <md-card-content>
+      <md-grid-list cols="3" rowHeight="200px">
+        <md-grid-tile *ngFor="let dog of dogs">
+          <img [alt]="dog.name" src="https://material.angularjs.org/material2_assets/ngconf/{{dog.name}}.png">
+          <md-grid-tile-footer>
+            <h3 md-line>{{dog.name}}</h3>
+            <span md-line>Human: {{dog.human}}</span>
+            <md-icon>star_border</md-icon>
+          </md-grid-tile-footer>
+        </md-grid-tile>
+      </md-grid-list>
+    </md-card-content>
+  </md-card>
 </div>
 
diff --git a/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.scss b/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.scss
index 4e6856e6a191..607acef66a07 100644
--- a/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.scss
+++ b/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.scss
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 .demo-grid-list {
-  width: 800px;
+  width: 1100px;
 
   md-card {
     margin: 16px 0;
@@ -12,4 +12,8 @@
   .demo-basic-list md-grid-tile {
     background: rgba(0,0,0,0.32);
   }
+
+  img {
+    width: 350px;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.ts b/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.ts
index 095d44c3cc9b..bb1ead3ad70b 100644
--- a/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.ts
+++ b/src/demo-app/grid-list/grid-list-demo.ts
@@ -2,13 +2,15 @@ import {Component} from '@angular/core';
 import {MD_GRID_LIST_DIRECTIVES} from '@angular2-material/grid-list/grid-list';
 import {MdButton} from '@angular2-material/button/button';
 import {MD_CARD_DIRECTIVES} from '@angular2-material/card/card';
+import {MdIcon, MdIconRegistry} from '@angular2-material/icon/icon';
 
 @Component({
   moduleId: module.id,
   selector: 'grid-list-demo',
   templateUrl: 'grid-list-demo.html',
   styleUrls: ['grid-list-demo.css'],
-  directives: [MD_GRID_LIST_DIRECTIVES, MdButton, MD_CARD_DIRECTIVES]
+  directives: [MD_GRID_LIST_DIRECTIVES, MdButton, MD_CARD_DIRECTIVES, MdIcon],
+  providers: [MdIconRegistry]
 })
 export class GridListDemo {
   tiles: any[] = [
@@ -18,6 +20,15 @@ export class GridListDemo {
     {text: 'Four', cols: 2, rows: 1, color: '#DDBDF1'},
   ];
 
+  dogs: Object[] = [
+    { name: 'Porter', human: 'Kara' },
+    { name: 'Mal', human: 'Jeremy' },
+    { name: 'Koby', human: 'Igor' },
+    { name: 'Razzle', human: 'Ward' },
+    { name: 'Molly', human: 'Rob' },
+    { name: 'Husi', human: 'Matias' },
+  ];
+
   fixedCols: number = 4;
   fixedRowHeight: number = 100;
   ratioGutter: number = 1;