Aubrey Plaza Early Life and Background:
American actress, comedian, producer, and writer Aubrey Plaza was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 26, 1984. She is renowned for her powerful presence and unique deadpan (emotionless) comedy style. In her early years, Plaza participated in community theater in Wilmington, her hometown, where she directed one-act plays and performed improv, or unscripted acting.
She relocated to New York City after high school, where she studied film and television production at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she graduated in 2006, and took improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She had a stroke when she was twenty years old, which momentarily left her with expressive aphasia, a disorder that impairs language comprehension and speech.
Early Career and First TV Appearance:
Aubrey Plaza worked as a page (assistant staff member) at the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and as an intern on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) in her early twenties. She had a brief appearance as a page in an episode of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock (2006–13), which took place in the company’s New York City studios at 30 Rockefeller Center. This was her very first TV debut. After getting a modest recurring role as a troubled teen in the online comedy series The Jeannie Tate Show (2007–08), she later obtained representation from an agency.
Breakthrough with Parks and Recreation:
After relocating to Los Angeles in 2008, Aubrey Plaza secured three roles in a single week: a main cast part in the comedy series Parks and Recreation (2009–15) and supporting parts in the movies Funny People (2009) and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). Among these, her part in Parks and Recreation was crucial to her rise to fame. The seven seasons of the workplace mockumentary, which took place in the parks and recreation department of a made-up small town, won numerous accolades. For her portrayal of April Ludgate, a deadpan, erratic college-age intern who became a fan favorite, Plaza herself received multiple award nominations.
Film Projects and Expanding Career:
Aubrey Plaza took on a number of other initiatives in addition to Parks and Recreation. In the independent comedy-drama Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), she played a magazine intern who assists in interviewing a man looking for a time travel companion via a classified ad. This was her first major role. The comedy The To Do List (2013), which centers on a recent high school graduate who devises a scheme to have more sex before attending college, stars her the following year. She acted in the drama Ned Rifle and Life After Beth, a horror-comedy about a young lady who resurrects after dying, in 2014.
Television Roles and Voice Work:
Aubrey Plaza has also made appearances in a number of other TV shows. Among them is a recurrent part in the sketch comedy series Portlandia (2011–12). Additionally, she provided the voice of Eska in the well-liked animated spin-off of Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–08), The Legend of Korra (2013–14). She also provided the voice of the online sensation Grumpy Cat in the 2014 television movie Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.
Versatility in Film Roles:
Aubrey Plaza proceeded to make frequent appearances in movies and television shows after Parks and Recreation, demonstrating her versatility in both serious, dramatic parts and a variety of comedic genres. She costarred with Zac Efron and Robert De Niro in the 2016 film Dirty Grandpa. The Little Hours, a black comedy based on a story from The Decameron and centered around medieval nuns, starring her the next year.
Notable Films and Performances:
Ingrid Goes West, a comedy-drama about a young woman who relocates to California to pursue her favorite social media superstar (played by Elizabeth Olsen), also starred her. Plaza played a mother who unintentionally gives her child a lethal toy doll in the 2019 horror movie Child’s Play, which was a remake of the 1988 original.
Return to Television and Major Roles:
With Legion (2017–19), which aired on the American premium channel FX, Aubrey Plaza made a significant comeback to television. The show takes place in a mental health facility and is based on a character from Marvel Comics. She portrayed a young woman battling substance misuse, Lenore (Lenny) Busker. In the comedy-drama thriller Black Bear, which she starred in in 2020, a filmmaker seeks inspiration by retreating to an isolated lake cottage, where she manipulates the couple who host her. She costarred with Mackenzie Davis and Kristen Stewart in Clea DuVall’s film Happiest Season that same year.
Later Career and Recent Projects:
The movie is a comedy about a couple who are having problems in their relationship over the holidays. Later, she performed the title part in Emily the Criminal (2022), a film about a young lady who struggles to find employment and resorts to fraud to pay off her debts. She also acted opposite Michael Caine in Best Sellers (2021).
Recent TV Success and 2024 Projects:
Aubrey Plaza made a comeback to the small screen in 2022. She played Harper Spiller in HBO’s critically acclaimed comedy-drama The White Lotus, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe, and she voiced Laura in the animated adult comedy Little Demon. Later, she starred in the critically acclaimed comedy My Old Ass (2024), which centers on Maisy Stella as a teenager who encounters Plaza as her 39-year-old future self.
Francis Ford Coppola’s eagerly anticipated film Megalopolis was another noteworthy project in 2024. In this epic tale, Plaza plays the dramatic television reporter Wow Platinum, the girlfriend of a visionary builder (played by Adam Driver) who aspires to construct the perfect city.
Work as Producer and Author:
Aubrey Plaza has produced a number of her films, such as Little Demon, Emily the Criminal, and The Little Hours, in addition to acting. The Legend of the Christmas Witch (2021) and The Return of the Christmas Witch (2022) are two of her children’s books.