# Alison Brie

Alison Brie Schermerhorn (born December 29, 1982) is an American actress, writer, and producer. She earned recognition for playing Trudy Campbell in the drama series Mad Men (2007–2015), and had her breakthrough starring as Annie Edison in the sitcom Community (2009–2015). She then voiced Diane Nguyen in the animated comedy series BoJack Horseman (2014–2020) and potrayed Ruth Wilder in the comedy drama series GLOW (2017–2019), receiving nominations at the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards for the latter.
In addition to her television work, Brie has featured in films such as Scream 4 (2011), The Five-Year Engagement (2012), The Lego Movie film series (2014–2019), Get Hard (2015), Sleeping with Other People (2015), How to Be Single (2016), The Post (2017), The Little Hours (2017), Promising Young Woman (2020), and Happiest Season (2020). She also wrote, produced, and starred in the films Horse Girl (2020), Spin Me Round (2022), and Somebody I Used to Know (2023).

## Early life

Alison Brie Schermerhorn was born on December 29, 1982, in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Her father, Charles Terry Schermerhorn, is a musician and freelance entertainment reporter. Her mother, Joanne Brenner, works at Para los Niños ("For the Children"), a non-profit childcare agency. She has an older sister named Lauren. Brie's mother is Jewish. Her father was raised Catholic, and has Dutch, English, and Scottish ancestry. While being raised by her divorced parents, she occasionally attended a "Christian-Hindu hybrid church" called the Self-Realization Fellowship with her father, while her mother "would always make sure we knew we were Jewish." She graduated from South Pasadena High School in 2001. The summer between high school and college, she worked as a clown at children's birthday parties.
She graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a bachelor's degree in theater in 2005. Her studies included a year at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.

## Career

Brie began acting onstage at the Jewish Community Center in Southern California. Her first television role came in 2006 as Nina, a novice hairdresser, on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana. She received further recognition as Trudy Campbell in the AMC period drama series Mad Men (2007–2015), which won her the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. She went on to star in the web series My Alibi, which aired from 2008 to 2009.
From 2009 to 2015, she portrayed Annie Edison on the NBC/Yahoo! View sitcom Community, for which she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and won an Entertainment Weekly Award from two nominations. In April 2010, she co-hosted an episode of Attack of the Show! (and again in March 2011) and appeared in a segment on Web Soup. She appeared in the 2010 comedy film Montana Amazon. Brie made Maxim magazine's 2010 Hot 100 list at number 99 and appeared at number 49 in their 2011 list. She was voted the 57th Sexiest Woman in the World by FHM readers in 2013. She was voted the second-most desirable woman in the world by AskMen readers in 2014.
Brie had several major film roles, including as Rebecca Walters, Sidney Prescott's assistant, in the slasher horror film Scream 4 (2011), and Suzie Barnes in the romantic comedy film The Five-Year Engagement (2012). She voiced Princess Unikitty in the animated comedy film The Lego Movie (2014), and voiced a character in an episode of the animated series American Dad!, which aired during their eighth season.
In June 2014, Brie joined the cast of the Netflix series BoJack Horseman, which debuted on August 22. She has since voiced a variety of characters, including main character Diane Nguyen and recurring character Vincent Adultman. She appeared on Lip Sync Battle and won against Will Arnett with performances of "Shoop" by Salt-N-Pepa and "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj.
In 2015, she starred with Jason Sudeikis in Leslye Headland's romantic comedy film Sleeping with Other People, and played Will Ferrell's character's fiancée in the comedy film Get Hard. In 2016, she starred as Lucy in the romantic comedy film How to Be Single, and as Martha Dunstable in Julian Fellowes' adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Dr. Thorne for television.
In 2017, she co-starred in several films, including the historical comedy The Little Hours, the biographical comedy-drama The Disaster Artist, and the historical drama The Post. From 2017 to 2019, she starred as Ruth Wilder in the Netflix comedy-drama series GLOW, which was inspired by the 1980s female professional wrestling promotion Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Brie noted that since appearing in GLOW and receiving critical praise for it, she has become more focused on taking "meaningful" roles. For her performance, she earned multiple nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy.
In 2018, she co-starred in the music video for Beck's "Colors". In 2019, she reprised her voice role as Princess Unikitty in the animated comedy sequel film The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and provided an English dub for the Japanese animated romantic fantasy film Weathering with You.
In 2020, Brie starred in the acclaimed drama thriller film Promising Young Woman, directed by Emerald Fennell. Also that year, she wrote, produced and starred as Sarah in the Netflix drama film Horse Girl, which was directed by Jeff Baena. Brie then starred opposite Dan Stevens in the horror film The Rental, which was directed by her husband Dave Franco. Brie played Sloane in the romantic comedy film Happiest Season, directed by Clea DuVall. In 2021, she starred as a celebrity guest voice in the fifth season of the animated sitcom Rick and Morty.
In 2022, Brie starred in and co-wrote the dark comedy film Spin Me Round with frequent collaborator and director Jeff Baena; it was released in select theatres by IFC Films and streamed on AMC+ . She also starred in an episode of the Apple TV+ anthology TV series ROAR, "The Woman Who Solved Her Own Murder". The series is based on the eponymous book by Cecelia Ahern.
In 2022, Brie was to reprise her role as Annie in a Community film.
In 2023, Brie wrote and starred in the romantic comedy film Somebody I Used to Know with her husband Dave Franco, who also co-wrote and directed it. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on February 10 and became the #1 film on the platform in the US and worldwide. In 2023, Brie also voiced the character of Aftershock in the Disney Channel animated series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
In February 2023, Brie was cast in Peacock's limited TV series adaptation of the Liane Moriarty novel Apples Never Fall with Jake Lacy, Annette Bening, and Sam Neill.
On September 4, 2024, she was announced as Evil-Lyn for the upcoming live action movie reboot of Masters of the Universe. She stars as Macy's Gift Guide in the American department store chain's Holiday 2024 advertising campaign.

## Personal life

Brie began dating Dave Franco in 2012 after meeting him at a 2011 Mardi Gras party in New Orleans. On August 25, 2015, they were reported to be engaged. They married on March 13, 2017. In an interview with Larry King in 2017, she said that she did not want to have children. In 2023, she casually came out as bisexual during a BuzzFeed Thirst Tweets interview with her husband.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Stolen Poem | Alice | Short film |
| 2007 | Born | Mary Elizabeth Martino | |
| 2007 | Dickie Smalls: From Shame to Fame | Mya | |
| 2008 | Parasomnia | Darcy | |
| 2008 | The Coverup | Grace | |
| 2008 | Buddy 'n' Andy | Michelle | Short film |
| 2008 | Salvation, Texas | Lisa Salter | Short film |
| 2009 | Us One Night | Alyson | Short film |
| 2010 | The Home Front | Hannah | Short film |
| 2010 | Raspberry Magic | Ms. Bradlee | |
| 2011 | Scream 4 | Rebecca Walters | |
| 2012 | Save the Date | Beth | |
| 2012 | The Five-Year Engagement | Suzie Barnes-Eilhauer | |
| 2012 | Montana Amazon | Ella Dunderhead | |
| 2013 | The Kings of Summer | Heather Toy | |
| 2014 | The Lego Movie | Princess Unikitty | Voice |
| 2014 | Harmontown | Herself | Documentary film |
| 2014 | Search Party | Elizabeth | |
| 2014 | Lennon or McCartney | Herself | Documentary short film |
| 2015 | Sleeping with Other People | Elaine "Lainey" Dalton | |
| 2015 | Get Hard | Alissa Barrow | |
| 2015 | No Stranger Than Love | Lucy Sherrington | |
| 2016 | Joshy | Rachel | |
| 2016 | How to Be Single | Lucy | |
| 2016 | Get a Job | Tanya Sellers | |
| 2016 | A Family Man | Lynn Vogel | |
| 2017 | The Post | Lally Weymouth | |
| 2017 | The Little Hours | Sister Alessandra | |
| 2017 | The Disaster Artist | Amber | |
| 2018 | Emmet's Holiday Party | Princess Unikitty | Voice, short film |
| 2019 | Weathering with You | Natsumi Suga | Voice, English dub |
| 2019 | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | Princess Unikitty | Voice |
| 2020 | Promising Young Woman | Madison McPhee | |
| 2020 | Horse Girl | Sarah | Also writer and producer |
| 2020 | The Rental | Michelle | |
| 2020 | Happiest Season | Sloane Caldwell | |
| 2022 | Spin Me Round | Amber | Also writer and producer |
| 2023 | Somebody I Used to Know | Ally | Also writer and executive producer |
| 2023 | Freelance | Claire Wellington | |
| 2025 | Together | Millie | |
| 2026 | Masters of the Universe | Evil-Lyn | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Hannah Montana | Nina | Episode: "It's My Party and I'll Lie if I Want To" |
| 2007 | Not Another High School Show | Muffy | Unsold pilot |
| 2007–2015 | Mad Men | Trudy Campbell | Recurring role |
| 2008 | The Deadliest Lesson | Amber | Television film |
| 2009–2015 | Community | Annie Edison | Main role |
| 2011 | Robot Chicken | Martha Stewart / Vampire Lifeguard | Voice, episode: "The Godfather of the Bride 2" |
| 2012 | NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Joanie | Episode: "Sabbath-tage" |
| 2012 | American Dad! | Lindsay | Voice, episode: "Adventures in Hayleysitting" |
| 2013 | High School USA! | Miss Temple | Voice, episode: "Choices" |
| 2013 | Axe Cop | Beautiful Girly Bobs | Voice, episode: "The Dumb List" |
| 2014 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Herself | Episode: "Alison Brie Wears a Black Mesh Top & Mini-Skirt" |
| 2014–2020 | BoJack Horseman | Diane Nguyen / Various voices | Voice, main role |
| 2016 | Teachers | Lauren Lark | Episode: "Pilot"; also executive producer |
| 2016 | Doctor Thorne | Martha Dunstable | Main role |
| 2017 | Dr. Ken | Herself | Episode: "Ken's Big Audition" |
| 2017–2019 | GLOW | Ruth Wilder | Main role; also directed episode: "Hollywood Homecoming" |
| 2019 | Drunk History | Thea Spyer | Episode: "Love" |
| 2020 | Make It Work! | Herself | Television special |
| 2020 | Marvel's 616 | — | Directed episode: "Spotlight" |
| 2021 | Rick and Morty | Planetina | Voice, episode: "A Rickconvenient Mort" |
| 2021 | Star Wars: Visions | Am | Voice, episode: "The Twins"; English dub |
| 2022 | Roar | Rebecca Moss | Episode: "The Woman Who Solved Her Own Murder" |
| 2023 | Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur | Aftershock / Allison Dillon | Voice, episode: "Moon Girl Landing" |
| 2024 | Apples Never Fall | Amy Delaney | Main role; Miniseries |
| 2024 | Krapopolis | Tina | Voice, episode: "Ice Week" |

### Web

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2008–2009 | My Alibi | Rebecca Fuller | Main role |
| 2009 | Hot Sluts | Amber | Main role |
| 2012 | Sketchy | Meg | Episode: "You Got Retweeted" |
| 2013 | The ArScheerio Paul Show | Madonna | Episode: "Madonna & Rosie O'Donnell" |
| 2020 | The Cast of Community Reunites for Table Read | Annie Edison | Online Fundraiser |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Voice role | Ref. |
| 2015 | Lego Dimensions | Princess Unikitty | |
| 2016 | Marvel Avengers Academy | Black Widow | |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist | Role | Ref. |
| 2018 | "Colors" | Beck | Herself | |

### Theme park attractions

| Year | Title | Voice role | Ref. |
| 2016 | The Lego Movie: 4D – A New Adventure | Princess Unikitty | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
| 2009 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Mad Men | Won |
| 2011 | Entertainment Weekly Awards | Best Supporting Actress, Comedy | Community | Nominated |
| 2012 | Entertainment Weekly Awards | Best Supporting Actress, Comedy | Community | Won |
| 2012 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Community | Nominated |
| 2014 | Streamy Awards | Best Ensemble Cast | The ArScheerio Paul Show | Nominated |
| 2015 | Newport Beach Film Festival Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Acting | No Stranger Than Love | Won |
| 2017 | Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated TV Production | BoJack Horseman | Nominated |
| 2018 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2018 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2018 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2018 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2018 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2019 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2019 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2020 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2020 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy | GLOW | Nominated |
| 2024 | Astra TV Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie | Apples Never Fall | Nominated |