Aubrey Plaza

American actress, comedianTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actress, comedian[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

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**Aubrey Christina Plaza** (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She received further recognition for her starring role as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom *Parks and Recreation* (2009–2015). From 2017 to 2019, Plaza starred as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King and Lenny Busker in the FX drama series *Legion*.

After several supporting roles in various films, Plaza had her first leading role as Darius Britt in the comedy *Safety Not Guaranteed* (2012). She also starred in the films *Mystery Team* (2008), *Funny People* (2009), *Scott Pilgrim vs. the World* (2010), *Monsters University* (2013), *Life After Beth* (2014), *Dirty Grandpa* (2016), *Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates* (2016), *The Little Hours* (2017), *Ingrid Goes West* (2017), *An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn* (2018) and *Child's Play* (2019).

## Early life

Plaza was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Bernadette, an attorney, and David Plaza, a financial advisor. She has two younger sisters, Renee and Natalie.

Plaza was named after the song "Aubrey" by Bread. Her father is Puerto Rican and her mother is of European-American descent. Plaza has stated: "I was like the only diverse kid in my high school, and I'm half-Puerto Rican. But yeah, I have a huge family and tons of cousins in Puerto Rico." Plaza is Catholic.

Plaza graduated from Ursuline Academy, an all-girls Catholic school, in 2002. In high school she was student council president and participated in productions with the Wilmington Drama League. She studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 2006.

Plaza suffered a stroke when she was 20 years old that caused temporary paralysis and expressive aphasia. Some years later, she had a smaller stroke called a transient ischemic attack while on the set of *Parks and Recreation*. She has now fully recovered.

## Career

 File:Aubrey Plaza by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Plaza has had many internships, and worked as an NBC page. Plaza has performed improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater since 2004. She also performed stand-up and has appeared at the Laugh Factory and The Improv.

Plaza starred in the online series *The Jeannie Tate Show*, and starred as Robin Gibney in ESPN's *Mayne Street*. She appeared in the first episode of "Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz" on Funny or Die.

She played Seth Rogen's love interest, Daisy, in 2009's *Funny People* directed by Judd Apatow. She appeared in *Scott Pilgrim vs. the World*, and Derrick Comedy's *Mystery Team*, which debuted at 2009 Sundance. She appeared in a CollegeHumor short alongside Jason Bateman and Will Arnett.

She played April Ludgate in *Parks and Recreation* from 2009 to 2015. For her performance as the deadpan employee, she received universal praise throughout the entire show, being referred to as one of the show's breakout characters.

On March 12, 2010, Plaza performed at "A Night of 140 Tweets: A Celebrity Tweetathon for Haiti", produced by Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, Ben Stiller, and Mike Rosenstein, at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles.

In 2011 she appeared on *Portlandia*. Plaza appeared as a guest judge during a roast segment on *The Next Food Network Star* in 2011. She appeared in Episode 199 of the *WTF with Marc Maron* podcast. She also had a recurring role as "the Princess" in the comedic sci-fi web series *Troopers* on CollegeHumor.

 File:Aubrey Plaza 2012 Shankbone.JPG
In 2012, she was featured in Father John Misty's music video for the song "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" from the album *Fear Fun* and in 2014 she was in Cassorla's "Bona Fide" video where she also made her saxophone-playing debut.

In 2012 Plaza earned her first starring role in a major film, alongside Mark Duplass, in the comedy, *Safety Not Guaranteed*. Plaza played Darius, a jaded intern who answers a curious want ad "seeking a companion for a time traveling adventure". Her performance in the film was critically acclaimed, and Gary Thompson of *The Philadelphia Inquirer* questioned whether this role was out of her usual "pretty slacker" range but found her performance "compelling".

She won the award for Breakthrough Performance (Female) at the 2012 Young Hollywood Awards (YHA).

In 2013, she had the leading female role as Sacagawea in Drunk History episode *Nashville* in the segment on Lewis and Clark Expedition.

At the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in January 2014, Plaza's film, *Life After Beth*, which was written and directed by her boyfriend Jeff Baena, premiered. Plaza also voiced Grumpy Cat in the Lifetime Network's original movie *Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever* (2014).

She starred in *Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates* alongside Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick and Adam DeVine. The film was released on July 8, 2016. Her role as the rebellious Tatiana earned her critical praise.

In 2016, she was a guest star on *HarmonQuest*, as a gnome named "Hawaiian Coffee" and portrayed Aaron Burr in the "Hamilton" episode of *Drunk History*.

She also had the only speaking line in a commercial for the Apple iPhone 6s, demonstrating "I'm peeking my flight. I'm not peeking my flight. I'm peeking my . . . wait, I missed my flight."

She first played the role of Cat Adams, a contract killer, in Season 11 of the CBS television show *Criminal Minds*. She returned to the role in Seasons 12 and 15.

In 2017, Plaza both starred in and produced two films, *The Little Hours* and *Ingrid Goes West.* It was announced that she would star in indie comedy *An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn* in 2018.

Plaza starred as both Amahl Farouk / Shadow King and Lenny Busker in the FX series *Legion* from 2017 to 2019. On February 23, 2019, Plaza hosted the 34th Independent Spirit Awards.

In 2019, she starred in *Child's Play*, a reboot of the 1988 film, as Karen Barclay, Andy’s mother who brings home a killer doll, Chucky.

In February 2020, Plaza starred alongside Bill Murray in a short parody of Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse in order to promote the upcoming Independent Spirit Awards.

## Personal life

Plaza dated actor John Gallagher Jr. when they were both 15 years old. Plaza has been in a long-term relationship with writer and director Jeff Baena since 2011. They live together in Los Angeles, California, and work together often.

## References

1. ↑ Plaza, Aubrey (March 1, 2012). "Aubrey Plaza Finally Confronts Her Multiple Personalities". http://www.bullettmedia.com/article/aubrey-plaza-finally-confronts-her-multiple-personalities/.
2. ↑ Olsen, Mark (August 3, 2009). "Aubrey Plaza: Funny person", *Los Angeles Times*.  – interview lists her as 25
3. ↑ Cormier, Ryan (January 15, 2010). "From Wilmy to Hollywood". The News Journal. http://blogs.delawareonline.com/pulpculture/2010/01/15/from-wilmy-to-hollywood/.
4. ↑ John Micklos Jr. (February 16, 2012). "Aubrey Plaza of NBC's Parks and Recreation: Wilmington Native Is Building a Buzz in Hollywood". Delaware Today. http://www.delawaretoday.com/Delaware-Today/March-2012/Aubrey-Plaza-of-NBCs-Parks-and-Recreation-Wilmington-Native-Is-Building-a-Buzz-in-Hollywood/.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Aubrey Plaza of NBC's Parks and Recreation: Wilmington Native Is Building a Buzz in Hollywood" (in en).
6. ↑ Lee Hernández (June 11, 2009). "This girl's no slouch". http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/girl-slouch-article-1.376882.
7. ↑ Herrera, Monica (April 9, 2009). "*Parks & Recreation* star Aubrey Plaza explains why she's so hot right now". http://www.latina.com/entertainment/tv/parks-recreation-star-aubrey-plaza-explains-why-shes-so-hot-right-now.
8. ↑ Keller, Joel. "Aubrey Plaza on Being Grumpy Cat and Saying Goodbye to 'Parks and Recreation'", *Parade*.
9. ↑ Mark Byrne, Todd Cole (2013-07-24). "The GQ Interview: Aubrey Plaza". https://www.gq.com/story/aubrey-plaza-gq-interview-august-2013.
10. ↑ Template:Citation
11. ↑ Template:Cite AV media
12. ↑ "Aubrey Plaza on the Job That Really Didn't Work Out". Elle. 2017-11-30. https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a13969484/aubrey-plaza-worn-emily-spivack-excerpt/.
13. ↑ "Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz from Eric Appel, Ben Schwartz, and Aubrey Plaza". Funnyordie.com. September 27, 2009. http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/76b1d33fb0/terrible-decisions-with-ben-schwartz.
14. ↑ "Troopers Videos on Collegehumor" (in en-US), *CollegeHumor*.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Watch Aubrey Plaza rip sax solos in Cassorla's 'Bona Fide' video". August Brown, *The Baltimore Sun*, January 7th, 2014. Retrieved February 27th, 2018.
16. ↑ Thompson, Gary (June 15, 2012). "Aubrey Plaza shines in 'Safety Not Guaranteed'". http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20120615\_Aubrey\_Plaza\_shines\_in\_\_lsquo\_Safety\_Not\_Guaranteed\_.html. "It's too early to say if Plaza's an actress, since no one's asked her to do anything other than be the pretty slacker with the bored posture and world-weary intonation. But she has an unusual kind of beauty (Anglo-Irish, Latina) that the camera loves to explore, and when she does make the hyperspace jump to sincerity and initiative, the results are compelling."
17. ↑ Template:Citation
18. ↑ "You'll Never Guess Aubrey Plaza's Kinky On-Set Ritual!". In the Mixx. October 17, 2013. http://inthemixxshow.com/4143/youll-never-guess-aubrey-plazas-kinky-on-set-ritual.
19. ↑ Blake, Emily (September 17, 2014). "Aubrey Plaza will be the voice of Grumpy Cat in Lifetime movie". http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/09/17/aubrey-plaza-grumpy-cat-lifetime.
20. ↑ "Alia Shawkat and Aubrey Plaza Are Drunk History's New Hamilton and Burr" (in en), *Vulture*.
21. ↑ Nudd, Tim (February 18, 2016). "Aubrey Plaza Quietly Fails to Save the Free World in This New iPhone Commercial It was asking a lot". http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/aubrey-plaza-quietly-fails-save-free-world-new-iphone-commercial-169718.
22. ↑ McNary, Dave (2017-02-08). "Aubrey Plaza, Emile Hirsch to Star in Indie Comedy 'An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn'". https://variety.com/2017/film/festivals/aubrey-plaza-emile-hirsch-evening-with-beverly-luff-linn-1201981457/.
23. ↑ Swift, Andy; Swift, Andy (2016-02-04). "Legion: Dan Stevens to Play Charles Xavier's Son; Aubrey Plaza Also Cast" (in en). https://tvline.com/2016/02/04/legion-dan-stevens-cast-aubrey-plaza-x-men-series-fx/.
24. ↑ "Aubrey Plaza to Host 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards" (in en). https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/aubrey-plaza-host-2019-film-independent-spirit-awards-1164200.
25. ↑ Shoemaker, Allison. "Aubrey Plaza, Brian Tyree Henry join Child's Play reboot" (in en-US). https://news.avclub.com/aubrey-plaza-brian-tyree-henry-join-child-s-play-reboo-1829201754.
26. ↑ "Watch Bill Murray and Aubrey Plaza uncannily parody 'The Lighthouse'" (in en-GB). 2020-02-04. https://www.nme.com/news/film/bill-murray-aubrey-plaza-parody-the-lighthouse-2604939.
27. ↑ "John Gallagher Jr. on Pratfalls and dating Aubrey Plaza". https://www.vulture.com/2012/07/newsroom-john-gallagher-jr-interview.html.
28. ↑ Spencer, Amy (February 8, 2017). "Aubrey Plaza like you've never seen her before", *New York Post*.
29. ↑ Russell, Anna (June 26, 2017). "Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza's Medieval Adventure", *The New Yorker*.
30. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (October 5, 2011). "Aubrey Plaza joins cast of 'Charlie Swan'". https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118043994.
31. ↑ Gallagher, Brian (April 15, 2013). "Monsters University Fraternity and Sorority Gallery". Movieweb.com. http://www.movieweb.com/news/monsters-university-fraternity-and-sorority-photo-gallery.
32. ↑ McNary, Dave (January 24, 2014). "Sundance: Aubrey Plaza's 'Life After Beth' Picked Up by A24, DirecTV", *Variety*.
33. ↑ Highfill, Samantha (April 15, 2014). "Tribeca: Aubrey Plaza, Max Greenfield bond in 'About Alex'". http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/04/15/tribeca-film-festival-aubrey-plaza-max-greenfield/.
34. ↑ McNary, Dave (March 13, 2014). "Aubrey Plaza Joins Hal Hartley's 'Ned Rifle'", *Variety*.
35. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (October 2, 2012). "Anthony Mackie, Aubrey Plaza eye 'Splintered Thing'", *Variety*.
36. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (April 26, 2016). "Jeff Baena's 'The Little Hours' Acquired By Concourse; Alison Brie, Dave Franco Star – Cannes". https://deadline.com/2016/04/the-little-hours-jeff-baena-alison-brie-aubrey-plaza-dave-franco-concourse-film-trade-sales-cannes-1201744271/.
37. ↑ "Aubrey Plaza, Brian Tyree Henry join 'Child's Play' reboot" (in en), *EW.com*.
38. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (July 29, 2019). "Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott & Sarah Gadon To Star In ‘Black Bear’ Thriller From Lawrence Michael Levine". https://deadline.com/2019/07/aubrey-plaza-christopher-abbott-sarah-gadon-black-bear-director-lawrence-michael-levine-1202656521/.
39. ↑ Galuppo, Mia (January 22, 2020). "Mary Steenburgen, Dan Levy Join Kristen Stewart in Gay Rom-Com 'Happiest Season'". https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mary-steenburgen-dan-levy-join-kristen-stewart-gay-rom-1271978.
40. ↑ Aubrey Plaza Joins Michael Caine In ‘Best Sellers’
41. ↑ McNary, Dave (2017-09-14). "Aubrey Plaza, Jenny Slate Join Miles Teller's 'Ark and the Aardvark' Animated Movie" (in en-US), *Variety*.
42. ↑ "Jackie Van Beek and Madeleine Sami to Direct Aubrey Plaza in Feature Comedy "Hope" for Netflix" (in en-US), *Netflix Media Center* (2019-08-15).
43. ↑ Father John Misty (January 26, 2012). "Father John Misty – Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings [OFFICIAL VIDEO"]. Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtOToiIDNRA.
44. ↑ JCBrooksVEVO (June 21, 2013). "Rouse Yourself". JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hupdAoeHDjI.

## External links

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* Aubrey Plaza on TwitterTemplate:WikidataCheck
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