Aubrey Plaza
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| Aubrey Plaza | |
|---|---|
 Plaza at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010. |
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| Born | June 26, 1984 Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
| Medium | Stand-up, television, film, improv |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Genres | Deadpan |
| Notable works and roles | April Ludgate in Parks and Recreation Daisy Danby in Funny People Julie Powers in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World |
| Website | Official website |
Aubrey Plaza (born June 26, 1984)[1] is an American actress and comedian who has gained popularity through her deadpan-style comedy, and currently co-stars in Parks and Recreation as April Ludgate.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Plaza was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Bernadette, an attorney, and David Plaza, a financial advisor.[2] She has two younger sisters, Renee and Natalie,[citation needed] like her character in Parks and Recreation, whom she uses for a source of inspiration for the character of April.[3]
Plaza was named after the song "Aubrey" by Bread.[4] Her father is Puerto Rican and her mother is of Irish and English descent.[5] 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."[6]
She is a graduate of Ursuline Academy[7] in 2002 and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2006. While at NYU in 2004, Plaza suffered a stroke that caused temporary paralysis and expressive aphasia, but she has fully recovered.[8]
[edit] Career
Plaza has said that she has had many internships and that she "was an intern for Samba Post-Its." One of her jobs was to "literally wallpaper a bathroom with Post-Its." She also worked as an NBC page.
She has been performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater since 2004. She also recently began performing stand-up and has appeared at the Laugh Factory and The Improv. In 2008, she was seen in the Improv Everywhere prank "Mobile Desktop", in which she and two other people brought desktop PCs, including a CRT screen, tower computer, keyboard and mouse into a Starbucks and used them just as people use laptops there.
Plaza starred in the online series The Jeannie Tate Show, and stars as Robin Gibney in ESPN's Mayne Street. She also appeared in the first episode of "Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz" on Funny or Die.[9]
She played Seth Rogen's love interest, Daisy, in 2009's Funny People directed by Judd Apatow. She also had roles in the comedy films 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 plays April Ludgate, the deadpan intern in Parks and Recreation, and has a recurring role as "the Princess" in the comedic sci-fi web series Troopers on CollegeHumor.
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 2010 she made a guest appearance in 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.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Mystery Team | Kelly | |
| 2009 | Funny People | Daisy Danby | |
| 2010 | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | Julie Powers | |
| 2011 | Damsels in Distress | Debbie | |
| 2012 | Safety Not Guaranteed | Darius Britt | |
| 2013 | The To Do List | Brandy |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Killswitch | Girl with massive head wound | Short |
| 2006 | In Love | Julie | Short |
| 2006 | 30 Rock | NBC page | 1 episode, "Tracy Does Conan" |
| 2007 | The Jeannie Tate Show | Tina Tate | Online |
| 2008–2009 | Keith Powell Directs a Play | Stephanie | 4 episodes |
| 2008–2009 | Mayne Street | Robin Gibney | 6 episodes |
| 2009–present | Parks and Recreation | April Ludgate | Main cast |
| 2011 | Portlandia | Beth/Bookstore Customer | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Food Network Star | Herself | Season 7, episode 9: Comedy Roast |
[edit] References
- ^ August 2009 interview lists her as "25" - http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-plaza3-2009aug03,0,1417802.story
- ^ "Hey, aren't you that funny girl?". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 2010-01-17. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/delawareonline/access/1941543461.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+17%2C+2010&author=RYAN+CORMIER&pub=The+News+Journal&desc=Hey%2C+aren't+you+that+funny+girl%3F&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ "Parks and Recreation" (2009) - Trivia
- ^ "Tracklist: Aubrey Plaza Rocks the Boat - BlackBook". Blackbookmag.com. 2010-03-11. http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/track-list-aubrey-plaza-rocks-the-boat/16658. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ Lee Hernández (2009-06-11). "This girl's no slouch". Nydailynews.com. http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2009/06/11/2009-06-11_this_girls_no_slouch.html. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ "Oh No They Didn't! - "Parks & Recreation" Star Aubrey Plaza Interview". Community.livejournal.com. 2009-04-12. http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/34077731.html. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ Rosenblit, Rachel (September 2, 2009). "The ELLE 25". Elle. http://www.elle.com/Pop-Culture/Movies-TV-Music-Books/The-ELLE-25/The-ELLE-25-Get-more-Fall-Entertainment-News-on-ELLE.com2. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ Letterman, David (2011-08-31). Interview. The Late Show with David Letterman.
- ^ "Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz from Eric Appel, Ben Schwartz, and Aubrey Plaza". Funnyordie.com. http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/76b1d33fb0/terrible-decisions-with-ben-schwartz. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aubrey Plaza |
- Aubrey Plaza at the Internet Movie Database
- Aubrey Plaza Videos - Plaza's video website
- Aubrey Plaza NBC Profile - Profile from Parks and Recreation
- Troopers web series
