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Aubrey Plaza

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Aubrey Plaza
Plaza at the 2019 WonderCon
Born
Aubrey Christina Plaza

(1984-06-26) June 26, 1984 (age 40)
Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
EducationUrsuline Academy
Alma materNew York University
Occupation(s)Actress, comedian, producer
Years active2006–present
PartnerJeff Baena (2011–present)

Aubrey Christina Plaza[1] (born June 26, 1984)[2] is an American actress, comedian and producer. She is known for her role as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. After appearing in supporting roles in several feature films, Plaza had her first leading role as Darius Britt in the 2012 film Safety Not Guaranteed. Since 2017, she has starred as Lenny Busker in the FX drama series Legion.

Plaza began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She later appeared in films such as 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), and Ingrid Goes West (2017), the latter two of which she also produced.

Early life

Plaza was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Bernadette, an attorney, and David Plaza, a financial advisor.[3] She has two younger sisters, Renee and Natalie.[4]

Plaza was named after the song "Aubrey" by Bread.[5] Her father is Puerto Rican and her mother is of Irish–English descent.[6] 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."[7]

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.[5][8] She studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 2006.[5]

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.[5][9][10]

Career

Plaza at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con

Plaza has had many internships, and worked as an NBC page.[11] 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.[12]

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.[13]

Plaza in 2012

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.[14]

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".[15]

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.[16] Plaza also voiced Grumpy Cat in the Lifetime Network's original movie Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever (2014).[17]

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.[18]

She first played the role of Cat Adams in Season 11 of the CBS television show Criminal Minds. She returned to the role in Season 12.

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.[19]

Plaza has been starring as Lenny Busker in the FX series Legion since February 2017.[20]

In 2018, she was cast in Child's Play, a reboot of the 1988 film.[21]

On February 23, 2019, Plaza hosted the 34th Independent Spirit Awards.[22]

Personal life

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.[23][24]

She is bisexual.[25]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Refs
2006 Killswitch Girl with Head Wound Short film
In Love Julie Short film
2009 Mystery Team Kelly Peters
Funny People Daisy Danby
2010 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Julie Powers
2011 Damsels in Distress Debbie
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You Jeanine Breemer
10 Years Olivia
2012 Safety Not Guaranteed Darius Britt
A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III Marnie [26]
2013 From Up on Poppy Hill Sachiko Hirokouji English dubbing
She Said, She Said Woman in Park Short film
Failure Woman Short film
The End of Love Aubrey
The To Do List Brandy Klark
Charlie Countryman Ashley
Monsters University Claire Wheeler Voice role [27]
Center Jenny Monika Nark
2014 Life After Beth Beth Slocum [28]
About Alex Sarah [29]
Ned Rifle Susan [30]
Playing It Cool Mallory [31]
Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever Grumpy Cat Voice role
2015 Addicted to Fresno Kelly
The Driftless Area Jean
2016 Dirty Grandpa Lenore
Joshy Jen
The Pistol Shrimps Herself Documentary
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates Tatiana
2017 Take My Nose... Please! Herself Documentary
The Little Hours Fernanda Also producer [32]
Ingrid Goes West Ingrid Thorburn Also producer
2018 An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn Lulu Danger
2019 The Ark and the Aardvark Brain Voice role; In production [33]
Child's Play Karen Barclay Post-production [34]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 30 Rock NBC page Episode: "Tracy Does Conan"
2009–2015 Parks and Recreation April Ludgate 125 episodes
Nominated—ALMA Award for Favorite TV Actress—Supporting Role (2011)
Nominated—ALMA Award for Favorite TV Actress—Leading Role In A Comedy (2012)
Nominated—Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress—Television (2010, 2012–2013)
2011 Portlandia Beth / Bookstore Customer 3 episodes
Food Network Star Herself Guest judge, Episode: "Comedy Roast" (Season 7 Episode 9)
2012 NTSF:SD:SUV:: The Rememberer Episode: "Wasila Hills Cop"
2013–2014 The Legend of Korra Eska Voice role, 12 episodes
2013 Drunk History Sacagawea Episode: "Nashville"
Maron Herself Episode: "Jen Moves to L.A."
2014–2015 Welcome to Sweden Herself 6 episodes
2015 Golan the Insatiable Dylan Beekler Voice role, 6 episodes
Castle Lucy Voice role, 4 episodes
2016 SpongeBob SquarePants Nocturna Voice role, Episode: "Mall Girl Pearl"
Comedy Bang! Bang! Lady Aubrey / Herself Episode: "Aubrey Plaza Wears a Velvet Off-the-Shoulder Gown With Flowers in Her Hair"
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Herself Guest judge, Episode: "Family That Drags Together"
Drunk History Aaron Burr Episode: "Hamilton"
HarmonQuest Hawaiian Coffee Episode: "Manoa Prison Hole"
2016–2017 Criminal Minds Cat Adams 3 episodes
2017–present Legion Lenny Busker 19 episodes

Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Villain (2018)
Nominated—Imagen Award for Best Actress—Television (2018)

2017 Easy Lindsay Episode: "Package Thief"
2018 The Joker's Wild Herself 3 episodes
2019 34th Independent Spirit Awards Herself Host, TV special

Music videos

Year Title Artist(s) Role Notes
2012 "Hollywood Cemetery Forever Sings" Father John Misty[35] Girl
2013 "Rouse Yourself" JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound[36] Girl
2014 "Bona Fide" Cassorla[14] Woman in Boat

References

  1. ^ Plaza, Aubrey (March 1, 2012). "Aubrey Plaza Finally Confronts Her Multiple Personalities". Bullett Magazine.
  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". Delaware Online. The News Journal.
  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.
  5. ^ a b c d "Aubrey Plaza of NBC's Parks and Recreation: Wilmington Native Is Building a Buzz in Hollywood". Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  6. ^ Lee Hernández (June 11, 2009). "This girl's no slouch". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  7. ^ Herrera, Monica (April 9, 2009). "Parks & Recreation star Aubrey Plaza explains why she's so hot right now". Latina.
  8. ^ Mark Byrne, Todd Cole (July 24, 2013). "The GQ Interview: Aubrey Plaza". GQ. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  9. ^ Letterman, David (August 31, 2011), interview – "Late Show with David Letterman"
  10. ^ Nealon, Kevin (April 4, 2019). Aubrey Plaza was clocked in a fist fight! (Videotape). Event occurs at 12 minutes 19 seconds. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  11. ^ "Aubrey Plaza on the Job That Really Didn't Work Out". Elle. November 30, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  12. ^ "Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz from Eric Appel, Ben Schwartz, and Aubrey Plaza". Funnyordie.com. September 27, 2009. Archived from the original on January 1, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Troopers Videos on Collegehumor". CollegeHumor. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Watch Aubrey Plaza rip sax solos in Cassorla's 'Bona Fide' video". August Brown, The Baltimore Sun, January 7th, 2014. Retrieved February 27th, 2018.
  15. ^ Thompson, Gary (June 15, 2012). "Aubrey Plaza shines in 'Safety Not Guaranteed'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 6, 2012. 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.
  16. ^ "You'll Never Guess Aubrey Plaza's Kinky On-Set Ritual!". In the Mixx. October 17, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  17. ^ Blake, Emily (September 17, 2014). "Aubrey Plaza will be the voice of Grumpy Cat in Lifetime movie". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  18. ^ "Alia Shawkat and Aubrey Plaza Are Drunk History's New Hamilton and Burr". Vulture. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  19. ^ McNary, Dave (February 8, 2017). "Aubrey Plaza, Emile Hirsch to Star in Indie Comedy 'An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn'". Variety. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  20. ^ Swift, Andy; Swift, Andy (February 4, 2016). "Legion: Dan Stevens to Play Charles Xavier's Son; Aubrey Plaza Also Cast". TVLine. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  21. ^ Shoemaker, Allison. "Aubrey Plaza, Brian Tyree Henry join Child's Play reboot". News. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  22. ^ "Aubrey Plaza to Host 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  23. ^ Spencer, Amy (February 8, 2017). "Aubrey Plaza like you've never seen her before". New York Post. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  24. ^ Russell, Anna (June 26, 2017). "Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza's Medieval Adventure". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  25. ^ https://time.com/4398056/aubrey-plaza-bisexual-lgbt/
  26. ^ Sneider, Jeff (October 5, 2011). "Aubrey Plaza joins cast of 'Charlie Swan'". Variety.
  27. ^ Gallagher, Brian (April 15, 2013). "Monsters University Fraternity and Sorority Gallery". Movieweb.com.
  28. ^ McNary, Dave; Setoodeth, Ramin (January 24, 2014). "Sundance: Aubrey Plaza's 'Life After Beth' Picked Up by A24, DirecTV". Variety. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  29. ^ Highfill, Samantha (April 15, 2014). "Tribeca: Aubrey Plaza, Max Greenfield bond in 'About Alex'". Entertainment Weekly. Inside Movies (blog). Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  30. ^ McNary, Dave (March 13, 2014). "Aubrey Plaza Joins Hal Hartley's 'Ned Rifle'". Variety. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  31. ^ Sneider, Jeff (October 2, 2012). "Anthony Mackie, Aubrey Plaza eye 'Splintered Thing'". Variety. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  32. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (April 26, 2016). "Jeff Baena's 'The Little Hours' Acquired By Concourse; Alison Brie, Dave Franco Star – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  33. ^ McNary, Dave (September 14, 2017). "Aubrey Plaza, Jenny Slate Join Miles Teller's 'Ark and the Aardvark' Animated Movie". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  34. ^ "Aubrey Plaza, Brian Tyree Henry join 'Child's Play' reboot". EW.com. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  35. ^ Father John Misty (January 26, 2012). "Father John Misty – Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings [OFFICIAL VIDEO]". Youtube.com. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  36. ^ JCBrooksVEVO (June 21, 2013). "Rouse Yourself". JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
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