Aubrey Plaza

Aubrey Plaza is an American actress, comedian and producer known for her deadpan comedic style and for ranging into dramatic and darkly comic roles. She first gained wide recognition as the sardonic April Ludgate on the sitcom Parks and Recreation and later earned acclaim for her work in independent film and prestige television.

Early life

Plaza was born on June 26, 1984, in Wilmington, Delaware. She was active in theater and student productions growing up and went on to study film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While in New York she performed and trained in improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and worked as an intern in television, developing the comedic timing that would define her early career.

Career

Plaza joined the cast of Parks and Recreation in 2009, playing the apathetic, dry-witted intern and later city employee April Ludgate across the show's seven seasons. During and after the series she built a film career that mixed studio comedies with independent fare, appearing in movies such as Funny People, Safety Not Guaranteed, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and other comedies that showcased her range. She increasingly took on darker and more complex characters, including the lead in the indie thriller Black Bear and a memorable turn in the social-media satire Ingrid Goes West, which she also produced.

Recent work

Plaza received broad acclaim for her role as Harper Spiller in the second season of the HBO anthology series The White Lotus, sharing in a Screen Actors Guild Award for the ensemble and earning an Emmy nomination. She starred in the crime drama Emily the Criminal, also serving as a producer, and joined the Marvel universe in the Disney+ series Agatha All Along. She has hosted Saturday Night Live and continues to work across film and television, balancing comedic and dramatic projects while expanding her work as a producer. Plaza also starred as the unpredictable Lenny in the FX superhero series Legion and appeared in films including the Guy Ritchie action-comedy Operation Fortune and Francis Ford Coppola's ambitious project Megalopolis. She has hosted awards ceremonies, including the Independent Spirit Awards, and continued to lend her voice to animation while developing projects as a producer. Known for cultivating an offbeat public persona, she has used it to comedic effect in interviews, hosting appearances and promotional campaigns. Plaza's career has come to exemplify a performer who moves fluidly between mainstream comedy, prestige drama and independent film, earning a devoted following along the way.