Amy Sedaris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amy Sedaris
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Sedaris at BlogHer in 2007
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Amy Louise Sedaris
March 29, 1961 Endicott, New York, U.S.
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| Years active | 1990–present |
| Partner(s) | Paul Dinello (1987–1995) |
| Relatives | David Sedaris (brother) |
Amy Louise Sedaris (born March 29, 1961) is a famous American actress, comedian, and writer. You might know her best as Peli Motto in the popular Star Wars shows The Mandalorian (2019–2023) and The Book of Boba Fett (2022). She also played Jerri Blank in the comedy series Strangers with Candy (1999–2000) and its movie (2005), which she helped write.
Amy Sedaris has lent her voice to many animated characters. She was Princess Carolyn in the Netflix cartoon BoJack Horseman (2014–2020). She also played Mimi Kanasis in the Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2020). Amy created and starred in the funny show At Home with Amy Sedaris (2017–2020). This show was so good that it was nominated for two Emmy Awards!
She has been in many movies too, like Maid in Manhattan (2002), School of Rock (2003), Elf (2003), and The Lion King (2019).
Contents
Growing Up
Amy Sedaris was born in Endicott, New York, on March 29, 1961. She was the fourth of six children in her family. Her dad, Louis Harry Sedaris, was an engineer for IBM. Her mom, Sharon Elizabeth, stayed at home. Her dad's family came from Greece, and her mom's family was from New York.
When Amy was four, her family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. She grew up there with her five brothers and sisters: Lisa, David, Gretchen, Tiffany, and Paul. Amy remembered feeling a bit different in North Carolina. Her family wasn't "southern" and they followed Greek traditions.
As a child, Amy loved to play dress-up and put on plays for her family. Her brother David, who is also a famous writer, wrote that Amy would often pretend to be different characters to play jokes on their family. When she was a teenager, her first job was at a supermarket called Winn-Dixie. She would make funny fake announcements over the store's loudspeaker. Amy also thought about working at the local women's prison for a while.
She finished high school at Jesse O. Sanderson High School. She was also a Girl Scout until her last year there. After high school, Amy moved to Chicago. She studied acting and comedy at famous places like Second City and Annoyance Theatre. While there, she also worked as a waitress at a comedy club.
Her Career in TV and Movies
Starting in Comedy
In the late 1980s, Amy Sedaris started performing with Second City's touring group. This is where she met Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert. They became very good friends and worked together a lot later on. They found out they had a similar sense of humor.
Amy left Second City in 1993 and moved to New York City. Her first big TV show was in 1995 on Comedy Central. It was a sketch comedy show called Exit 57. She starred in it with Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello. Amy was nominated for an award for Best Comedy Actress for her work on the show. Exit 57 ran for two seasons.
Strangers with Candy
In 1999, Amy Sedaris began playing Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central show Strangers with Candy. Jerri Blank was a middle-aged woman who decided to go back to high school. Amy helped write the show with Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert. The idea for the show came from Amy's funny impression of a motivational speaker from the 1970s. The show was on for three seasons. In 2005, a movie version of Strangers with Candy was released. It told the story of what happened before the TV series.
Guest Appearances
Amy has made many guest appearances on different TV shows. Some of these include Sex and the City (2002–2003), Monk (2002–2003), My Name Is Earl (2006), and Sesame Street (2006). She also appeared on many talk shows, like Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
In 2008, Amy played Principal Abby Hofman in the Nickelodeon TV movie Gym Teacher: The Movie. Her friend and co-star from Strangers with Candy, Paul Dinello, directed this movie.
She also appeared in commercials for Downy Unstoppables, a fabric softener. She played a "laundry expert" in these funny ads.
Recent TV Roles
In 2013, Amy took over the role of Hurshe Heartshe in the show The Heart, She Holler. She was also in a show called Alpha House on Amazon Prime Video. In this show, she played Louise Laffer, the wife of a senator.
Amy had a recurring role as Pam in the comedy show Broad City (2014–2019). She also played Rita in Difficult People (2015–2017). From 2015 to 2020, she was Mimi Kanasis in the Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. She was nominated for an award for this role.
In 2017, Amy Sedaris created her own comedy show called At Home with Amy Sedaris for TruTV. She wrote and produced the show herself. It was about her love for entertaining, crafts, and cooking. She played many different characters on the show. The show was very popular and won an award for Best Comedy / Variety Sketch Series in 2021.
She also had a main role as Janice Delongpre in the CBS All Access comedy series No Activity from 2017 to 2019.
Voice Acting Fun
Amy Sedaris is known for her amazing voice acting. She has voiced characters in many commercials and cartoons. She was Miss Davis in WordGirl and the Bandit Princess in Adventure Time.
In movies, she voiced Foxy Loxy in Chicken Little (2005). She was Cinderella in Shrek the Third (2007). She also voiced Jill in Puss in Boots (2011). In 2019, she voiced a Guinea Fowl in the movie The Lion King.
One of her most famous voice roles is Princess Carolyn in the Netflix animated comedy BoJack Horseman (2014–2020). Many people think this is one of her best performances.
She has also voiced characters in American Dad! (2009–2012), Ma Angler in SpongeBob SquarePants (2011–2019), and Samantha in F is for Family (2020). In 2022, she voiced Suzanne in a holiday podcast called Christmasuzannukkah.
Writing and Stage Work
Amy Sedaris is also a talented writer. In 2003, she wrote a book called Wigfield with Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert.
She has also written articles for The Believer magazine. In 2010, she released a crafting book called Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People!. When she promoted her book on TV, she showed how the book cover could be turned into a hat!
Amy has written several plays with her brother, David Sedaris. They wrote plays like Stump the Host (1993) and The Book of Liz (2002). She has also acted in many plays, including The Country Club (1998), which earned her an award nomination.
Other Projects
Amy Sedaris supports People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She appeared as her character Jerri Blank from Strangers with Candy in an ad against wearing fur. The ad said, "When you wear fur, people laugh at you, not with you."
In 2007, Amy was in Dolly Parton's music video for the song "Better Get to Livin'". She also hosted a big meeting for Microsoft employees in 2010.
Personal Life
Amy Sedaris has a small business where she makes cupcakes and cheeseballs from her home kitchen. She named her business Dusty Food Cupcakes after her pet rabbit, Dusty. She lives in Greenwich Village, New York City.
Amy was in a relationship with actor and writer Paul Dinello for eight years. Even after they broke up, they stayed very close friends. Amy is even the godmother to his two children.
Images for kids
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Sedaris and David Rakoff at the 2006 Texas Book Festival
See also
In Spanish: Amy Sedaris para niños
