Aubrey Plaza facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aubrey Plaza
Plaza at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024
Born	Aubrey Christina Plaza (1984-06-26) June 26, 1984 (age 41) Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University (BFA)
Occupation	Actress comedian producer
Years active	2004–present
Works	Full list
Spouse(s)	Jeff Baena ​ ​ (m. 2021; his death 2025)​

Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She is well-known for her unique acting style and comedic timing. Aubrey started acting in plays when she was a teenager. She also performed improv (acting without a script) and sketch comedy (short, funny scenes) at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

After finishing college at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Aubrey Plaza appeared in her first movie, Mystery Team (2009). She became very famous for playing April Ludgate on the TV show Parks and Recreation (2009–2015). This show was a funny series about a local government office.

In movies, Aubrey had a supporting role in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). She also played a main character in Safety Not Guaranteed (2012). From 2017 to 2019, she starred in the superhero TV series Legion, which critics really liked. She also produced and starred in the movies The Little Hours and Ingrid Goes West in 2017. Later, she appeared in the romantic comedy Happiest Season and the thriller Black Bear (both 2020). In 2022, she produced and played the main character in the crime film Emily the Criminal.

Aubrey Plaza was nominated for important awards like the Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. These nominations were for her role as a serious lawyer in the second season of the HBO series The White Lotus (2022). In 2023, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2024, she played Rio Vidal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe show Agatha All Along.

Early Life and School

Aubrey Plaza was born in Wilmington, Delaware. Her mother, Bernadette, is a lawyer, and her father, David Plaza, is a financial advisor. Aubrey has two younger sisters named Renee and Natalie.

Aubrey was named after a song called "Aubrey" by the band Bread. Her father's family comes from Puerto Rico. Her grandfather, Ismael, was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and moved to the United States when he was 17. Her mother's family is from Ireland and England. Aubrey has also mentioned that she has Taíno ancestry, which is a group of indigenous people from the Caribbean.

Aubrey has said, "I'm half-Puerto Rican. But, yeah, I have a huge family and tons of cousins in Puerto Rico." She grew up in a very Catholic family. She went to Ursuline Academy, an all-girls Catholic school, and finished in 2002. In high school, she was the student council president and acted in plays with the Wilmington Drama League. She later studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and graduated in 2006.

Aubrey's Career Journey

Starting Out: 2004–2009

Plaza at the Parks and Recreation premiere party in 2009

Aubrey Plaza started training and performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in 2004. She also performed at other comedy clubs like the Laugh Factory and The Improv. She has said that actress Amy Poehler inspired her to try improv. While she was in film school, she had an internship at Saturday Night Live in 2004–2005. She also worked as an NBC page, which is like an assistant, and appeared in an episode of 30 Rock in 2006. She was in two short films that same year.

In 2008, Aubrey was part of a funny prank by Improv Everywhere. She and others brought an entire desktop computer to a Starbucks in New York City. She also had a role in a web series called The Jeannie Tate Show and appeared in ESPN's Mayne Street.

In 2009, Aubrey made her first big movie appearance in Mystery Team. She then played a stand-up comedian and a love interest for Seth Rogen in the movie Funny People. To get ready for this role, she went to open mic nights at comedy clubs to practice stand-up. For her audition, she performed five minutes of comedy at her friend Donald Glover's show.

When Aubrey went to Los Angeles for Funny People, the casting director, Allison Jones, asked her if she wanted to meet with other people. Jones set up a meeting with Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, who were creating Parks and Recreation. They told her about their idea for the show. Aubrey suggested a character who was a smart intern but didn't care about the job. She thought this would be a funny contrast to Amy Poehler's hardworking character. They liked her idea and created the character of April Ludgate. Aubrey played April from 2009 to 2015 and received a lot of praise for her performance. April became one of the show's most popular characters.

Becoming Famous: 2010–2016

Plaza in 2012

While Aubrey was in Los Angeles for Funny People and Parks and Recreation, Allison Jones also suggested she audition for Edgar Wright's movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). Aubrey was cast as Julie Powers in the film. She also performed at a charity event called A Night of 140 Tweets in 2010. During breaks from filming Parks and Recreation, Aubrey worked on other movies and TV shows. She appeared in a funny video for CollegeHumor with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett.

In 2011, she had a role in the sketch comedy series Portlandia. She also appeared in the movies Damsels in Distress (2011) and 10 Years (2011).

In 2012, Aubrey had her first main role in a big movie, the comedy Safety Not Guaranteed. She played a magazine intern who answers a strange advertisement. Her acting received great reviews, and she won an award for Breakthrough Performance at the 2012 Young Hollywood Awards. In 2013, she also starred in the movie The To Do List. To promote the film, Aubrey ran onto the stage at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards and took Will Ferrell's award. She was asked to leave the event after this.

Aubrey also used her voice for animated characters. She voiced Eska in the TV series The Legend of Korra (2013–2014). She also voiced Grumpy Cat in the TV movie Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever (2014). In 2014, Aubrey starred in the horror comedy film Life After Beth, which was written and directed by her husband Jeff Baena. She also appeared in the drama film Ned Rifle (2014).

In 2016, Aubrey Plaza starred in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates with Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick, and Adam DeVine. Her role as the rebellious Tatiana was highly praised. She also provided a guest voice for an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. That same year, she played Cat Adams, a contract killer, in the TV series Criminal Minds for several seasons. She also played Lenore in Dirty Grandpa alongside Zoey Deutch, Zac Efron, and Robert De Niro.

Growing Her Career: 2017–Present

Plaza at WonderCon in 2019

In 2017, Aubrey Plaza starred in and produced the films The Little Hours and Ingrid Goes West. The Little Hours is a dark comedy about medieval nuns. Both movies first showed at the Sundance Film Festival. In Ingrid Goes West, Aubrey played a fan who is obsessed with a social media influencer. Critics praised Aubrey's performance, saying she captured the character's feelings very well. The film won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. The next year, she starred in the comedy An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn.

From 2017 to 2019, Aubrey played two characters, Amahl Farouk / Shadow King and Lenny Busker, in the FX series Legion. This show and Aubrey's acting were highly praised. The role of Lenny was originally written for a man, but Aubrey asked that the character's lines and actions stay the same, without being limited by gender. She was inspired by David Bowie for her approach to the role. She had a lot of creative freedom with the character and worked with directors and choreographers on scenes.

In 2019 and 2020, Aubrey hosted the Independent Spirit Awards. In 2019, she starred in Child's Play, a new version of the 1988 film. She played Andy's mother, who brings home a killer doll named Chucky.

In 2020, Aubrey played Riley Johnson in the romantic comedy Happiest Season. She also produced and starred in the independent thriller Black Bear, which earned her great reviews. Black Bear is about a filmmaker who goes to a cabin in the mountains to find ideas for her next movie. This film explores human relationships and how movies are made.

In 2021, Aubrey wrote and directed an episode called "Quiet Illness" for the TV series Cinema Toast. This series uses old movie clips to tell new stories. Aubrey was inspired by actress Loretta Young for her episode. She edited different film and TV clips of Young into a psychological thriller. She described the project as "trippy" and a "pandemic-filming style." Aubrey has always been interested in directing and was writing a project during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also wrote a children's book with Dan Murphy, called The Legend of the Christmas Witch (2021).

Plaza in 2022

Aubrey produced and starred as the main character in the independent film Emily the Criminal (2022). She played a woman with student debt who gets involved in criminal activities. Her performance and the film were highly praised. The New York Times called her acting "wonderfully nuanced." She also appeared in the film Spin Me Round, which premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in 2022. In the second season of the HBO series The White Lotus, Aubrey played Harper, a lawyer on vacation. For this role, she was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In August 2022, the animated show Little Demon started. Aubrey voices a character and is also an executive producer on the show. In October 2022, she received the Artist of Distinction Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

At the 2023 Independent Spirit Awards, Aubrey was nominated for Best Lead Performance for Emily the Criminal. She was also nominated for Best First Feature as a producer for the same film. In January 2023, she hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time and appeared in many funny sketches. In July, it was announced that she would perform on stage for the first time in an off-Broadway play called Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. She was nominated for the Drama League Distinguished Performance Award. Time magazine named Aubrey Plaza one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.

In 2024, Aubrey Plaza and her Parks and Recreation co-star Nick Offerman appeared together in a Mountain Dew advertisement during the Super Bowl LVIII. She is also set to star in John Waters's first film in over 20 years, Liarmouth. She played the witch Rio Vidal in the Disney+ show Agatha All Along, which is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This show premiered on September 18, 2024.

Personal Life

Plaza and her husband Jeff Baena at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2017

Aubrey Plaza started a relationship with writer and director Jeff Baena in 2011. In 2021, on their tenth anniversary of being together, they got married in a small ceremony.

Acting Credits

Aubrey Plaza's most praised television projects include Parks and Recreation (2009–2015), Legion (2017–2019), Calls (2021), Little Demon (2022), The White Lotus (2022), Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023) and Agatha All Along (2024).

Awards and Nominations

Images for kids

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  Aubrey Plaza in 2012

See also

In Spanish: Aubrey Plaza para niños