Amy Poehler

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Amy Poehler

Poehler at the premiere of Baby Mama, April 2008
Born September 16, 1971 (1971-09-16) (age 36)
Burlington, Massachusetts, United States
Years active 1996 - present
Spouse(s) Will Arnett (2003 - present)

Amy Poehler (born September 16, 1971) is an American improvisation comedian and actress. She is a cast member and parody news anchor on the NBC television program Saturday Night Live. In early 2008 Amy Poehler starred in the film Baby Mama.

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[edit] Early life

Poehler was born in Burlington, Massachusetts, the daughter of Eileen, a teacher, and Bill Poehler.[1] She has a younger brother, Gregory. A 1993 graduate of Boston College, Poehler was a key member of America's oldest collegiate improv comedy troupe, My Mother's Fleabag.

After graduating from college, Poehler moved to Chicago where she studied improv at Second City alongside friend and future co-star Tina Fey. She also studied with Del Close at ImprovOlympic, going on to become part of the touring company as well as teaching classes at iO.

[edit] Career

[edit] Upright Citizens Brigade

During her time at Second City, Poehler studied with Matt Besser, part of the Upright Citizens Brigade. While the group initially consisted of many members (including Horatio Sanz, Adam McKay, and Neil Finn, Poehler quickly became part of the group along with Matt Walsh. The two, along with Besser and Ian Roberts, performed sketch and improv around Chicago before moving to New York in 1996.

In 1998, Comedy Central debuted the Upright Citizens Brigade's half hour TV show. During the show's second season, the group opened an Improv theatre and training center in New York City at 161 W. 22nd Street, occupying the space of a former strip club. The UCB theatre held shows seven nights a week in addition to offering classes in sketch comedy writing and improv.

Comedy Central cancelled the Upright Citizens Brigade program after its third season, though the UCB theatre continues to operate.

[edit] Saturday Night Live

On September 29, 2001, Poehler made her debut as a featured player on Saturday Night Live. She was promoted to repertory player halfway through her first season-- only the second cast member in SNL history to have achieved this[citation needed].

On Saturday Night Live, she parodies stars such as Hillary Clinton, Sharon Osbourne, Paula Abdul, Hilary Duff, Kelly Ripa, Madonna, Avril Lavigne, Sharon Stone, Nancy Grace, Michael Jackson, Dennis Kucinich, Christian Siriano and Dakota Fanning. During her first season on SNL, Poehler was promoted from featured player to full cast member, making her the third person to have ever earned this distinction (after Harry Shearer and Eddie Murphy)[citation needed]. Beginning with the 2004-05 season, she co-anchored "Weekend Update" with Tina Fey, replacing the newly departed Jimmy Fallon. In a TV Guide interview, Fey said that with Poehler co-anchoring, there now is "double the sexual tension." When Fey left after the 2005-06 season to devote time to the sitcom she created, 30 Rock, Seth Meyers joined Poehler at the anchor desk.

Poehler has confirmed she will be back for the 2008 - 2009 season of SNL.

Poehler appeared on the cover of the April 20, 2008 issue of Page Six Magazine.

[edit] Other projects

Poehler has appeared in films such as Wet Hot American Summer, Mean Girls, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny, Blades of Glory, Envy, Shrek The Third and Mr. Woodcock. In the past, she often appeared in various comedy segments on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, often playing her recurring role as Andy Richter's little sister Stacy, and as a recurring character in two episodes of the college dramedy Undeclared. She appears in the film Southland Tales, which premiered on May 21, 2006 at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. In 2008, she appeared in Horton Hears a Who! and Baby Mama, and will star in Spring Breakdown and Hamlet 2. She has also co-created an animated series for Nickelodeon called The Mighty B! about Bessie Higgenbottom, a "sweet, merit-badge-obsessed girl scout," to which she lends her vocal talents.[2]

[edit] Personal life

Poehler is married to Will Arnett, of the FOX comedy Arrested Development, and had recurring roles in the series as the nameless wife of Arnett's character George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II. Poehler and Arnett also played a quasi-incestuous brother-sister ice skating team in the 2007 film Blades of Glory.

[edit] Pregnancy

On April 28, 2008 People announced that the couple are expecting their first child together, due in the fall.[3]

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] Recurring characters on SNL

[edit] References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  1. ^ Amy Poehler Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  2. ^ SpongeBob SquareProfits: Nickelodeon Swears by Cartoons from NYtimes.com
  3. ^ Amy Poehler and Will Arnett Expecting a Baby

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Preceded by
Jimmy Fallon		 Weekend Update
2004 – current		 Succeeded by
Current
Notes and references
1. Poehler co-anchors alongside Seth Meyers and previously, Tina Fey.
v • d • e
Current Saturday Night Live Cast Members
Repertory Players
Featured Players


Persondata
NAME Poehler, Amy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION TV Personality
DATE OF BIRTH September 16, 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH Burlington, Massachusetts, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH