| Amy Poehler | |
|---|---|
Poehler at the premiere of Parks and Recreation, April 9, 2009 |
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| Born | Amy Meredith Poehler September 16, 1971 Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, comedian, writer, producer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse | Will Arnett (2003-present; 2 children) |
Amy Meredith Poehler /ˈpoʊlər/ (born September 16, 1971) is an American actress, comedian, producer and writer. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is currently the lead of NBC's comedy Parks and Recreation. She has been nominated twice for both the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance on Saturday Night Live, and for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in Parks & Recreation. For the latter series she also received a 2012 Golden Globe Award nomination.
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Poehler was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Eileen Frances (née Milmore) and William Grinstead Poehler, both teachers.[1] She is a distant cousin of author Stephen King and U.S. senator Scott Brown, through shared New England ancestry.[2][3][4] Poehler was raised Catholic.[1]
A 1993 graduate of Boston College, Poehler was a member of America's oldest collegiate improv comedy troupe, "My Mother's Fleabag."[1] After graduating from college, Poehler moved to Chicago, where she studied improvisational theatre at Second City, with friend and future co-star Tina Fey.[1] She also studied with Del Close at ImprovOlympic, going on to become part of the touring company as well as teaching classes at IO.
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, Rick Roman, and Neil Flynn), 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.[1] Immediately after moving to New York, the group quickly scored a TV gig, appearing as sketch regulars on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
In 1998, Comedy Central debuted the group's eponymous half-hour sketch comedy series. 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.[1]
In the summer of 2000, Comedy Central canceled the Upright Citizens Brigade program after its third season, though the UCB Theatre continues to operate. The foursome continue to work together in many projects, and frequently perform together in live improv shows at their comedy theatres in NY and LA.
Poehler joined the cast of SNL during the 2001–02 season, her debut episode being the first one produced after the 9/11 attacks – with host Reese Witherspoon, musical guest Alicia Keys, and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as a special guest. Poehler was promoted from featured player to full cast member in her first season on the show, making her only the third person to have earned this distinction (after Harry Shearer and Eddie Murphy).[5]
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 was nominated for a 2008 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series[6], the first SNL cast member recognized in this category. She was heavily favored to win by many critics, but ultimately lost to Jean Smart. She was nominated once again in 2009, but lost to Kristin Chenoweth. On September 13, 2008, the SNL season premiere opened with Fey and Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton, respectively, performing a "joint political campaign spot."
It was officially announced on September 16, 2008 that Poehler would be leaving SNL in October due to the birth of her child. On the October 25, 2008 episode, it was announced by "Weekend Update" co-anchor Seth Meyers, who anchored the segment alone, "Amy Poehler is not here because she is having a baby", to wild applause from the audience. At the end of "Weekend Update", special guest Maya Rudolph and current cast member Kenan Thompson sang a custom rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" for Poehler, changing the words: "We love you Amy, and we just can't wait to meet your baby!" Meyers signed off: "For Weekend Update, I'm Seth Meyers — we love you Amy!"
Poehler returned to the show on November 3, 2008, during the "SNL Presidential Bash '08", "hosting" as Hillary Clinton. The Bash was pre-taped from scenes shot between September and October. Her return to SNL after her pregnancy was on December 6, 2008, where she stayed for two weeks. During "Weekend Update", on December 13, she thanked her family, friends, and fans for the continued support and announced that it would be her last show. On April 18, 2009, a Saturday Night Live special, "The Best of Amy Poehler", aired. Poehler returned for "Weekend Update" (signing off with "...and he's Seth Meyers") and joined the "chorus" for Will Ferrell's "Goodnight Saigon" (along with the SNL cast and Tom Hanks, Maya Rudolph, Norm Macdonald, Artie Lange, Anne Hathaway, and Green Day) on the SNL season finale on May 16, 2009.
Poehler returned to the "Weekend Update" desk in the fall of 2009 with Meyers, for two "WU" Thursday episodes, which led directly into Parks and Recreation. Poehler also returned to Saturday Night Live for a special Mother's Day episode on May 8, 2010, hosted by Betty White.[7]
Poehler returned to Saturday Night Live on September 25, 2010 to host the Season 36 opening episode with performer Katy Perry. She returned once again for the Saturday Night Live special, "The Women of SNL". The special aired on November 1, 2010. Between the time she left and the time she hosted, she also returned several times to join Seth Meyers in their "Really!?! With Seth and Amy" segment on Weekend Update. Since she hosted, the "Really!?!" segment has aired twice, and Amy was not present for either; the first Meyers did alone, and special guest Kermit the Frog partnered him in the second one, hinting at the end of irregular appearances. However, she appeared as a guest in the December 18, 2011 Jimmy-Fallon-hosted episode, starring in the opening skit and a Weekend Update Joke-Off with Fallon, Meyers and Tina Fey.
In July 2008, Variety reported that Poehler was in final negotiations to star in a series by writers Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, set to air on Thursdays before The Office, starting January 2009 on NBC.[8] On July 21, 2008, NBC officially announced Poehler's new series, Parks and Recreation, saying the project would not be a direct spin-off of The Office, as previously speculated.[9]
Poehler joined an ensemble cast including Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Schneider, Nick Offerman, Adam Scott, and Rob Lowe. Poehler plays Deputy Director of the Parks Department, [Leslie Knope], in the fictional city of Pawnee, Indiana. After a rough first season, the show's second season and third season have been well received by critics, and Poehler received an Emmy nomination for her role. NBC has since renewed Parks and Recreation for a fourth season. Poehler was featured in The Advocate for her role in the show.
Amy Poehler has also written two episodes of the series. The first being Telethon in season 2, which was the episode Poehler sent in as her Emmy Awards submission in 2010. The second one is the episode entitled The Fight, which aired on May 12, 2011.
Poehler was once again nominated for an Emmy Award - Oustanding Actress in a Comedy in 2011. She sent the episode Flu Season as her submission.
Poehler has appeared in the films Wet Hot American Summer, Mean Girls, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny, Blades of Glory, Envy, Shrek the Third, Mr. Woodcock, and Hamlet 2. She is producing a digital series with two of her friends, Meredith Walker and Amy Miles, Smart Girls at the Party, available through ON Networks.[10][11] The show is focused on interviews with young women who are "changing the world by being themselves".[12] The first season of 'Smart Girls at the Party' premiered online November 17, 2008, with Mattel's Barbie signed on as the lead sponsor.[13]
She 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!, Hamlet 2, Baby Mama, and Spring Breakdown. 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.[14] In 2009, Poehler earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Series.[15]
In 2011 Poehler received the honor of being named one of TIME magazine's "100 most influential people in the world".[16] She also delivered the Class Day address to Harvard University's class of 2011.[17]
Poehler married Will Arnett of the Fox comedy Arrested Development on August 29, 2003, and had a recurring role 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, and appeared together in Horton Hears a Who!, On Broadway, Spring Breakdown, and Monsters vs. Aliens, along with Arnett having a guest appearance on Poehler's NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. On October 25, 2008, Poehler gave birth to her first child, son Archibald William Emerson "Archie" Arnett, just hours before the Saturday Night Live telecast.[18] Poehler gave birth to her second son, Abel James Arnett, on August 6, 2010.[19] She is a supporter of Planned Parenthood.[20][21]
Poehler has impersonated Dakota Fanning, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Sharon Osbourne, Britney Spears, Paula Abdul, Rosie O'Donnell, Kelly Ripa, Ann Coulter, Madonna, Avril Lavigne, Sharon Stone, Nancy Grace, Michael Jackson, Lindsay Lohan, Christian Siriano, Peter Ostrum, David Spade, Mr. Six, Tonya Harding, Dennis Kucinich, Fergie, Judy Garland, J. K. Rowling, Kim Jong-il, Jenna Bush, Katie Couric, Tinker Bell, and Rosie Perez.
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Prism Award | Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated |
| 2008 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated |
| 2009 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program | The Mighty B! | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Saturday Night Live | Nominated | |
| MTV Movie Award | Best WTF Moment | Baby Mama | Won | |
| 2010 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program | The Mighty B! | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Parks and Recreation | Nominated | |
| People's Choice Award | Favorite TV Comedy Actress | Parks and Recreation | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | Parks and Recreation | Nominated |
| TCA Awards | Individual Achievement in Comedy | Parks and Recreation | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Parks and Recreation | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Comedy Series | Parks and Recreation | Nominated | |
| Satellite Award | Best Actress in a TV Series - Comedy or Musical | Parks and Recreation | Nominated | |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy Series | Parks and Recreation | Pending | |
| Producers Guild of America Award | Comedy Series | Parks and Recreation | Pending | |
| 2012 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actress in a TV Series - Comedy or Musical | Parks and Recreation | Pending |
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon |
Weekend Update Anchor with Tina Fey 2004–2006 with Seth Meyers 2006–2008 2004–2008 |
Succeeded by Seth Meyers as sole anchor |