Amy Poehler

Amy Meredith Poehler ( ; born September 16, 1971) Her parents, Eileen and William Poehler, are school teachers. Poehler credits her father with encouraging her to break social protocols and take risks. Poehler's ancestry is Irish, German, Portuguese, and English; her Irish roots originate from the counties Sligo and Cork. She was raised as a Catholic.

Poehler grew up in nearby Burlington, Massachusetts, which she describes as a blue-collar town. When she was ten years old, Poehler played Dorothy Gale in her school's production of L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. The experience inspired Poehler's love of performing. Poehler continued acting in school plays at Burlington High School.<!-- During college, Poehler became a member of the improv comedy troupe My Mother's Fleabag.

Career

1995–2000: Career beginnings in Improv comedy

Poehler's time studying improv in college inspired her to pursue comedy professionally. After graduating from college, she moved to Chicago, where she took her first improv class, taught by Charna Halpern at ImprovOlympic. Early on, Poehler worked as a waitress and at other jobs to earn money. Early members included Horatio Sanz, Adam McKay, Ian Roberts, Neil Flynn, and Matt Besser, although the membership was not static. McKay left the fledgling group in 1995 and Poehler became his replacement. The "UCB Four" began performing shows at small venues around the city which evolved into four regular live shows after a few months.

In 1998, Comedy Central debuted UCB's eponymous half-hour sketch-comedy series. During the show's second season, the group founded an improv theater/training center in New York City on West 22nd Street, occupying the space of a former strip club. Poehler, Besser, Roberts, and Walsh are considered the founders of UCB and have been credited with popularizing long-form improv in New York. By 2011, UCB had two theaters in New York and a theater in Los Angeles with 8,000 students taking classes per year. In 2000, still unknown at the time, she appeared on the cover of the single "You Can Have It All" by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. In 1999, Poehler had a small role in the film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. The following year, she was cast in the film Wet Hot American Summer. Wet Hot American Summer was the first film from David Wain, who cast Poehler based on her work with Upright Citizen's Brigade. Poehler made her debut in the first episode produced after the 9/11 attacks. She was promoted from featured player to full cast member in her first season on the show, making her the second cast member, and first woman, to earn this distinction. Poehler's recurring characters included hyperactive ten-year old Kaitlyn, one-legged reality show contestant Amber, and Bronx Beat talk show co-host Betty Caruso. In addition to her original characters, Poehler performed a number of impressions, including Hillary Clinton, Dakota Fanning, Avril Lavigne, Michael Jackson, Kim Jong-Il, Nancy Grace, Kelly Ripa, Katie Couric, Sharon Stone, Sharon Osbourne, Julia Roberts, Britney Spears, Madonna, Paula Abdul, Dolly Parton, Dennis Kucinich, Ann Coulter, Pamela Anderson, Christian Siriano, Rosie Perez, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Farrah Fawcett. When Fey left after the 2005–2006 season to devote time to the sitcom she created, 30 Rock, Seth Meyers joined Poehler at the Weekend Update anchor desk. In 2008, Poehler was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, the first year SNL cast members were eligible for the category.

The SNL premiere of the 2008–2009 season opened with Fey and Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton, respectively discussing sexism in political campaigning. The sketch, which Poehler co-wrote with Meyers, became the biggest viral video of the year. Days after the season premiere, NBC announced Poehler, pregnant with her first child, would not return after her upcoming maternity leave. On the October 25 episode, Meyers announced during Weekend Update that Poehler was in labor. At the end of Weekend Update, special guest Maya Rudolph and cast member Kenan Thompson sang a custom rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" for Poehler. Poehler had been rehearsing for that week's show until the day before the birth. Despite the prior announcement that Poehler would not return after her maternity leave, she came back for two more live episodes. Saturday Night Live aired a special, "The Best of Amy Poehler", in April 2009. For the 2008–2009 season finale, Poehler returned to co-host Weekend Update and joined host Will Ferrell's version of the Billy Joel song "Goodnight Saigon".

Off camera, Poehler was a prolific writer. She often collaborated with writer Emily Spivey. Meyers described Poehler as "the most generous laugher" during sketch read-throughs. She returned to SNL along with other past female cast members for a special Mother's Day episode on May 8, 2010, hosted by Betty White. Poehler returned again to host the 2010–2011 season premiere with musical guest Katy Perry. She participated in another SNL prime time special, The Women of SNL in November of that year. Poehler also returned sporadically for appearances on Weekend Update with Meyers, as well as in sketches when Jimmy Fallon (2011) and Maya Rudolph (2012) hosted.

In 2015, during the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, she returned to anchor Weekend Update, this time with Fey and Jane Curtin. Later that year, Poehler co-hosted an episode of the show during season 41, alongside Fey. Poehler continued to make several guest appearances throughout the years, including the 50th Anniversary Special in 2025, and hosted the second episode of season 51 on October 11, 2025 (the exact 50th anniversary of the premiere of the show's first episode).

Film roles (2004–2008)

Poehler appeared in the 2004 movie Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey. Fey wrote the role of self-described "cool mom" with Poehler in mind; however, Fey and director Mark Waters had to push for Poehler's casting. The studio had been wary of casting too many SNL cast members and were concerned that Poehler was too young to play the mother of Rachel McAdams, who is only seven years younger than her. Poehler filmed the role in Toronto during the week while filming SNL. thumb|left|alt=""|[[Tina Fey and Poehler at the premiere of Baby Mama in New York, April 2008]]

In 2008, she starred in Baby Mama, which reunited her with Tina Fey. Poehler plays trashy Angie Ostrowiski, who is hired by Fey's Kate to be her child's surrogate mother. The film opened on April 25, 2008, and was the number one movie at the box office in its opening weekend. The film went on to gross over $60 million at the U.S. box office. During this period she also acted in live-action films Envy (2004), Southland Tales (2006), Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006), Blades of Glory (2007), Mr. Woodcock (2007), Hamlet 2 (2008), Spring Breakdown (2009) as well as voice roles in films including Shrek the Third (2007), Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Monsters vs. Aliens (both 2009).

2009–2021: Stardom and acclaim

Parks and Recreation and other work (2009–2015)

thumb|alt=Amy Poehler and Aubrey Plaza stand side by side in front of a red background. Plaza appears to be looking at Poehler's cleavage.|Poehler with Parks and Recreation co-star [[Aubrey Plaza at the 2012 Time 100 gala]]

Following the success of The Office, NBC ordered a new series from producers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. Poehler and Schur were friends from their time together at SNL, where Schur worked as a writer. Signing Poehler, who was pregnant with her first child, meant the new series would have to forgo a promised post-Super Bowl debut and cut its first season short, but Daniels and Schur chose to push back the series for Poehler. On July 21, 2008, NBC announced Poehler's new series, Parks and Recreation, saying the project would not be a direct spin-off of The Office, as previously speculated.

Parks and Recreation premiered on NBC on April 9, 2009, at 8:30 pm between two episodes of The Office. An ensemble cast including Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Schneider, and Nick Offerman joined Poehler. One key change between seasons one and two was to distinguish the character of Leslie from Michael Scott, the central character of The Office.

Adam Scott and Rob Lowe joined the show at the end of the second season, with Scott playing Leslie's eventual husband, Ben Wyatt. Poehler was nominated again for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy in 2011. That same year, the show won a Peabody Award for "developing a hilarious venue to explore the good side of American democracy in an age when that side is so rarely on display." The show was a success with critics, but its future was still uncertain. Two episodes were written that could serve as series finales if it was cancelled, including the mid-season episode where Leslie and Ben get married. The show was ultimately renewed for a sixth season in May 2013. Poehler was nominated for an Emmy Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy in 2013 for her work in season five. Season six included the show's 100th episode, "Second ", co-written by Poehler and Schur. In 2014, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy at the 71st Golden Globe Awards, which she co-hosted with Tina Fey. In the middle of season six, Poehler and Schur decided that it felt like the right time to plan the end of the show. They met with representatives from NBC, who agreed. The show was renewed for a final thirteen-episode season.

thumb|right|alt=Amy Poehler faces forward wearing a light blue blazer. She holds a small circular award by its base.|Poehler at the 2012 Peabody Awards

By season 5, in addition to starring on Parks and Recreation, Poehler was also a producer. Behind the scenes, Poehler started a tradition of inviting the show cast and crew to a group dinner the last night of any location shoot. Poehler wrote several episodes throughout the series, starting with the season two episode "Telethon". Other episodes she penned include "The Fight" (season three), "Second Chunce" (season six), and the finale "One Last Ride". Producer Dan Goor praised Poehler's writing as "exceptionally good" and theorized, "[i]f Amy Poehler submitted a blind script to any staff, she would be hired." Poehler's writing of "The Debate" was recognized with nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Comedy. In addition to writing "The Debate", Poehler also directed the episode. and "Gryzzlbox" (season seven).

Golden Globe Awards host (2013–2021)

Poehler and Fey co-hosted the Golden Globe Awards ceremony for the first time in 2013. The program was watched by 20 million viewers, a 17 percent increase over the previous year. Gilbert Cruz of Vulture wrote: "They killed it last year with their opening monologue and they did so again this year." The 2014 show garnered its highest ratings in ten years. At the 2020 Television Critics Association winter press tour, NBC announced Poehler and Fey would host the Golden Globes again in 2021. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Poehler and Fey hosted the Golden Globes from separate locations with Poehler in Los Angeles and Fey in New York City.

Acting roles and television work (2009–2015)

During this period she starred in the live-action comedy films A.C.O.D. (2013), They Came Together (2014), Sisters (2015) and The House (2017). Poehler has also voiced several characters in animated films. Her voice-over credits include Hoodwinked Too!: Hood vs. Evil (2011), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011), The Secret World of Arrietty (2012), Free Birds (2013) and Inside Out (2015). In Pixar's Inside Out, Poehler provides the voice for the main character, Joy, an emotion living inside an 11-year-old girl. Poehler also received a screen credit for writing some of Joy's dialogue. The film has a 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and went on to gross $857 million worldwide. Poehler reprised her role as Joy in Inside Out 2, released on June 14, 2024.

In 2001, Poehler set up her own production company, Paper Kite Productions, The character of Bessie was inspired by a character Poehler performed doing improv. Season 1 averaged 3.1 million viewers and ranked as one of the top five animated programs in television. Nickelodeon renewed the show for a second season. In 2009 and 2010, Poehler earned Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program.

She has been an executive producer on series such as Difficult People and Broad City. Starring Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner, Difficult People ran for three seasons. After initially selling a script to FX, the project ultimately landed at Comedy Central where it aired for five years until its 2019 series finale. Poehler appeared in the Season 1 finale.

Welcome to Sweden is a Swedish sitcom that premiered in March 2014, and began airing on NBC in the United States three months later. It is based on the experiences of Greg Poehler, who moved with his girlfriend to her native country of Sweden in 2006. The series was canceled by NBC on July 28, 2015, after two seasons due to low ratings. Amy Poehler makes cameo appearances in multiple episodes as herself as a celebrity client of her brother's character, a former New York tax accountant. She is also co-executive producer with him.

2019–present: Career expansion

Directorial debut and other work

Poehler made her film directorial debut with Wine Country, which premiered on Netflix on May 10, 2019. She also stars in the film, along with Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell, and Emily Spivey. The screenplay is loosely based on a real trip the actresses took together to Napa Valley. Poehler directed the film adaptation of the 2017 novel Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu, also for Netflix, which was released on March 3, 2021. Poehler was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program. The film was nominated for a total of six Emmy Awards, winning two.

Work as an executive producer

In March 2017, NBC ordered to series a Poehler-produced crafting series, then-titled The Handmade Project. The show, retitled Making It, debuted on NBC on July 31, 2018 with Poehler and her Parks and Recreation co-star Nick Offerman as co-hosts. The debut episode tied for the highest-rated premiere of summer 2018 and earned Poehler and Offerman a Primetime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program. The show returned for a second season which aired in December 2019. The series premiered on February 1, 2019. The genesis of the series started seven years earlier after Poehler remarked Lyonne was always "the oldest girl in the world." The series debuted on Netflix with a 100% fresh rating on the ratings aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.

In June 2016, BBC America announced it is developing a scripted series called Zero Motivation. The project is being executive produced by Brooke Posch and Poehler. Poehler is an executive producer on the upcoming series Three Busy Debras, a comedy series being produced for Adult Swim that stars Mitra Jouhari, Alyssa Stonoha, and Sandy Honig.

Podcast

Poehler's weekly scripted podcast series, Say More with Dr? Sheila, was released on September 21, 2023. On February 10, 2025, it was announced that she would be starting her own new podcast entitled Good Hang with Amy Poehler. It premiered on March 18, 2025, and is produced by Spotify’s The Ringer and Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions. and was the inaugural winner of best podcast in the 2026 Golden Globe Awards.

Personal life

Poehler married Canadian actor Will Arnett on August 29, 2003. They met in 1996 when he saw one of her performances and they started dating four years later. and Arnett filed for divorce in April 2014, which was finalized in July 2016.

Poehler and Arnett have two sons: Archie Arnett, born October 25, 2008, and Abel Arnett, born August 6, 2010. Poehler lives with her children in Los Angeles.

From 2013 to 2015, Poehler dated fellow comedian Nick Kroll. She has been dating Joel Lovell since 2024.

In 2016, Poehler received a letter from the city of Beverly Hills for her excessive water usage during the state of California's drought that year. Poehler's property usage between May 14 and July 14 exceeded .

Poehler is a fan of the Beastie Boys. She has a role as a disgruntled cafe patron in the music video for the group's song "Make Some Noise", which was nominated for the MTV Video of the Year in 2011. Poehler wrote a chapter in the Beastie Boys Book that reviews 17 of the group's music videos. In the chapter, Poehler states, "Beastie Boys mean a great deal to me. Their music was the soundtrack I heard while I sat in my room, drank in the woods, and rode my bike to my dead-end job." She is also featured as a voice on the audio version of the book.

Activism and beliefs

She is an active feminist. In September 2008, Poehler, Meredith Walker, and Amy Miles founded Smart Girls at the Party, an online community and digital web series aimed at empowering girls. The first season premiered online on November 17, 2008, with Mattel's Barbie signed on as the lead sponsor. Smart Girls at the Party returned in 2012 as part of the YouTube Original Channel Initiative that focused upon the creation of new content. The new Smart Girls at the Party YouTube Channel went live on July 2, 2012, including new episodes of the series along with additional shows by Poehler, Walker, and Miles.

Four years after the launch of Smart Girls at the Party, digital network company Legendary Entertainment acquired ownership of the project. Poehler said in a statement, "We at Smart Girls are excited to be working with Legendary and look forward to providing funny and inspirational content for all of the goofballs out there." On the Smart Girls YouTube channel, viewers have the opportunity to ask for life advice from Poehler in segments called Ask Amy. Smart Girls celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018.

left|thumb|Poehler introduces First Lady Michelle Obama on the Fourth Anniversary of Let's Move! in 2014

Poehler has championed a number of social and political causes. The law, providing overtime pay to domestic workers, was signed into law the following year. Poehler also supported One Fair Wage, a campaign to require New York businesses to pay tipped workers the general minimum wage. Poehler has served as a celebrity ambassador for Worldwide Orphans Foundation, traveling to Haiti in 2013.

Poehler's memoir, Yes Please, was published on October 28, 2014 by HarperCollins imprint Dey Street. She explained in a promotional interview with National Public Radio (NPR) that she was "used to writing in characters and not really writing about myself... it was easier to share the early parts of my life rather than my own current events." Topics covered in the book include body image, parenthood, and learning about the limitations of physical appearance. The book debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. She also delivered the Class Day address to Harvard University's class of 2011. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited Poehler to become a member as part of its 2017 class.