Aubrey Plaza, born June 26, 1984, in Wilmington, Delaware, is an American actor, comedian, and producer, besides being a bona fide bi icon. She is known for her deadpan comedic style but also for her versatility in dramatic roles, as well as her willingness to create some of the darkest and most nuanced characters in modern film and television.
She became a known name in Hollywood soon after starring in Parks and Recreation (2009-2015) playing her iconic role as April Ludgate — which she pitched herself to series creators Greg Daniels and Michael Schur after a casual meeting arranged by her agent who sold the interview as a must since she had just “met the weirdest, funniest girl I’ve ever met in my life“. Although this was not her first role in a professional setting, after playing April, Aubrey’s career truly began and she’s since amassed a list of unforgettable television roles in major productions like FX’s Legion (2017–2019), The Legend of Korra (2012-2014), The White Lotus (2021-), Criminal Minds
(2005-), and she earned iconic roles in films as well, in films like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Life After Beth (2014), Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever (2014), The Little Hours (2017), Emily the Criminal (2022), Spin Me Around (2022), Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023) and she will be starring in Ethan Coen’s and Tricia Cooke’s second installment of their “lesbian B-movie trilogy” Honey Don’t! (2025).
Plaza’s creative spark was evident from childhood. Raised in a working-class Catholic household by her Puerto Rican father and Irish American mother, she found solace in acting, participating in community theater, and making short films. Her teenage years were marked by a dedicated love of subversive comedies like John Waters’ Serial Mom (1994) and by her determination to master her craft, learning improvisation in Philadelphia before attending NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
After cutting her teeth at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and working as an NBC page — once appearing as such in Tina Fey’s Thirty Rock (2006-2013) — Plaza’s big break came through her hilarious portrayal of the apathetic intern working at the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana in Parks and Rec, which gave her the ideal opportunity to showcase her gift for laconic humor opposite already well established names in comedy like Amy Poehler, Adam Scott, Nick Offerman and then also up and coming, Retta and Chris Pratt. As her career progressed, she deliberately sought roles that challenged everyone’s expectations. A great example of this was her work as Lenny Busker in Legion, a role that was originally written for a middle-aged man and which she infused with a gender-fluid magnetism, at times inspired by David Bowie.
Given her openness and playful nature off-camera, Aubrey has embraced her bisexuality with candor. Like in a 2016 Advocate interview, where she stated:
I know I have an androgynous thing going on, and there’s something masculine about my energy. Girls are into me — that’s no secret. Hey, I’m into them too. I fall in love with girls and guys. I can’t help it.
This authenticity carried into her work, particularly in Happiest Season (2020), where her portrayal of Riley, a queer woman navigating holiday heartbreak, resonated deeply with LGBT audiences.
The 2020s marked Plaza’s ascent as both a leading actor and producer. Her performance in Black Bear (2020), a meta-commentary on artistic exploitation, was, by all means, astounding and widely praised, while her work in Emily the Criminal showcased her ability to anchor a gritty thriller, which she also happened to produce. Later, her turn as Harper in Season 2 of The White Lotus (2022) earned her nominations for an Emmy and a Golden Globe, cementing her status as a dramatic powerhouse. Notably, she leveraged her platform to champion unconventional projects, from executive producing the animated series Little Demon (2022), where she voiced a bi mom battling Satan, to directing experimental shorts like Cinema Toast’s “Quiet Illness” (2021).
Plaza’s life as seen by the public has been as nuanced and complex as her roles. Her decade-long relationship with the late filmmaker Jeff Baena (with whom she collaborated on The Little Hours (2017) and Spin Me Round (2022)) ended quietly in 2024, shortly before his tragic death. Plaza canceled her planned appearance at the January Golden Globes but returned to the spotlight for SNL’s 50th anniversary event weeks later, making a subtle and very moving tribute to her late husband by recreating their wedding look with a matching tie-dyed top.
Named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People (2023), Plaza continues to push boundaries. Some of her upcoming roles — including a villainous turn in Marvel’s Agatha All Along (2024) and John Waters’ long-awaited Liarmouth — promise to further consolidate her as one of the biggest talents of her generation. More than just a comedian or character actor, Plaza represents a generation of artists who refuse to be pigeonholed, both in their craft and their identities. As she once quipped about her approach to fame:
I’d rather humiliate myself and put myself in the line of fire for the good, so everyone else can sit back and feel like, ‘I’m OK.’ It’s my own little way of trying to make the world a better place.
And for the modern audiences who cherish authenticity over artifice, Aubrey’s openness, be it as an actor, producer, or as a proud bi woman, is nothing short of remarkable.