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Amy Poehler

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Amy Poehler (born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian and actress. She is a repertory player on Saturday Night Live.

Early life

Poehler was born in Burlington, Massachusetts, the daughter of Eileen, a teacher, and Bill Poehler. 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.

Career

Saturday Night Live

On Saturday Night Live, she parodies stars such as Sharon Osbourne, Paula Abdul, Hilary Duff, Kelly Ripa, Madonna, Avril Lavigne, Sharon Stone, Nancy Grace, Michael Jackson, Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, 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). 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.

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 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien 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 is set to appear in Spring Breakdown, Baby Mama, Hamlet 2 and Horton Hears a Who!. She has also created an animated series for Nickelodeon called Mighty B, scheduled to premiere in 2008 about a "sweet, merit-badge-obsessed girl scout," to which she lends her vocal talents.

Poehler performed at Second City Chicago and the ImprovOlympic, and is a disciple of longform improv comic innovator Del Close. She was one of the four players on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade and is a co-owner of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York. She can also be seen most Sundays at the theatre in the infamous ASSSSCAT, which has been performed for more than 10 years.

Poehler has done numerous impressions on SNL and in her other performances.

Poehler is also the highest grossing film actress currently employed on SNL. The films she has appeared in have earned a total of over $1 billion worldwide.

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.

Selected filmography

Recurring characters on SNL

Memorable characters outside of SNL

References

External links

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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 20:16:24 PDT (GMT -0700)
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