Amy Poehler extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Amy Poehler
Poehler at the premiere of Baby Mama (April 2008)
Born	Amy Meredith Poehler September 16, 1971 (1971-09-16) (age 37) Burlington, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation	Actress Comedian
Years active	1996—present
Spouse(s)	Will Arnett (2003 - present)

Amy Meredith Poehler (born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian and actress. She was a cast member and parody news anchor on the NBC television program Saturday Night Live from 2001 until shortly after the birth of her child in 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls alongside Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is also the first cast member in SNL history to be nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category at the Emmy Awards.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Upright Citizens Brigade (1996–2000) 2.2 Saturday Night Live (2001–2008) 2.3 Other work 3 Personal life 4 Selected filmography 4.1 Impressions 5 References 6 External links

Early life

Poehler was born in Burlington, Massachusetts, the daughter of Eileen and Bill Poehler, both teachers.¹ A 1993 graduate of Boston College, Poehler was a 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.

Career

Upright Citizens Brigade (1996–2000)

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.

In 1998, Comedy Central debuted the group's self-titled, 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 canceled the Upright Citizens Brigade program after its third season, though the UCB theatre continues to operate.

Saturday Night Live (2001–2008)

Poehler joined the cast of SNL during the 2001-2002 season, her first episode being the first one produced after the 9/11 attacks with host Reese Witherspoon, musical guest Alicia Keys, and 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 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 was nominated for a 2008 Emmy as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, the first SNL cast member recognized in this category. On September 13, 2008, the SNL season premiere opened with Fey and Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton doing a "joint political campaign spot." Poehler plays Hillary Clinton as a highly accomplished, neurotic politician obsessed with becoming President of the United States.

Poehler has confirmed she will not be back for the full 2008 - 2009 season of SNL, although she will remain "through the [presidential] election."²

It was officially announced on September 16, 2008 that Poehler would be leaving 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!"

Amy returned to the show on November 3, 2008 during the "SNL Presidential Bash 08," "hosting" as Hillary Clinton. The Bash was pre-taped from bits and pieces shot between September and October. Her return to SNL after 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.

Other work

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, Mr. Woodcock and Hamlet 2. She is currently producing a digital series with two of her friends, Meredith Walker and Amy Miles, called Smart Girls at the Party available through ON Networks. The show is focused on interviews with young women who are "changing the world by being themselves".³ The first season of 'Smart Girls at the Party' premiered online November 17, 2008 with Mattel's Barbie signed on as the lead sponsor.⁴

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!, Hamlet 2, and Baby Mama and will star in 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.⁵

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

Poehler also appeared in the movie Mean Girls as the mother of co-star Rachel McAdams, although she is really only seven years McAdams's senior.

Variety.com reported on July 15, 2008, that she was in final negotiations to star in a spinoff series to The Office by writers Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, set to air on Thursdays after The Office, starting January 2009 on NBC.⁶

On July 21, 2008, NBC officially announced Poehler's new series, The Untitled Amy Poehler Project, saying the project will not be a direct spin-off of The Office, as previously speculated.⁷

Personal life

Poehler is married to Will Arnett, of the FOX comedy Arrested Development, 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. The couple also appeared in Horton Hears a Who!, and will star together in the upcoming films On Broadway, Spring Breakdown, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. They live in New York City and have two dogs, Puzzle and Suki.⁸

On October 25, 2008, Poehler gave birth to Archibald "Archie" William Emerson Arnett, 8 lbs, 1 oz, in New York City, mere hours before the Saturday Night Live telecast.⁹

Selected filmography

• Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) as Ruth
• Wet Hot American Summer (2001) as Susie
• The Devil and Daniel Webster (2004) as Molly Gilchrest
• Mean Girls (2004) as Mrs. George
• Envy (2004) as Natalie Vanderpark
• Southland Tales (2006) as Veronica Mung / Dream
• Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006) as Truck Stop Waitress
• The Ex (2007) as Carol Lane
• Blades of Glory (2007) as Fairchild Van Waldenberg
• Shrek the Third (2007) as Snow White (voice)
• Mr. Woodcock (2007) as Maggie Hoffman
• Hamlet 2 (2008) as Cricket Feldstein
• Horton Hears a Who! (2008) as Sally McDodd (voice)
• Baby Mama (2008) as Angie Ostrowski
• The Mighty B! (2008) as Bessie Higgenbottom (voice)
• The Untitled Amy Poehler Project (2009)
• Spring Breakdown (2009) as Gayle
• Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil (2010) as Gretel (voice)

==Recurring characters on SNL==*

• Hillary Cliton

Amanda (Carol)

• Amber (The One-Legged Hypoglycemic)
• Betty Caruso (Bronx Beat)
• Cocktail Waitress (Rialto Grande)
• Dorothy Winkster (The Lundford Twins Feel Good Variety Hour)
• Kaitlin (Kaitlin & Rick)
• Netti Bo Dance (Appalachian Emergency Room)
• Sally Needler (The Needlers)
• Zoe Anderton (Spy Glass)
• White Trash Wife (America Undercover)

Impressions

Poehler's characters include Dakota Fanning, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Sharon Osbourne, Britney Spears, Paula Abdul, Norah O'Donnell, Kelly Ripa, Ann Coulter, Madonna, Avril Lavigne, Sharon Stone, Nancy Grace, Michael Jackson, Christian Siriano, Peter Ostrum, Mr. Six, Dennis Kucinich, Fergie, J. K. Rowling, Kim Jong-il, Jenna Bush, Katie Couric, Tinker Bell, and Rosie Perez.

References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Amy Poehler

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amy Poehler

• Amy-Poehler.net
• Amy Poehler at the Internet Movie Database
• Amy Poehler named one of Men's Vogue's 2008 Visionaries

Media offices
Preceded by Jimmy Fallon	Weekend Update 2004 – 2008	Succeeded by N/A
Notes and references
1. Poehler co-anchored alongside Seth Meyers and previously, Tina Fey.

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