Movies

Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation from 2009–2015, and featured in the FX drama series Legion (2017–2019). In 2022, she starred in the second season of the HBO anthology series The White Lotus, for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a nomination for a Golden Globe Award.

After beginning her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, Plaza had her first leading film role in Safety Not Guaranteed (2012). She has also appeared in the films Mystery Team (2009), Funny People (2009), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), The To Do List (2013), Life After Beth (2014), Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016), Child's Play (2019), and Happiest Season (2020). Plaza has produced and starred in the films The Little Hours (2017), Ingrid Goes West (2017), Black Bear (2020), and Emily the Criminal (2022).

Early life and education
Plaza was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Bernadette, an attorney, and David Plaza, a financial advisor. She has two younger sisters, Renee and Natalie.

Plaza was named after the song "Aubrey" by Bread. Her paternal grandfather, Ismael, was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and moved to the mainland US when he was 17 years old. Her mother is of Irish and English descent. She has also stated that she has Taíno ancestry.

Plaza has stated: "I'm half-Puerto Rican. But, yeah, I have a huge family and tons of cousins in Puerto Rico." She grew up "very Catholic in a very Catholic household". She graduated from Ursuline Academy, an all-girls Catholic school, in 2002. In high school, she was student council president and participated in productions with the Wilmington Drama League. She studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 2006.