Poehler’s biggest mainstream success came with the NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” where she starred as Leslie Knope from 2009 to 2015. The role earned her a Golden Globe and five consecutive Emmy nominations, cementing her status as a comedy icon. Outside of acting, Poehler has built a robust producing career through her company Paper Kite Productions, backing series like “Broad City,” “Difficult People,” and Netflix’s “Russian Doll.” She’s also had a notable voice acting career, most memorably voicing Joy in Pixar’s “Inside Out.” In addition to film roles in “Mean Girls,” “Baby Mama,” and “Sisters,” she has co-hosted the Golden Globes multiple times with Tina Fey. Poehler has also written a bestselling memoir, “Yes Please,” and directed the features “Wine Country” and “Lucy and Desi.” Known for her sharp wit, feminist advocacy, and behind-the-scenes influence, Poehler remains a vital force in comedy and entertainment.
Early Life
Amy Meredith Poehler was born in Newton, Massachusetts, on September 16, 1971. Her parents, Eileen and William Poehler, were both teachers. She has one younger brother, Greg, who is a producer and actor. Amy grew up in the Boston suburb of Burlington, Massachusetts. Amy caught the acting bug when she played Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” at her middle school when she was 10. She was active in the drama department in high school as well as a member of the Student Council, and an athlete on the soccer and softball teams. She graduated from high school in 1989 and enrolled at nearby Boston College. Amy was part of an improv comedy troupe in college. She graduated from Boston College in 1993.
Career
Amy Poehler was inspired to pursue comedy after performing with her college improv group. After graduating from Boston College in 1993, she moved to Chicago and enrolled in classes at ImprovOlympic, where she met future collaborator Tina Fey. The two joined Second City’s touring company, honing their craft alongside a generation of rising comedians. Poehler then became one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), a sketch and improv group that moved to New York City in 1996. UCB performed at small venues around the city before landing a Comedy Central series in 1998. The show, simply titled “Upright Citizens Brigade,” ran for three seasons and helped launch the group’s national profile. Around the same time, Poehler made frequent appearances in comedy sketches on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” Her big break came in 2001 when she joined “Saturday Night Live” as a featured player. She was promoted to full cast member mid-season, one of the few performers in SNL history to earn that distinction. Poehler quickly became a standout, known for her energetic characters and impersonations. In 2004, she joined Tina Fey at the “Weekend Update” desk, forming SNL’s first all-female anchor team. Poehler’s portrayal of Hillary Clinton opposite Fey’s Sarah Palin during the 2008 election season produced one of the show’s most iconic and viral sketches. Poehler left the SNL cast in December 2008 but returned occasionally, including to co-host “Weekend Update” for the 2009 season finale. That same year, she began starring as Leslie Knope on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” a role that became her career-defining performance. Running for seven seasons and 125 episodes, the show earned Poehler a Golden Globe Award and five consecutive Emmy nominations. She also served as a producer on the series and helped shape its optimistic, offbeat tone. In addition to her acting work, Poehler has built a prolific producing career through her company Paper Kite Productions. She executive-produced the Swedish-American sitcom “Welcome to Sweden” (starring her brother, Greg Poehler), the cult hit “Broad City,” the Netflix series “Russian Doll,” and the Emmy-nominated reality competition “Making It,” which she co-hosted with “Parks and Rec” co-star Nick Offerman. The show debuted on NBC in 2018 and ran for three seasons. As a film actor, Poehler has appeared in projects such as “Mean Girls,” “Baby Mama,” “Blades of Glory,” “Envy,” “Mr. Woodcock,” “Shrek the Third,” and “Sisters.” In animation, she earned widespread acclaim for voicing Joy in Pixar’s “Inside Out” (2015), a role she reprised in the 2024 sequel. Poehler continued producing scripted and unscripted content through her company Paper Kite, including Netflix’s “Russian Doll” and Peacock’s “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.” She reprised her role as Joy in Pixar’s long-awaited sequel “Inside Out 2,” released in 2024, which became one of the year’s highest-grossing animated films. Whether acting, directing, or producing, Poehler has remained a creative force in television and film, consistently championing original voices and offbeat storytelling.
Personal Life
Poehler and Will Arnett met in 1996 when he saw one of her improv performances. They started dating in 2000 and got married on August 29, 2003. Poehler and Arnett have two sons: Archie, born in October 2008, and Abel, born in August 2010. During their relationship, Poehler and Arnett worked together on several projects, including the series Arrested Development, the 2007 film Blades of Glory, Horton Hears a Who!, and The Secret World of Arrietty. Poehler and Arnett announced their separation in September 2012, and Arnett filed for divorce in April 2014. The divorce was finalized in 2016. From 2013 until 2015, Poehler dated fellow comedian Nick Kroll. Poehler lives with her children in Los Angeles. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Poehler revealed that she and her ex-husband Will Arnett were isolating together with their sons.
Real Estate
Amy Poehler and her sons live in a home in Beverly Hills. All we know about it is that the property includes a guest house, as Poehler goes to great lengths to ensure privacy for herself and her sons. In 2017, she paid her ex-husband Will Arnett $6.49 million to buy him out of two condo units in New York City’s West Village. The two contiguous units span 2,446 square feet and 1,693 square feet, and were bought by the pair in 2007 and 2010, respectively. They paid a total of $8 million for what is now one combined unit.
