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Danica Patrick Biography.
Also Known As: Danica Sue Patrick.
Born in: Beloit, Wisconsin, United States.
Famous as: Racing driver.
Spouse/Ex-: Paul Edward Hospenthal (m. 2005–2013)
father: T.J. Patrick.
mother: Bev Patrick.
siblings: Brooke Patrick.
education: Hononegah Community High School.
awards: Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Female Athlete.
Recommended For You.
Danica Patrick is an American car racing driver and the first woman to win an ‘IndyCar’ championship event. She is considered one of the most successful women auto racers and was named the ‘Rookie of the Year’ at the 2005 ‘Indianapolis 500’ and the 2005 ‘IndyCar Series’ season. Born in Wisconsin, she began racing at the age of 10 in her hometown. After achieving national success in her teens, she dropped out of high school to advance her racing career. She traveled to England where she raced in ‘Formula Fords’ and was placed second, the best-ever finish for an American in the event. Later, she returned to the United States and signed her first U.S. Indy-car racing contract. Subsequently, she qualified for the ‘Indianapolis 500,’ becoming only the fourth woman to do so in the history of auto car racing. She became the first woman to lead the classic race and led three out of 19 laps, eventually finishing at the fourth position. She joined the ‘Andretti Autosport’ team in 2007. The following year, she secured the first big win of her career and became the first woman to win an ‘IndyCar’ championship event. Apart from being a car racing driver, she is also a model and advertising spokeswoman.
Danica Patrick was born on March 25, 1982, in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA, to Terry Jose Patrick, Jr., a racer of snowmobiles and midget cars, and his wife Beverly Ann. She has a younger sister named Brooke.
In 1992, at the age of 10, she began go-karting with her sister in Wisconsin.
She was raised in Roscoe, Illinois. She studied at ‘Hononegah Community High School’ where she was part of a cheerleading team. She dropped out of high school and attained a GED certification.
At the age of 16, she moved to Milton Keynes, England, in order to advance her racing career. During a three-year period, she competed in ‘Formula Ford’ and ‘Formula Vauxhall.’ She was placed second in Britain's ‘Formula Ford Festival,’ the highest finish by an American in the event.
Amy Poehler Loves And Hookups.
Who is Amy Poehler dating? Many famous men have dated Amy Poehler, and this list will give you more details about these lucky dudes. Including Amy Poehler’s current boyfriend, past relationships (including a husband), pictures together, and dating rumors, this comprehensive dating history tells you everything you need to know about Amy Poehler’s love life.
This list features Amy Poehler’s ex-boyfriends along with additional information about them, such as when they were born and what they do professionally. These boys come in all shapes and sizes, but what they all have in common is that they're all men that Amy Poehler has either dated or linked up with. It's not hard to get jealous of these men that Amy Poehler has gone out with, so try your hardest to contain your envy.
This list of Amy Poehler’s boyfriends and exes includes Nick Kroll and John Stamos.
Amy Poehler was married to Will Arnett from 2003 to 2012. They have two children together, Archie and Abel.
Nick Kroll.
Amy Poehler and Nick Kroll dated from May 2013 to September 2015.
Age : 42 Birthplace : Rye, New York, United States of America.
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John Stamos.
In November 2014, Amy Poehler went on a date with John Stamos.
Age : 57 Birthplace : Cypress, California, USA.
# 79 of 275 The Hottest Men Of 2020, Ranked # 672 of 1,030 The Best Actors in Film History # 248 of 438 Famous Men You'd Want to Have a Beer With.
Will Arnett.
Amy Poehler and Will Arnett began dating in 2000, and got married on August 29, 2003. They have two kids together, Archie, born in 2008, as well as Abel, born in 2010.
On September 6, 2012, they announced they were separating; their divorce finalized on July 29, 2016.
Age : 50 Birthplace : East York, Toronto, Canada.
26 Fun Facts to Know About Will Arnett # 201 of 339 The Funniest People Of All Time # 178 of 272 The Best (Male) Actors Working Today.
Who Is Former 'Parks and Rec' Star Amy Poehler Dating? — Relationship Details!
Updated 7 months ago.
Amy Poehler and her former Parks and Recreation costar Nick Offerman's comedic craft show is back! The NBC competition series follows amateur craftsmen as they take on a series of challenges that will test the contestants' creativity and execution. With a slew of added banter and witty puns by the two hosts, this reality show will surely become your new obsession.
Before voicing her love for crafts, Amy was applauded for her acting chops on the long-running sketch series Saturday Night Live . Since then, the actor has gone on to star in numerous popular movies, many alongside her SNL bestie Tina Fey, win a Golden Globe for her starring role as Leslie Knope in Parks & Rec , and she wrote a very personal memoir. Overall, she's killing it!
Though she is open about giving sex tips to fans (did you not read her book Yes Please ?), her career, and publicly admitted to watching porn, Amy previously told Howard Stern in a 2014 interview that talking about her relationships makes her a bit uncomfortable, or rather, "getting back to sex makes me feel better than [talking about my relationships]."
So, who is Amy Poehler dating in 2019?
In 2012, Amy and her then-husband Will Arnett announced they were splitting after nine years of marriage. "As you know, Will and I are very, very good friends. We are doing a really good job," the actor told Howard in 2014. "I don't think a 10-year marriage constitutes a failure. I think relationships are really tough."
Amy Poehler.
Amy Poehler.
Years on SNL.
Amy joined SNL in 2001 as a Featured Player but was promoted to the Repertory cast midseason in 2002. In 2004, Amy joined Tina Fey on Weekend Update, after Jimmy Fallon left. Starting during the 2006-2007 season, Amy anchored Weekend Update with Head Writer Seth Meyers During "Weekend Update", on December 13, 2008 she thanked her family, friends, and fans for the continued support and announced that it would be her last show. On April 18 a Saturday Night Live special, The Best of Amy Poehler, aired. Poehler returned for Weekend Update on the SNL season finale with Will Ferrell on May 16, 2009 and for the first episode of Season 36 as the host.
She recently starred as Leslie Knope on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation which ran from 2009 until 2015.
Contents.
1 Personal life 2 Impressions/Characters 2.1 Impressions 2.2 Characters 2.3 SNL Career.
Personal life [ edit | edit source ]
Amy married actor Will Arnett in 2003. Arnett is well-known from the hit sitcom Arrested Development , where Amy guest-starred as Will's character (GOB)'s wife. On October 25, 2008, Poehler gave birth to their first son, Archibald "Archie" William Emerson Arnett. She had a second son on August 6, 2010 named Abel James Arnett.
In 2012, Amy and Will announced that they were ending their marriage after 9 years. Amy has subsequently dated actor Nick Kroll.
Amy Poehler Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics.
Born Name.
Amy Meredith Poehler.
Nick Name.
Cool Cat Amy, Crazy Amy, Poehlercoaster.
Sun Sign.
Born Place.
Newton, Massachusetts, USA.
Nationality.
Education.
She graduated from Burlington High School in Burlington, Massachusetts in 1989. In 1993, Amy earned a degree in media and communications from Boston College . She has also studied at ImprovOlympic with actor and writer, Del P. Close.
Occupation.
Actress, comedian, producer, writer, voice artist.
Family.
Father – William Grinstead Poehler (High School Teacher) Mother – Eileen Frances (née Milmore) (High School Teacher) Siblings – Greg Poehler (Brother)
Manager.
3 Arts Entertainment.
Build.
Height.
5 ft 2 in or 157 cm.
Weight.
52 kg or 115 pounds.
Boyfriend / Spouse.
Amy Poehler dated –
Will Arnett (2000-2012) – Amy started dating Canadian actor, Will Arnett in 2000. Arnett, who is 1 feet taller than Amy married her on August 29, 2003. From 2004 to 2005, she also played the reel life wife of Will Arnett in Arrested Development. The couple separated in September 2012. She gave birth to couple’s first child, a son named, Archibald William “Archie” Emerson Arnett on October 25, 2008. On August 6, 2010, she gave birth to the couple’s second child, a son named, Abel James Arnett. John Stamos (2013) – After meeting on the set of the movie, They Came Together (2014), actors Amy and John Stamos went on a single date. Nick Kroll (2013-2015) – In April 2013, Amy started dating actor Nick Kroll. He is about 7 years her junior. In September 2015, the couple separated. Amy Poehler and Nick Kroll.
Race / Ethnicity.
Amy has English, German, Irish, and Portuguese ancestry on her father’s side, while she is of Irish descent on her mother’s side.
Hair Color.
Eye Color.
Sexual Orientation.
Distinctive Features.
Wide smile Full of energy.
Measurements.
33-25-34 in or 84-63.5-86 cm.
Dress Size.
Amy Poehler during 2014 Oscars.
Shoe Size.
Brand Endorsements.
She has appeared in Best Buy’s Super Bowl commercial.
Amy has starred in Old Navy’s Pixie Pant commercial.
Religion.
Best Known For.
Playing Leslie Knope in NBC’s comedy series Parks and Recreation since 2009. She did 142 episodes on Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008.
First Film.
She made her film debut with 1998 American absurdist comedy Tomorrow Night for her role as “Woman Sprayed with Hose”.
First TV Show.
In 1996, she appeared in an episode of late-night talk show Late Night with Conan O’Brien as Stacy.
Personal Trainer.
She goes to the gym and takes care of her fitness. In an interview with Ladies’ Home Journal, Amy revealed about her dream exercise class in which she spoke about personal trainers.
Amy Poehler American Actress.
Who is she dating right now?
Amy Poehler is currently single.
Relationships.
Amy Poehler was previously married to Will Arnett (2003 - 2016) .
Amy Poehler has been in a relationship with Nick Kroll (2013 - 2015) .
Amy Poehler has had an encounter with John Stamos (2012) .
About.
Amy Poehler is a 49 year old American Actress. Born Amy Meredith Poehler on 16th September, 1971 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA, she is famous for Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Anchor. Her zodiac sign is Virgo.
Amy Poehler has been in 10 on-screen matchups, including Adam Scott in Parks and Recreation (2009) , Ike Barinholtz in Sisters (2015) , Justin Theroux in Parks and Recreation (2009) , Louis C.K. in Parks and Recreation (2009) and Nancy Cartwright in The Simpsons (1989) .
Contribute.
Help us build our profile of Amy Poehler! Login to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions.
Relationship Statistics.
Type Total Longest Average Shortest Married 1 16 years, 7 months - - Dating 1 2 years, 4 months - - Encounter 1 - - - Total 3 16 years, 7 months 6 years, 3 months 2 years, 4 months.
Details.
First Name Amy Middle Name Meredith Last Name Poehler Full Name at Birth Amy Meredith Poehler Age 49 years Birthday 16th September, 1971 Birthplace Newton, Massachusetts, USA Height 5' 2" (157 cm) Build Slim Eye Color Blue Hair Color Blonde Zodiac Sign Virgo Sexuality Straight Ethnicity White Nationality American High School Burlington High School, Burlington, Massachusetts, USA (1989) University BA Communications, Boston College (1993) Occupation Text Actress, comedian, director, producer, writer Occupation Actress Claim to Fame Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Anchor Music Genre (Text) Satire, Political Satire, News Satire, Improvisational Comedy, Sketch Comedy, Satire/political satire/news satire, Blue Comedy, Insult Comedy, Surreal Humor Year(s) Active 1996–present Father William Grinstead Poehler Mother Eileen Frances Milmore.
Amy Meredith Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director.
Dating History.
Nick Kroll.
2013 - 2015.
John Stamos.
Will Arnett.
2000 - 2016.
Nick Kroll.
2013 - 2015.
Nick Kroll and Amy Poehler dated from May, 2013 to September, 2015.
John Stamos.
John Stamos and Amy Poehler had an encounter in 2012.
Will Arnett.
2000 - 2016.
Will Arnett and Amy Poehler were married for 12 years. They dated for 3 years after getting together in 2000 and married on 29th Aug 2003. 12 years later they divorced on 2nd Aug 2016.
Partner Comparison.
Children.
Name Gender Born Age Other Parent Archie Male 25th October, 2008 12 years old Will Arnett Abel James Male 6th August, 2010 10 years old Will Arnett.
Photo Gallery.
Filmography.
Film Year Character Type Nicktoons 2020 Bessie Higgenbottom (voice) Movie Duncanville 2020 Annie Harris, Duncan Harris TV Show Wine Country 2019 Abby Movie The House 2017 Kate Johansen Movie Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later 2017 Susie TV Show SMILF 2017 Narrator TV Show Maya & Marty 2016 Various TV Show Sisters 2015 Maura Ellis Movie Inside Out 2015 Joy (voice) Movie Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp 2015 Susie TV Show A Very Murray Christmas 2015 Liz TV Show Difficult People 2015 Flute TV Show They Came Together 2014 Molly Movie Broad City 2014 Cheryl TV Show Welcome to Sweden 2014 Amy Poehler TV Show Half Sisters 2014 TV Show Are You Here 2013 Terry Coulter Movie Free Birds 2013 Jenny (voice) Movie A.C.O.D. 2013 Sondra Movie Kroll Show 2013 Winnie TV Show Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues 2013 Entertainment Tonight Reporter (uncredited) Movie The Awesomes 2013 Jaclyn Stone TV Show Saturday Night Live: Cut For Time 2013 Sister TV Show Napoleon Dynamite 2012 Misty TV Show The Greatest Event in Television History 2012 Jennifer Hart TV Show Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil 2011 Gretel (voice) Movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked 2011 Eleanor (voice) Movie Fight for Your Right Revisited 2011 Café Patron Short Film Parks and Recreation: Road Trip 2011 Leslie Knope TV Show Louie 2010 Debbie TV Show Freak Dance 2010 Lillian Movie The Secret World of Arrietty 2010 Homily (US version, voice) Movie Broad City 2010 Amy TV Show Monsters vs. Aliens 2009 Computer (voice) Movie Spring Breakdown 2009 Gayle O'Brien Movie Parks and Recreation 2009 Leslie Knope TV Show Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel 2009 Eleanor (voice) Movie The Mystery of Claywoman 2009 Celeste Dupree Short Film Baby Mama 2008 Angie Movie Hamlet 2 2008 Cricket Feldstein Movie Horton Hears a Who! 2008 Sally O'Malley (voice) Movie The Mighty B! 2008 Bessie Higgenbottom, Femme Fatale, McGee TV Show Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday 2008 Weekend Update Anchor TV Show UCB Comedy Originals 2008 Angie, Doreen Moran Movie Blades of Glory 2007 Fairchild Van Waldenberg Movie Mr. Woodcock 2007 Maggie Movie On Broadway 2007 Farrah Movie Shrek the Third 2007 Snow White (voice) Movie Wild Girls Gone 2007 Doreen Moran Movie Man of the Year 2006 Amy Poehler Movie Southland Tales 2006 Dream, Veronica Mung Movie Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny 2006 Truck Stop Waitress Movie The Ex 2006 Carol Lane Movie 30 Rock 2006 Young Liz TV Show Wonder Showzen 2005 Miss Mary TV Show Envy 2004 Natalie Vanderpark Movie Mean Girls 2004 Mrs. George Movie Shortcut to Happiness 2004 Molly Gilchrest Movie O'Grady 2004 Wendy TV Show Soundtracks Live 2004 Ginny Baker TV Movie Sick in the Head 2003 TV Show Arrested Development 2003 Bride of Gob TV Show Martin & Orloff 2002 Patty Movie Wet Hot American Summer 2001 Susie Movie North Hollywood 2001 Wendy TV Show Undeclared 2001 Hillary - Top Floor R.A. TV Show Late Friday 2001 Drunk Lady TV Show Zoe Loses It 2000 Pink Short Film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo 1999 Ruth Movie SpongeBob SquarePants 1999 Grandma TV Show Tomorrow Night 1998 Woman Getting Squirted Movie Upright Citizens Brigade 1998 Colby, Various TV Show Saving Manhattan 1998 Kirsten Movie Short Cuts 1998 Pretty Lady (segment "Ugly Revenge") TV Show Apt. 2F 1997 Amy TV Show Escape from It's a Wonderful Life 1996 Mary Hatch, Various (voice) TV Movie Spin City 1996 Susan TV Show The Daily Show 1996 Diane Halpern TV Show Late Night with Conan O'Brien 1993 Artist Fan, Emily Samson, Stacy, Andy's Little Sister TV Show The Simpsons 1989 Jenda TV Show Saturday Night Live 1975 Hillary Clinton, Various, Weekend Update Anchor TV Show Untitled Michael Saltzman Project TV Movie.
Onscreen Matchups.
Adam Scott Parks and Recreation 2009 [view matchup] Ike Barinholtz Sisters 2015 [view matchup] Justin Theroux Parks and Recreation 2009 [view matchup] Louis C.K. Parks and Recreation 2009 [view matchup] Nancy Cartwright The Simpsons 1989 [view matchup] Paul Schneider Parks and Recreation 2009 [view matchup] Will Arnett Arrested Development 2003 [view matchup] Bradley Cooper Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp 2015 [view matchup]
Discussions.
Posted comments View all comments (7)
I really enjoy your talent. Very funny.
She's so talented and a pretty hot funny woman.
Amy is a really funny girl and I think she's pretty hot too.
For your movie Mean Girls Tina Fey wrote a modern classic. Great job to all the cast.
Who is Amy Poehler Dating Now?
Amy Poehler American TV Actress 49 years old Single.
Full Name.
Birth date.
Horoscope.
Birth Place.
Profession.
Net Worth.
Martial Status.
Height.
Ethnicity.
Nationality.
Weight.
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Eye Color.
Ahead, we take a look at who is Amy Poehler dating now , who has she dated, Amy Poehler’s boyfriend, past relationships and dating history. We will also look at Amy’s biography, facts, net worth, and much more.
Who is Amy Poehler dating?
Amy Poehler is currently single , according to our records.
The American TV Actress was born in Newton, MA on September 16, 1971. Saturday Night Live star who co-anchored Weekend Update with her good friend Tina Fey and parodied politician Hillary Clinton. She won a Golden Globe Award for her starring role as Leslie Knope on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. Her many film credits include Wet Hot American Summer, Mean Girls, Blades of Glory and Baby Mama.
Relationship status.
As of 2020, Amy Poehler’s is not dating anyone. Amy is 49 years old. According to CelebsCouples, Amy Poehler had at least 3 relationship previously. She has not been previously engaged.
Fact: Amy Poehler is turning 50 years old in . Be sure to check out top 10 facts about Amy Poehler at FamousDetails.
About Amy Poehler’s boyfriend.
Amy Poehler doesn’t have a boyfriend right now.
All dating histories are fact-checked and confirmed by our users. We use publicly available data and resources to ensure that our dating stats and biographies are accurate.
Who has Amy Poehler dated?
Like most celebrities, Amy Poehler tries to keep her personal and love life private, so check back often as we will continue to update this page with new dating news and rumors.
Amy Poehler boyfriends: Amy Poehler was previously married to Will Arnett (2003 – 2016). She had at least 3 relationship previously. Amy Poehler has not been previously engaged. Amy Poehler has been in a relationship with Nick Kroll (2013 – 2015). We are currently in process of looking up information on the previous dates and hookups.
Online rumors of Amy Poehlers’s dating past may vary. While it’s relatively simple to find out who’s dating Amy Poehler, it’s harder to keep track of all her flings, hookups and breakups. It’s even harder to keep every celebrity dating page and relationship timeline up to date. If you see any information about Amy Poehler is dated, please let us know.
Amy Poehler has had an encounter with John Stamos (2012).
Relationship Statistics of Amy Poehler.
What is Amy Poehler marital status? Amy Poehler is single.
How many relationships did Amy Poehler have? Amy Poehler had at least 3 relationship in the past.
How many children does Amy Poehler have? She has 2 children.
Is Amy Poehler having any relationship affair? This information is not available.
Amy Poehler Biography.
Amy Poehler was born on a Thursday, September 16, 1971 in Newton, MA. Her birth name is Amy Meredith Poehler and she is currently 49 years old . People born on September 16 fall under the zodiac sign of Virgo. Her zodiac animal is Pig.
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American actress, comedian, director, producer, and writer. After studying improv at Chicago’s Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, she went to New York City in 1996 to become part of the improvisational comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade. The group’s act became a half-hour sketch comedy series on Comedy Central in 1998. Along with other members of the comedy group, Poehler was a founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.
She was a member of the oldest collegiate improv comedy troupe, My Mother’s Fleabag, while attending Boston College. She graduated from BC in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in media and communications, then moved to Chicago to study improv at Second City.
Continue to the next page to see Amy Poehler net worth, popularity trend, new videos and more.
Last update: November 2020.
Amy Poehler Reveals She Went on a Date With John Stamos After Splitting With Husband Will Arnett.
Yes Please author also tells Howard Stern she watches porn.
"I didn't know you were such a sexual person," Howard Stern told Amy Poehler Monday.
"I did," the Yes Please author said with a laugh.
Thus began a lengthy discussion about doing the deed and dating after divorce. "I give sex tips in the book," the 43-year-old Parks and Recreation star explained. "I mean, they're jokes, but they're true."
"I didn't have to write about [sex], but I did think it was a funny bit," she added.
Stern asked his guest about her divorce from Arrested Development star Will Arnett , with whom she has two sons. "As you know, Will and I are very, very good friends. We are doing a really good job," Poehler answered. "I don't think a 10-year marriage constitutes a failure. I think relationships are really tough."
The SiriusXM radio host then asked who called it quits, and Poehler replied, "It was kind of like. I don't know if I want to get into that. But I do think that it's interesting when you go through a divorce how everybody. Divorce is like not that special, so people are kind of interested and then they're just not anymore. It's kind of like you get all the pain but really none of the sympathy, because it's so common. The pain that you're in is very specific to you and special, and everybody reacts very differently. Your married friends get a little nervous that it's contagious, and your single friends [react differently]."
Dating felt foreign to the newly single star. "It was new and weird. I hadn't dated when there was texting. I got married in 2003 and all of a sudden I'm like, 'Oh, right now you text somebody.' That was new. There were times when I was out with guys and I was like, 'Oh, I think I might be on a date, but I don't know," Poehler said. "I remember I was at dinner with John Stamos . I think if you just are around him you are. handsome men are really something else. First of all, they're so handsome. And John is. "
"Ridiculously handsome?" Stern asked.
"I was at a restaurant. We were having dinner and I was like, 'Oh, maybe this is a date!' But I didn't know," Poehler recalled, noting that the Full House actor had asked her to dinner. "But I kinda blew it."
Wait, really?! "I can't believe I'm telling this story, but it's Howard Stern, so there you go. We worked on a movie [ They Came Together ]. He did a little bit in a movie that I did and a bunch of us hung out. And then later on he's like, 'Let's go get dinner. And it was fine," said the former Saturday Night Live standout, who clarified that she "was separated" at the time. "I remember thinking like, 'Oh, s--t. Like, if this is really a date…' I think I was wearing a Leslie Knop top. I think I was wearing a shirt from work."
Amy Poehler: ‘I see life as being attacked by a bear'
From Parks And Recreation to the Golden Globes, Amy Poehler’s brand of outrageous, misogynist-baiting humour has won her fans around the world. She talks strong women, bad parenting – and not caring who likes her.
‘I can’t pretend to be more coquettish than I am.’ Photograph: Ari Michelson/August.
‘I can’t pretend to be more coquettish than I am.’ Photograph: Ari Michelson/August.
Last modified on Fri 1 Dec 2017 17.52 GMT.
T he day before Amy Poehler and I meet in Cannes, she attends a press conference to promote her new film, the Pixar production Inside Out. At one point, a reporter stands up and addresses Poehler, who voices the lead character: “You must be surprised that you’re here at Cannes. Did you ever expect you’d be here?”
Poehler looks at him. She could, at this point, play the humble-woman card and affect shock at the fact that she, a blue-collar girl from Boston, is working the red carpet in Cannes. She could make an apologetic joke about taking up space a more glamorous actor should occupy. Instead, she looks him square in the eyes and replies, “Sure I did.”
The film team review Inside Out Guardian.
Poehler has been working in comedy for more than 20 years, including seven on Saturday Night Live, where she memorably played Hillary Clinton to her best friend Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin during the 2008 election. There have been appearances in acclaimed comedies, including Mean Girls with Fey and Blades Of Glory with her now ex-husband, Will Arnett. So she’s not that surprised to find herself at a film festival. “I know it was not the journalist’s intention to be insulting, but it’s also OK not to apologise for where you are,” she tells me later. “I can’t pretend to be more coquettish than I am.” She shrugs.
Poehler is probably best known in Britain for playing Leslie Knope, a low-level bureaucrat with presidential-sized dreams in the American sitcom Parks And Recreation, which finished its six-year run in February. Originally pitched as a spin-off to the American version of The Office, it soon took off on its own sweeter tangent. The qualities that made David Brent so laughable – the self-delusion, the arrogance, the gaucheness – Poehler respun as positives, and in doing so she nailed that rare thing: a female character who is applauded for being ambitious and bossy. As Poehler puts it, “You can really tell that Parks And Rec was created by people who love women.” She received five Emmy nominations for her performance, and one Golden Globe.
Poehler at this year’s Golden Globes, with best friend Tina Fey, and Margaret Cho as a North Korean general. Photograph: Getty Images.
Her three-year stint co-hosting the Golden Globes with Fey, which also came to an end this year, further introduced her to an international audience. The two managed to do the heretofore impossible and turn an American awards ceremony into an annual feminist cheerathon. They cracked wise about Hollywood sexism (“Patricia Arquette in Boyhood proved there are still great roles for women over 40 – as long as you get hired when you’re under 40”) and Hollywood sexists (“[Gravity] is the story of how George Clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age”) to gasps from the audience and cheers from the rest of the world. This year, they took it further still when they riffed on allegations that Bill Cosby drugged and molested multiple women, with Poehler doing an imitation of Cosby boasting about it. Did she fear any kickback? “Nah.” She grins. “By the third time around, we kinda had a sense of what we could get away with, so we went there.”
In person, Poehler, 43, is small and warm, with an enthusiastic hug and an easy, head-thrown-back laugh that’s more a cackle than a giggle. She looks sleek but comfortable in maroon blouse, black shorts and flat black sandals, although, somewhat Leslie Knope-ishly, she doesn’t notice until halfway through our interview that one end of her blouse is sticking out the bottom of her shorts, and that her fly is undone. It would be tempting to describe her as “cute”, but that would be a grave mistake. In Fey’s 2011 memoir Bossypants, she recounts an incident at Saturday Night Live when she and Poehler were in the writers’ room and Poehler told a dirty joke. Comedian Jimmy Fallon jokingly pleaded, “It’s not cute! I don’t like it!” Poehler, Fey recounts, “went black in the eyes for a second and wheeled around on him”. “I don’t fucking care if you like it!” Poehler said to him.
“Amy made it clear that she wasn’t there to be cute,” Fey writes. “She wasn’t there to play wives and girlfriends in the boys’ scenes. She was there to do what she wanted to do and she did not fucking care if you like it.”
“I don’t fucking care if you like it!” has since, to Poehler’s amusement, become a modern feminist catchphrase, appearing on T-shirts and in cartoons. “I see life as like being attacked by a bear,” she says. “You can run, you can pretend to be dead or you can make yourself bigger. So, if you’re my stature, you stand on a chair and bang a pan and scream and shout as if you’re going to attack the bear. This is my go-to strategy. I really liked being pregnant, for example, because I got to take up more space.”
The trailer for Amy Poehler’s latest film, Pixar’s Inside Out.
“Amy finds so much joy in laughing with the group, but she will always stand up for herself,” says her friend, the actor and comedian Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live, Bridesmaids). “And it’s great when she does, especially because she’s such a tiny thing, like a beautiful Yosemite Sam.”
In Inside Out, Poehler plays the human embodiment of pure happiness, called, appropriately, Joy. The film tells the story of Riley, an 11-year-old girl who moves with her parents to San Francisco, and we follow the action from inside her head, where five characters – Joy, Disgust, Fear, Sadness and Anger – control her emotions, colour her memories and, ultimately, shape the little girl’s emerging personality.
“When Inside Out’s directors Pete [Docter] and Jonas [Rivera] first came to me, they didn’t tell me what the movie idea was, and I assumed I’d be playing the lunatic shopkeeper. Then they did a 10-minute presentation and if I was a circuit board, everything would have lit up. I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s a story about emotions? Oh my God, the setting is an 11-year-old girl? Oh my God, you want me to play Joy?’ It was, like, all my switches.”
In 2008, she set up an online community called Smart Girls, where young people can watch videos made for them. The videos are often fronted by Poehler, and give advice about everything from how to embrace vulnerability to how to volunteer. Inside Out feels as if it could have been made for Smart Girls, I say. Poehler grins proudly. “It is so Smart Girls, isn’t it?”
Poehler has two sons with Arnett, six-year-old Archie and four-year-old Abel, and Inside Out, she says, has provided a way “for them to talk about emotions in a way that feels safe. Because, with boys, you can’t just sit them down and say, ‘So how are you feeling?’ They won’t say, ‘Thank you for asking, I feel a little anxious,’” Poehler says, hooting at the idea. “It’s breathtaking how different [boys and girls] are. But you can say, ‘Why do you think Fear in the movie is always so scared of everything?’ And they’ll say, ‘Because he’s scared things won’t work out, and that’s scary.’”
As Leslie Knope in Parks And Recreation. Photograph: Rex Features.
Poehler was 37 when she had her first child. “It was a relief to care about something other than myself. Also, holidays are better because, when you don’t have kids, it’s a lot of adults talking, but when kids are around, there’s always something to watch. We used to call it Baby TV, because you just stare at babies and talk about them.”
Poehler thinks mothers shouldn’t be so hard on themselves, or each other – a “woman-on-woman crime” that happens when a mother feels so defensive about her own decision about whether to return to work, she ends up putting down other women’s choices to make herself feel better.
“It’s so wild,” she says. “People get so personal, and you’re so sensitive. You think you’re above it, then you see yourself doing it. Just give yourself a break. I wish I could go back sometimes because, God, I really put myself through the wringer about what type of mother I was supposed to be. I used flash cards on my eight-month-old. I mean, Fuck! ” She throws her head back and laughs.
Poehler may play indefatigably cheerful characters, but in her enjoyable memoir Yes Please, published last year, she takes pains to stress that she is not like that herself. “I’m not as nice as you think I am,” she writes, demonstrating her not-niceness with anecdotes such as: “When I yell at dads drinking coffee and looking at their phones in the playground while their seven-year-olds play on the pre-school monkey bars, I feel like I am fully alive.”
My favourite anecdote details the time she and Fey flew first class to Los Angeles to film Mean Girls and gabbed the whole way, much to the annoyance of the man in the neighbouring seat. At the end of the flight, he told them off, adding, “You girls should not be in first class!” Poehler, by now in a full-on “rage-haze”, reeled back, “looked at his boring, rich-guy face” and shouted, “ Fuck you! Who do you think you are? You’re no better than me!”
I put myself through the wringer over what type of mother I was supposed to be. I used flash cards on my eight-month-old.
Reminded of this, Poehler says, simply, “I don’t do so well with assumed entitlement and privilege. My blue-collar button gets pushed a little then.”
Female anger isn’t praised much in our culture, but it can be kind of exciting, I say. “It is exciting, isn’t it?” she says, her eyes lighting up. “It’s super-exciting to not care if you’re liked, and to watch someone’s face as they realise that. It’s fun defying expectations about me. It’s a nice secret weapon.”
Poehler was born and raised in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of two high-school teachers. At the age of 10, she was cast as Dorothy in a school play of The Wizard Of Oz and when she realised she could make the audience laugh by improvising with the dog playing Toto, she became committed to a life in comedy. She slogged it out in improv groups, first at Boston University, then in Chicago, as part of the legendary Second City company, where Bill Murray, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Steve Carell all studied. In New York she co-founded the Upright Citizens Brigade theatre, where aspiring standup and improv comedians could work on material (UCB now has four outposts, two in LA and two in New York; Poehler is still closely involved). In 2001 she was cast in Saturday Night Live.
Fey was already working at SNL when Poehler joined; the pair had been best friends since they worked together in improv in Chicago, in their early 20s. Poehler’s initial impression of Fey was, she writes in Yes Please, that she was “sharp, sly and hilarious”. Fey’s own memoir consists of a series of love letters to Poehler. In 2008, they worked on a film together, Baby Mama, in which Poehler played the surrogate to Fey’s baby. They have just finished another movie, Sisters, in which they play estranged siblings, which will be released in the US in December, “the same week as a small independent film called Star Wars”, Poehler deadpans. Today, she lives in LA and Fey is in New York, so the best thing about making the film was that “we got to spend last summer together. We rented a house in Long Island and had all the kids playing together. It was great. She is my comedy wife.”
Joy (voiced by Poehler) and Sadness in Inside Out. Photograph: Photoshot.
Fey, like the loyal best friend she is, often casts Poehler’s partners in her work: Arnett was a regular on Fey’s sitcom 30 Rock, when he was still married to Poehler. In her new Netflix show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Fey cast her friend’s new boyfriend, comedian Nick Kroll, in a small part.
Poehler and Kroll have been dating since 2013, and she has appeared on his skit show, Kroll Show. In her memoir, she writes, “I have a boyfriend who knows how to settle me. He puts his hand on my chest and tells me boring stories… On one of our first nights together, I woke up apologising for my snoring and he pulled out the earplugs he had worn to bed so he could hear what I was saying. It was one of the most romantic gestures I’ve ever seen.”
But in her work, Poehler’s interest remains female friendship. In Parks And Recreation, for example, she says the real love story was between Leslie and her friend Ann, played by Poehler’s real-life friend Rashida Jones. “There’s so much created conflict between women on TV shows,” Poehler says, “and I don’t find that to be my experience. I work primarily with women, most of my projects are female-driven, and my female friends are very important to me.” During my time with Poehler, she breaks off twice: to read a text from from Parks And Rec co-star Aubrey Plaza, and another from Jones, which includes a video of her friend dancing.
Recently, Rudolph tells me, a bunch of female SNL graduates, including Poehler, met up on 14 February, because it was the only day they could all make. They called it a Galentine’s Dinner, a phrase that also made its way into Parks And Recreation. “Amy decided we all should tell each other how much we mean to each other,” Rudolph says. “And she was right: we do need to remind each other of that, no matter how busy we are with kids and jobs. She’ll also tell you when her life sucks, because she believes in the importance of friendship, and that means honesty. She is a loyal friend.”
On Saturday Night Live with Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Photograph: Kobal.
When Poehler and Arnett divorced in 2012, her friends rallied round, taking her on holidays and attending public events with her. “I don’t see a difference in her for having been through what she’s gone through,” Rudolph says. “I don’t want to say she’s resilient – that makes it sound like it was easy – but I’ve always seen a strength in her that has not waned.”
Part of Poehler’s appeal is that she shuns the self-deprecation game. In 2011, she was interviewed on stage by the New Yorker writer Ariel Levy. During the event, to Poehler’s surprise, clips were played from the early part of her career, and no one laughed louder at them than she did. She grinned at the audience afterwards: “That was funny!”
“It’s a struggle sometimes, to not apologise for yourself,” she says. “It’s not easy. I have to really work at it, to not look in the mirror and think, ‘God, I hate my face.’ That demon is always there, but I tried not to pack him for this trip.” The Brits, she’s noticed, are particularly fond of self-deprecation: “It can be super-charming, but it’s also self-eroding. You also shouldn’t pretend to be harder than you are. It’s about fine-tuning the channel.”
With boyfriend and fellow comedian Nick Kroll. Photograph: Getty Images.
She has been thinking about this a lot as she has moved into producing, with a special focus on young women. In 2009 she was contacted by two twentysomethings, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, who had created their own web series, Broad City, and invited Poehler to appear in an episode. To their astonishment, she agreed. She then came on board as executive producer and got the series moved over to TV, where it has become an international hit.
“I love working with women,” Poehler says. “I know I’m generalising, but women are excellent multitaskers, and I’m optimistic about this new generation of young female artists who have such a strong point of view.” She cites Amy Schumer as another young woman she admires, and is also a huge fan of the late 90s British all-female comedy series Smack The Pony: “Just such a great show.”
Part of being a producer means taking meetings with, by and large, men, and Poehler has been “observing how [men and women] sit and talk and occupy their professional real estate”. She has long been scathing about how differently some men treat women in boardrooms, asking, for example, where her kids are. For example, she says, women tend to talk quickly in meetings, whereas men talk slowly. Does she think, now she’s working on the other side of the camera, that it’s getting easier for women to break into comedy? “I do think the market now demands an alternative to the old white male experience,” she says. “But look, here’s my stoner answer: I think the world is becoming more feminine, and there are a few dinosaurs raging at the end, and it causes extreme violence against women, it causes terrible political fires around the world. But I think everyone’s reacting to the universe becoming more feminine in order to save its life.” She pauses. “That is a long title for my next book. I also do it in standup clubs and I don’t have a joke at the end.” She throws back her head again and laughs.
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