Alia Martine Shawkat ( ; ar, عليا مارتين شوكت; born April 18, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in '' The Old Man'', '' State of Grace'', Maeby Fünke in the Fox/

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006; 2013–2019), Dory Sief in the TBS and

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

comedy series '' Search Party'' (2016–2022) and Gertie Michaels in the 2015 horror-comedy film ''

The Final Girls ''The Final Girls'' is a 2015 American comedy horror film directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller. The film stars Taissa Farmiga and Malin Åkerman, with supporting performances from Adam DeVine, Thoma ...

,''. She has also guest starred as

Frances Cleveland Frances Clara Cleveland Preston (née Folsom born as Frank Clara; July 21, 1864 – October 29, 1947) was an American socialite, education activist, and the first lady of the United States from 1886 to 1889, and again from 1893 to 1897 as t ...

Virginia Hall Virginia Hall Goillot DSC, Croix de Guerre, (April 6, 1906 – July 8, 1982), code named Marie and Diane, was an American who worked with the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Office of Stra ...

, and

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charle ...

on Comedy Central's ''

Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. They and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's ...

.''

Early life

Shawkat was born in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, to Dina Shawkat (née Burke) and film producer Tony Shawkat. She grew up in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

. She has two brothers. Her father is from

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, and her mother is of Norwegian, Irish, and Italian descent. Her maternal grandfather was actor Paul Burke.

Career

From 2001 to 2004, Shawkat played Hannah in '' State of Grace''. As Maeby Fünke, Shawkat was a regular cast member of '' Arrested Development'' for the entire run of the show from 2003 to 2019. The series received nearly universally positive reviews, with Shawkat's performance occasionally singled out for praise. Pop-culture commentator Brian M. Palmer remarked that she was "one of the brightest lights on a show populated solely by bright lights," and Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic described her as "one ''funny'' young lady." In an interview with The A.V. Club in 2010, Shawkat remarked that many of her "formative moments" as an actress took place on the ''Arrested Development'' set: "

how creator How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...

Mitch Hurwitz was like a father figure to me. In a way, it was great to be around

he cast He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

because I feel that my understanding of comedy was able to grow really well during that time." In 2009, Shawkat appeared in ''Whip It'' co-star Har Mar Superstar's music video for "Tall Boy", which also featured Eva Mendes and Eric Wareheim. In October 2009, it was announced that Shawkat, Har Mar, and ''Whip It'' co-star

Elliot Page Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award nomination, two BAFTA Awards and Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and a Satellite Award. Page publi ...

would produce and write a show for HBO called ''Stitch N' Bitch''. According to ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'', the show "follows two painfully cool hipsters as they relocate from Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood to Los Angeles' Silver Lake enclave in hopes of becoming artists—of any kind." Shawkat, along with ''Arrested Development'' co-star and close friend

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She began acting in commercials as a child, making her film debut at the age of six in the romantic drama '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994). She achieved recognition as ...

, sang guest vocals on a number of tracks from indie-punk band

Fake Problems Fake Problems were a four-piece indie rock band from Naples, Florida. They released their first full-length album, ''How Far Our Bodies Go'', on Sabot Productions on April 27, 2007. Their second record, '' It's Great to Be Alive'', was released ...

' 2010 album '' Real Ghosts Caught on Tape''. Six years after the series was canceled by Fox, filming for a revived fourth season of ''Arrested Development'' began on August 7, 2012 and Shawkat reprised her role as Maeby Fünke. The season consists of 15 new episodes which debuted at the same time on

on May 26, 2013. Each episode focuses on one particular character, with Shawkat's Maeby, now a high school senior, featured in episode 12, "Señoritis" and appearing in several other episodes of the season. Shawkat appears briefly in

Ryan Trecartin Ryan Trecartin (born 1981) is an American artist and filmmaker currently based in Athens, Ohio. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating with a BFA in 2004. Trecartin has since lived and worked in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Phi ...

's 2013 art film, ''Center Jenny''. In 2015, Shawkat guest-starred on '' Broad City'', portraying the romantic interest and look-alike of

Ilana Glazer Ilana Glazer (born April 12, 1987) is an American comedian, director, producer, writer, and actress. She co-created and co-starred, with Abbi Jacobson, in the Comedy Central series ''Broad City'', which is based on the web series of the same nam ...

's character for one episode; the two were only attracted to one another due to their similar appearances. Leading up to the episode, many had remarked on the physical similarities Shawkat and Glazer bear to one another. Shawkat starred in the lead role of Dory Sief on the TBS comedy '' Search Party'', which premiered on November 21, 2016 and moved to

in 2019 before concluding with its fifth and final season in January 2022. Shawkat plays the role of Tyler, a high-living American partier in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, in the 2019 film ''

Animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

'', directed by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n director

Sophie Hyde Sophie Hyde is an Australian film director, writer and producer based in Adelaide, South Australia. She is co-founder of Closer Productions and known for her award-winning debut fiction film, '' 52 Tuesdays'' (2013) and the comedy drama '' Anim ...

. It is a film about a friendship which changes after Laura (played by

Holliday Grainger Holliday Clark Grainger (born 27 March 1988), also credited as Holly Grainger, is an English screen and stage actress. Some of her prominent roles are Kate Beckett in the BAFTA award-winning children's series ''Roger and the Rottentrolls'', L ...

) gets engaged to her teetotalling boyfriend. Shawkat said that she had never played a character like Tyler before, with her previous characters more relatable, and she was "excited to play someone who was so fun, but so damaged".

Personal life

When not acting, Shawkat likes to paint; she has participated in gallery shows in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. She also likes to make music and sing in jazz bars. She is

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Podcasts

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shawkat, Alia 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Palm Springs, California Actresses from Riverside, California American child actresses American film actresses American people of Arab descent American people of Iraqi descent American people of Irish descent American writers of Italian descent American people of Norwegian descent American television actresses Bisexual actresses LGBT people from California American LGBT people of Asian descent Living people 21st-century American women writers Screenwriters from California 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century LGBT people American bisexual actors 1989 births