Alexandra Attkisson Petri (, born March 15, 1988) is an American humorist, newspaper columnist, and 2025 recipient of the

Thurber Prize for American Humor The Thurber Prize for American Humor, named after American humorist James Thurber, recognizes outstanding contributions in humor writing. The prize is given out by the Thurber House. It was first awarded irregularly, but since 2004 has been besto ...

. In 2010, she became the youngest person to have a column in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. Petri runs the ComPost blog on the paper's website, on which she formerly worked with

Dana Milbank Dana Timothy Milbank (born April 27, 1968) is an American author and columnist for ''The Washington Post''. He has written books about Al Gore, George W. Bush, Glenn Beck, American politics, and the Republican Party. He has appeared as a pundit ...

. In 2017, a piece of satire she wrote about president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

was miscategorized as news and included in one of the White House's daily press briefings. She was recognized in the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 in 2018.

Biography

Early life and education

Petri grew up in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., the

only child An only child is a person with no siblings, by birth or adoption. Overview Throughout history, only-children were relatively uncommon. From around the middle of the 20th century, birth rates and average family sizes fell sharply for a number of ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

Tom Petri Thomas Evert Petri (born May 28, 1940) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1979 to 2015; he is a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Early lif ...

and nonprofit executive Anne D. Neal, and attended the

National Cathedral School National Cathedral School (NCS) is an independent Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal private school, private day school for girls in grades 4–12 located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, ...

. In high school she wrote plays for a competition at Arena Stage; three of hers were chosen for performance. She also performed

standup comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

. She graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

with a degree in English, concentrating in

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

, in 2010; while there she joined the Harvard Stand Up Comedy Society, worked with the

Hasty Pudding Club The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The current clubhouse was designed by Peabody and ...

, and wrote for the Internet comedy series '' On Harvard Time'' and for ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students. His ...

''. Her college roommate was

Megan Amram Megan Amram (born September 3, 1987) is an American comedy writer, producer, and performer. She is most known for her work as co-writer and producer for the NBC series ''The Good Place''. Amram created and starred in the comedy web series, '' An ...

. She was a summer intern at ''The Washington Post'' before she received a job with the paper. She is also a member of a playwrights' collective in Washington, D.C., called The Welders.

Career

Her book of essays, ''A Field Guide to Awkward Silences,'' was published in 2015. She has appeared on ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

'', won prizes in the

O. Henry Pun-Off The O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships is an annual spoken word competition that takes place every May at the O. Henry Museum in Austin, Texas. History Started in 1978, the Pun-Off gathers fans of wordplay to celebrate the pun, which English ...

, and performed at an international

whistling Whistling, without the use of an artificial whistle, is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. Th ...

competition. Her play ''The Campsite Rule'', a sex comedy whose title is derived from an idea taken from

Dan Savage Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBTQ community activist. He writes Savage Love, an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husband, ...

, was premiered at the

Capital Fringe Festival The Capital Fringe Festival was a fringe theatre festival held in Washington, DC, United States, every July from 2005 to 2019, and then again from 2022 to 2024. History The Capital Fringe Festival was first held on July 20–30, 2006. Founded by ...

in 2013. In December 2015, Petri created the parody Twitter account "Emo Kylo Ren", which envisioned the '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' character

Kylo Ren Kylo Ren (born Ben Solo) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in ''The Force Awakens'' (2015), the first film of the sequel trilogy as the main antagonist. He subsequently appeared in '' The Last Jedi'' (20 ...

as an angsty teenager obsessed with

Darth Vader Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...

. The account went viral after being retweeted by

Hot Topic Hot Topic, Inc. is an American fast-fashion company specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, and most of the ...

and receiving attention from media outlets such as ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' and ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...

'', soon gaining more followers than Hot Topic. During the 8th Shorty Awards in 2016, the account won the award for best parody account. Petri revealed that she created this parody account in an interview with Syfy published on January 25, 2018. Of her writing, Petri has said, "My goal is to be weirder than everybody else and hope that no one stops me. So far no one has." Writers and comedians she has listed as influences include

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright. He was best known for his gag cartoon, cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' an ...

Dave Barry David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally Print syndication, syndicated humor column for the ''Miami Herald'' from 1983 to 2005. He has written numerous books of humor and parody, as we ...

Mitch Hedberg Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 23, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes mixed with absurd elements and non s ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

, and

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. She made her comic book debut by writing the one-shot ''

She-Hulk She-Hulk (Jennifer Susan Walters) is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she First appearance, first appeared in ''The Savage She-Hulk ...

Annual #1'', released on August 28, 2019. In June 2020, Petri released her second book, ''Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why'', a collection of essays on the Trump presidency years. In April 2023, she released her third book ''Alexandra Petri's US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up)'', which won the

Personal life

In June 2018, Petri married Stephen Stromberg, an editorial writer at the ''Washington Post''. They welcomed their first child in February 2022. They welcomed their second child in January 2025.

Works

* ''A Field Guide to Awkward Silences'', New American Library, 2016. * ''Nothing Is Wrong and Here is Why: Essays'', W. W. Norton & Company, 2020. * ''Alexandra Petri's US History: Important documents (I made up): Essays'', W. W. Norton & Company, 2023.

References

External links

Alexandra Petri's page
on ''The Washington Post''
Emo Kylo Ren
parody Twitter account {{DEFAULTSORT:Petri, Alexandra Living people 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women writers American humorous columnists American humorists American satirists American parodists American satirical columnists American women columnists American women humorists American women satirists Jewish American columnists Jewish American comics writers American female comics writers Jewish American dramatists and playwrights American comics writers American stand-up comedians Women stand-up comedians American women dramatists and playwrights American women essayists Journalists from Washington, D.C. The Harvard Crimson people The Washington Post journalists Writers from Washington, D.C. National Cathedral School alumni 1988 births Contestants on American game shows Shorty Award winners Comedians from Wisconsin Comedians from Washington, D.C.