Alia Martine Shawkat ( ; born April 18, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for her performances as Maeby Fünke in the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

television sitcom ''

Arrested Development ''Arrested Development'' is an American satire, satirical television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz. It follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family and is presented in a Serial (radio and television), serialized format, inco ...

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

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

dark comedy series '' Search Party'' (2016–2022), and Gertie Michaels in the 2015 horror-comedy film '' The Final Girls'', as well as her roles in '' State of Grace'' and '' The Old Man''. She has also guest starred as historical figures

Frances Cleveland Frances Clara Cleveland Preston (, christened Frank Clara; July 21, 1864 – October 29, 1947) was the first lady of the United States from 1886 to 1889 and again from 1893 until 1897, as the wife of President Grover Cleveland. She was the ...

, Virginia Hall, and

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

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

'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. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's executive p ...

''.

Early life

Shawkat was born in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

, to Dina Shawkat (née Burke) and strip club owner Tony Shawkat. She grew up in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, 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 Rivers ...

. She has two brothers. Her father is from

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, Iraq, and her mother is American. Her maternal grandfather was actor Paul Burke.

Career

From 2001 to 2002, Shawkat played Hannah in '' State of Grace''. As Maeby Fünke, Shawkat was a regular cast member of ''

'' 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 ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' in 2010, Shawkat remarked that many of her "formative moments" as an actress took place on the ''Arrested Development'' set: " how creator Mitch Hurwitz was like a father figure to me. In a way, it was great to be around he cast 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 Sean Tillmann-Hauser (born February 6, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He has performed and released studio albums as Sean Na Na and as a member of hardcore band Calvin Krime, but is best known for his work under the name Har M ...

's music video for "Tall Boy", which also featured

Eva Mendes Eva de la Caridad Méndez (, ; born March 5, 1974), known professionally as Eva Mendes, is a retired American actress. Her acting career began in the late 1990s with a series of roles in films such as '' Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror ...

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, producer, and activist. He is known for his leading roles across Canadian and American film and television, and for his outspoken work as an activist for LGBTQ righ ...

would produce and write a show for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

called ''Stitch N' Bitch''. According to ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', the show "follows two painfully cool hipsters as they relocate from Brooklyn's

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

neighborhood to Los Angeles' Silver Lake enclave in hopes of becoming artists—of any kind." Shawkat, along with ''State of Grace'' and ''Arrested Development'' co-star and close friend

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actor. She began her career as a child actor, starring in the films '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994), '' One Fine Day'' (1996), ''Independence Day'' (1996), and '' Hope Floats'' (1998), ...

, sang guest vocals on several tracks from indie-punk band Fake Problems' 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 simultaneously 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's 2013 art film, ''Center Jenny''. In 2015, Shawkat guest-starred on ''

Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web serie ...

'', portraying the romantic interest and look-alike of

Ilana Glazer Ilana Glazer (born April 12, 1987) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, and activist. They have received various accolades including a Daytime Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for four Primetime ...

's character for one episode; the two were attracted to one another due only 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. Alongside her acting role on this project, Shawkat produced 30 episodes and directed 1 from 2016 to 2021. In 2019, Shawkat starred in the film ''

Animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

'' (directed by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n director

Sophie Hyde Sophie Hyde (born 1977) 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 ...

) as Tyler, a high-living American partier in Dublin. It is a film about a friendship that 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'', Lu ...

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

Personal life

When not acting, Shawkat enjoys singing, drawing, and painting. She occasionally sings in jazz bars, though she only sings

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

s; her grandfather taught her many of the songs she knows. At one point, Shawkat attempted to learn

welding Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, primarily by using high temperature to melting, melt the parts together and allow them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Co ...

, hoping to make metal sculptures. She considers it essential for her to pursue different forms of art, stating, "They feed each other. If I didn't have the other ones, I don't think I could just act." Shawkat is

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

. On November 15, 2023, Shawkat gave birth to her first child.

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 Iraqi descent American people of Irish descent American writers of Italian descent American people of Norwegian descent American television actresses LGBTQ people from California American LGBTQ people of Asian descent Living people 21st-century American women writers Screenwriters from California 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American LGBTQ people American bisexual actresses 1989 births Oceanside International Film Festival award winners