Elizabeth Claire Kemper (born May 2, 1980)
is an American actress, best known for her roles of
Erin Hannon in the sitcom ''
The Office
''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
'' (2009–2013) and
Kimmy Schmidt in the sitcom ''
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' (2015–2019). She has also appeared in films, notably ''
Bridesmaids'' (2011), ''
21 Jump Street
''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired from April 12, 1987 to April 27, 1991, spanning 103 episodes over five s ...
'' (2012), ''
Sex Tape'' (2014), and ''
Home Sweet Home Alone'' (2021). In 2018, she released her debut book, ''
My Squirrel Days''.
She earned two consecutive nominations for the
, and has also been nominated for a
Critics' Choice Movie Award, two
Critics' Choice Television Award
The Critics' Choice Television Awards were accolades that were presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fou ...
s, three
Satellite Awards
The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...
, and seven
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
.
Early life
Kemper was born in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
,
the second of four children of Dorothy Ann "Dotty" (née Jannarone) and David Woods Kemper, a son of one of the wealthiest families in Missouri.
Her father is the executive chairman of
Commerce Bancshares
Commerce Bancshares, Inc. is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, Missouri, with principal offices in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City and St. Louis. It is the corporate parent of Commerce Bank, which offer ...
, a
bank holding company
A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') or bancorporation is often used to refer to such companies as w ...
founded by the Kemper family. She is the granddaughter of Mildred Lane Kemper, namesake of the
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at
Washington University in St. Louis and the great-great-granddaughter of banker
William Thornton Kemper Sr.
She is the elder sister of television writer
Carrie Kemper. Kemper is of Italian (from her maternal grandfather), English, French, and German ancestry. She was raised and remains a practicing
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
.
In 1999, at age 19, she was presented as a
debutante
A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Origin ...
at the
Veiled Prophet Ball, and was named the Veiled Prophet's Queen of Love and Beauty. Her participation sparked controversy in 2021 due to the Ball's background, which was described as "racist and elitist". The backlash prompted Kemper to release a statement denouncing
white supremacy
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
and apologizing for participating in the event.
Education
Kemper's family moved to
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
when she was five. She attended Conway Elementary School in the affluent suburb of
Ladue and high school at
John Burroughs School
John Burroughs School (JBS) is a private, non-sectarian college-preparatory school with 631 students in grades 7– 12. Its 49-acre () campus is located in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Founded in 1923, it is named for U.S. naturali ...
, where she developed an interest in theater and improvisational comedy. One of her teachers was actor
Jon Hamm
Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and tw ...
, with whom she appeared in a school play.
Kemper graduated from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
in 2002 with a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in English.
At Princeton, she was a member of the improv comedy troupe Quipfire, which was known for its elaborate pranks. She was also a member of the
Ivy Club.
As a freshman, she played on Princeton's 1998
national championship
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
field hockey
Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...
team, maintaining she sat on the bench "roughly 97 percent" of the time,
before moving on the following year to focus on theater.
She attended
Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was ad ...
, for a year, where she studied towards a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in English literature.
Career
Early comedic career
Kemper continued her interest in improvisational comedy at Princeton. She participated in Quipfire!, Princeton's oldest improv comedy group, and the
Princeton Triangle Club, a touring musical comedy theater troupe.
She also appeared in a radio spot for
Dunkin' Donuts
DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...
.
Kemper earned her
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
card doing commercial advertising of a one-week sale of tents at
Kmart
Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...
. It featured her camping with an onscreen husband, and a shot where a
tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...
crawled across her face. She regularly appeared in comedy sketches on ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...
'' in the late 2000s, and made guest appearances on ''
Important Things with Demetri Martin'',
and
E! Television's ''
The Gastineau Girls'',
which has been described as her "breakout role". Though the series was reality TV, her role was scripted. She has appeared on
Fuse TV's ''The P.A.'' In October 2008, she appeared on ''
The Colbert Report
''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...
'' in a
PSA for Teen Voter Abstinence.
She has written several
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
shows,
many with her comedy partner Scott Eckert,
a fellow Princeton grad.
She is a contributing writer for the national satirical newspaper ''
The Onion
''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is currently based in Chicago, but originated as a weekly print publication ...
'', and for ''
McSweeney's
McSweeney's Publishing is an American nonprofit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. The executive director is Amanda Uhle.
McSweeney's first publication was the literary journal'' Timothy McSw ...
''.
She is also a contributor to ''
HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
''.

Upon moving to New York City, Kemper participated in the
People's Improv Theater and the city troupe of
Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy theater. She has appeared in several shows for the Brigade, including ''Death and/or Despair'', ''Listen Kid'', ''Gang Bang'' and ''The Improvised Mystery''.
At the UCB, she performed with the house improv teams Mailer Daemon and fwand.
At the People's Improv Theater she performs with the house improv team Big Black Car.
In August 2008, she auditioned for a spot on the NBC sketch comedy show ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'', but was not cast.
In July 2009, Kemper was named one of ''
Variety'' magazine's "10 Comics To Watch".
In 2007, she appeared in ''How to Kick People'', a performance combining comedy and literary performances. In March 2008, she wrote and performed in the one-woman show "Dumb Girls" through the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.
She also performed in the one-woman show "Feeling Sad/Mad with Ellie Kemper"
and has appeared in comedy sketches on
Funny or Die, the comedy website started by
Will Ferrell
John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...
and
Adam McKay's production company,
Gary Sanchez Productions.
Kemper gained
Internet interest in August 2007 for her part in "Blowjob Girl," a humor video on the sketch comedy site
Derrick Comedy, in which she shows her enthusiam for her hobby with rough hands and a lot of gnashing teeth. Kemper said of the video in an April 2010 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 ...
'': "I really don't like that video, and I wish that I hadn't done it, even though I know that it's a joke. I hate that it got sort of big, because I don't think that it's that funny and I don't want that to be the epitome of my work. It's just one video in a sea of many, but it has made me conscious of not wanting to do a video like that again." Kemper has also contributed an article to
CollegeHumor
Dropout, incorporated as CH Media and formerly known as CollegeHumor, is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles that produces content for release on its streaming service Dropout (streaming platform), Dropout as well as YouTube. Dropou ...
entitled "Regarding Our Decision Never to See Me Again". She also had a minor role in the 2009 film ''
Mystery Team''. Kemper starred in a fake
iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
commercial on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' in January 2007, six months before the first iPhone was released.
Kemper appeared in the
Sofia Coppola
Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...
comedy-drama ''
Somewhere
Somewhere may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Somewhere'' (Eva Cassidy album) or the title song, 2008
* ''Somewhere'' (Keith Jarrett album), 2013
* '' Somewhere – The Songs of Sondheim and Bernstein'', by Marina Prior, 1994
* ''Somewhere'', or ...
'' in 2010.
She appeared in ''
Bridesmaids'' in 2011. On April 3, 2013, it was announced that Kemper would be voicing a character in an episode of the
animated sitcom
An animated sitcom is a subgenre of a television sitcom that is animation, animated instead of being filmed live-action, and is generally made or created for adult animation, adult audiences in most cases. ''The Simpsons'', ''SpongeBob SquarePan ...
''
American Dad!
''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...
''
Kemper auditioned for a role in ''
Parks and Recreation'', an
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
comedy series started in 2009 by
Michael Schur and
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting '' The Office'' ...
, creator of the series ''
The Office
''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
''. She was not cast in the role, but received a call back to audition for a supporting role in ''The Office'' as
Erin Hannon, a secretary filling in for the regular secretary
Pam Beesly when she briefly left the job at the end of the
fifth season. Kemper was cast in the role, and started appearing in the show in April 2009. The character was originally written to be more sarcastic and dry, but the writers changed her to be more perky and optimistic to more closely resemble Kemper herself. Kemper described the character as "an exaggerated version of myself".
Kemper described herself as a "huge fan" of the show and was thrilled to be on it.
Although the character was originally intended for four episodes, the producers were impressed with Kemper and signed her as a regular in the
sixth season.
Jennifer Celotta, a screenwriter with the series, described Kemper as a "fun addition" to the show.
Television work
Kemper received positive reviews for her role in ''The Office''. Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with ''
The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition.
In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...
'', praised the "infectious joy and sweetness" she brought to the show.
Joshua Ostroff of ''
Eye Weekly
''Eye Weekly'' was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the ''Toronto Star'', and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The followin ...
'' described Erin as one of the best new television characters of the 2008–2009 season and said, "Erin's high-grade adorability, up-for-anything attitude and sheer niceness is unlike anyone else in the office, adding a welcome new wrinkle for next season." Andy Shaw of ''TV Fodder'' said she "adds some freshness to the cast" and Josh McAuliffe of ''
The Times-Tribune'' in
Scranton
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
, Pennsylvania, said he liked Erin's "cheerful, appealingly goofy personality". Many critics have singled her out as a highlight of the show's
eighth season following
Steve Carell's departure.
In October 2009, Kemper appeared in ''
Subtle Sexuality'', a set of three ''The Office'' webisodes about efforts by Erin and
Kelly Kapoor (
Mindy Kaling) to start a
girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...
.
Following ''The Office'', she starred in the
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 ...
original comedy series ''
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' as the fish-out-of-water
title character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
. She plays a former abductee and forced cult member who wants to shed the victim pity of her small hometown and moves to New York. Her performance on the show has been widely acclaimed, and she received multiple nominations for the
Screen Actors Guild Award
Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
and
.
In summer 2015, Kemper served as a temporary co-host of ''
Today'' alongside
Al Roker,
Natalie Morales,
Tamron Hall, and
Willie Geist.
In 2019, Kemper appeared as a guest judge on
season 14 of ''
America's Got Talent
''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...
'' where she pushed the Golden Buzzer for light-up dance group Light Balance Kids.
Other work
In 2018, Kemper recorded for the audiobook ''
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo''.
She also recorded the audiobook for 2019's ''The Legends of Greemulax'', a novel attributed to her character Kimmy Schmidt.
That same year she published her first book, ''
My Squirrel Days''.
In 2023, she joined the cast of the Broadway play ''
Peter Pan Goes Wrong'' making her Broadway debut as Francis for a limited engagement.
Personal life
In 2012, Kemper became engaged to comedy writer
Michael Koman. They married on July 7, 2012. They have two sons, born in August 2016 and September 2019. On ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...
'', Kemper said that her Jewish husband had told her priest that he agreed to raise their kids
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
.
In 2022, Kemper ran the NYC Marathon, finishing in 5:17:39
Filmography
Film
Television
Bibliography
*
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemper, Ellie
1980 births
Living people
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American comedians
Actresses from Kansas City, Missouri
Actresses from St. Louis
American people of Breton descent
American people of English descent
American people of French descent
American people of German descent
American people of Italian descent
Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford
American comedy writers
American debutantes
American female field hockey players
American film actresses
American television actresses
American voice actresses
American women comedians
Catholics from Missouri
Catholics from New York (state)
Ellie
Ellie or Elly is a given name. The name stands on its own or can be a shortened form of any of the numerous female names beginning with the syllable El-, in particular Elizabeth, Eleanor, or Elvira. It can also be a short form of Elaine, Elena ...
The Onion people
Princeton Tigers field hockey players
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers
John Burroughs School alumni
Comedians from St. Louis
Comedians from Kansas City, Missouri