Maya Erskine (born May 7, 1987) is an American actress and writer. She is known for her roles as Maggie in '' Man Seeking Woman'', Mikki in '' Betas'', and Mizu in '' Blue Eye Samurai''. From 2019 to 2021, she starred in

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

's original TV comedy series ''

PEN15 ''Pen15'' is an American comedy television series, created by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman, that premiered on February 8, 2019, on Hulu. The series stars Erskine and Konkle, who also serve as executive producers alongside Zvibl ...

'' alongside

Anna Konkle Anna Konkle (born April 7, 1987) is an American actress, writer and director. She is known for co-creating and starring as Anna Kone on Hulu's original TV comedy series ''PEN15'', alongside Maya Erskine. Her work on the series earned her two Prime ...

; the duo, who co-created, co-wrote, and co-executive produced the series, played fictional versions of their 13-year-old selves. The series received critical acclaim and was nominated for four

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

. In 2024, she began starring as Jane Smith in the

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

series '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'', for which she was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

Early life and education

Erskine was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, the daughter of Mutsuko Nigatawa and jazz drummer

Peter Erskine Peter Clark Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the d ...

. Her mother is

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, from

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Her mother also plays the role of her character's mother on ''

''. Erskine attended Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences and graduated from

Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA, ) is a visual and performing arts high school located on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is a public school, ...

. She is a 2005 YoungArts alumnus. She then attended

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

. Erskine initially studied

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...

but shifted to the school's Experimental Theater Wing. During her time at NYU, she met

while they were both studying abroad at a theater program in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Career

Erskine has performed with the Los Angeles–based theater groups the

East West Players East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give ...

and the

Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse is a not-for-profit theater company founded in Los Angeles, California by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhous ...

. In 2019, she appeared in

Amy Poehler Amy Meredith Poehler ( ; born September 16, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. Known for her roles in sketch comedy, sitcoms and comedy films, she has earned acclaim and several accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award (out of 26 nom ...

's directorial debut, ''Wine Country'', opposite a slate of comedians including Poehler,

Maya Rudolph Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress and comedian. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). During her tenure on the show, she appeared in supporting roles in ...

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...

, and

Rachel Dratch Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. After she graduated from Dartmouth College, she moved to Chicago to study improvisational theatre at The Second City and ImprovOlympic. Dratch's breakthr ...

. The same year, she began starring in the Hulu series ''

'', which she created with Konkle. She received two

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognizes writing excellence in regular comedic series, most of which can generally be described as situat ...

nominations for her work on the series. She is recognized by

Gold House Gold House is a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Singapore that promotes the interests of people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent. The collective consists of founders, creators, investors, ente ...

as the A100 Honoree.

Personal life

In September 2019, she confirmed her relationship with actor

Michael Angarano Michael Anthony Angarano (born December 3, 1987) is an American actor. He became known for his roles in the film ''Music of the Heart'' (1999) and the television series '' Cover Me'' (2000–2001), as well as for playing a recurring role as Elli ...

. On November 2, 2020, the couple revealed they were engaged and expecting a child. Their son was born in 2021. In 2024, Erskine revealed that she and Angarano had married. In April 2024, Erskine announced her second pregnancy. Their daughter was born in 2024.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, Maya 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers American actresses of Japanese descent American film actresses American people of Japanese descent American television actresses American voice actresses Crossroads School alumni Living people Los Angeles County High School for the Arts alumni New York University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)