Aubrey Christina Plaza is an American actress and producer. She began acting in local theater productions as a teenager and performed improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. After graduating from New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Plaza made her feature film debut in Mystery Team (2009) and gained wide recognition for her role as April Ludgate on the NBC political satire sitcom Parks and Recreation (2009–2015).
Aubrey Christina Plaza was born on June 26, 1984, in Wilmington, Delaware. The eldest of three sisters, she was born when her parents, Bernadette M. and David Plaza, were 19 and 20. They worked various jobs to make ends meet and attended night school in pursuit of their respective professional qualifications to become an attorney and financial advisor. Plaza was inspired by their work ethic: "My parents are very ambitious and they came from nothing ... They were hustlers, so I think I have that in my blood". Her paternal grandfather was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and moved to the mainland US when he was 17 years old. Raised "Catholic in a very Catholic household", Plaza is Puerto Rican on her father's side and has Taíno, Black and European ancestry. Her mother, who was adopted, is of Irish descent. In 2023, Plaza told Wired that her 23andMe test showed that she is 31% Irish, 34% Iberian (Spanish), 10% West African, 7% Native American, and 0.6% Ashkenazi Jewish. While her parents worked, Plaza was raised by her Irish foster grandparents and her Puerto Rican family.
As a child, Plaza loved films and actively engaged in imaginative play. She described herself as shy and quiet until middle school, when she discovered and acted in community theater. She attended Ursuline Academy, an all-girls Catholic school. While in high school, she was student-council president of her school, performed in theatrical productions with the Wilmington Drama League and the Delaware Theatre Company, and made short films as a hobby. She also enrolled at an improv school in Philadelphia. As a teen, Plaza worked at a video store, during which she discovered her love of independent films and filmmakers that inspired her, such as John Waters and Christopher Guest. Waters' satirical film Serial Mom (1994) made a significant impact on her, and she connected with his comedic sensibility. In 2001, she attended New York Film Academy's summer camp for filmmaking. She graduated the following year from Ursuline Academy and moved to New York. Plaza studied film and television production at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 2006.
