Alia Martine Shawkat ( ; ar, عليا مارتين شوكت; born April 18, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in '' The Old Man'', '' State of Grace'',

Maeby Fünke ''Arrested Development'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the Fox network from November 2, 2003, to February 10, 2006. A fourth season of 15 episodes was released on Netflix on May 26, 2013. Created by Mitchell Hurwitz, ...

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 (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

/ Netflix television sitcom '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006; 2013–2019), Dory Sief in the TBS and HBO Max comedy series '' Search Party'' (2016–2022) and Gertie Michaels in the 2015

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film ''

The Final Girls ''The Final Girls'' is a 2015 American comedy horror film directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller. The film stars Taissa Farmiga and Malin Åkerman, with supporting performances from Adam DeVine, Tho ...

,''. She has also guest starred as Frances Cleveland,

Virginia Hall Virginia Hall Goillot DSC, Croix de Guerre, (April 6, 1906 – July 8, 1982), code named Marie and Diane, was an American who worked with the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Office of St ...

, and

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on Comedy Central'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. They and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's exec ...

.''

Early life

Shawkat was born in Riverside, California, to Dina Shawkat (née Burke) and film producer Tony Shawkat. She grew up in Palm Springs. She has two brothers. Her father is from Baghdad, Iraq, and her mother is of Norwegian, Irish, and Italian descent. Her maternal grandfather was actor Paul Burke.

Career

From 2001 to 2004, Shawkat played Hannah in '' State of Grace''. As

, Shawkat was a regular cast member of '' Arrested Development'' 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 in 2010, Shawkat remarked that many of her "formative moments" as an actress took place on the ''Arrested Development'' set: " how creator

Mitch Hurwitz Mitchell Donald "Mitch" Hurwitz (born May 29, 1963) is an American television writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom ''Arrested Development'' as well as the co-creator of ''The Ellen Show''. He is a ...

was like a father figure to me. In a way, it was great to be around

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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's music video for "Tall Boy", which also featured Eva Mendes 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. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Elliot Page, various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination, tw ...

would produce and write a show for

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called ''Stitch N' Bitch''. According to '' The Hollywood Reporter'', 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'

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enclave in hopes of becoming artists—of any kind." Shawkat, along with ''Arrested Development'' co-star and close friend Mae Whitman, sang guest vocals on a number of 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 at the same time on Netflix 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 Ryan Trecartin (born 1981) is an American artist and filmmaker currently based in Athens, Ohio. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating with a BFA in 2004. Trecartin has since lived and worked in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Ph ...

's 2013 art film, ''Center Jenny''. In 2015, Shawkat guest-starred on '' Broad City'', portraying the romantic interest and look-alike of Ilana Glazer's character for one episode; the two were only attracted to one another due 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 HBO Max in 2019 before concluding with its fifth and final season in January 2022. Shawkat plays the role of Tyler, a high-living American partier in Dublin, in the 2019 film '' Animals'', directed by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n director

Sophie Hyde Sophie Hyde 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 drama ''Anima ...

. It is a film about a friendship which 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'', Luc ...

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

Personal life

When not acting, Shawkat likes to paint; she has participated in gallery shows in Los Angeles, Mexico City and Paris. She also likes to make music and sing in jazz bars. She is

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

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 Arab descent American people of Iraqi descent American people of Irish descent American writers of Italian descent American people of Norwegian descent American television actresses Bisexual actresses LGBT people from California American LGBT people of Asian descent Living people 21st-century American women writers Screenwriters from California 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century LGBT people American bisexual actors 1989 births