Zazie Olivia Beetz ( ; ; born June 1, 1991) is a German-American actress. She is known for her role in the FX comedy-drama series ''

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

'' (2016–2022), for which she received a nomination for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy 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 ...

. She starred in the

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anthology series '' Easy'' (2016–2019) and has voiced Amber Bennett in the adult animated superhero series '' Invincible'' since 2021. In film, Beetz appeared in the disaster film '' Geostorm'' (2017) and portrayed the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

character

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in the superhero film ''

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'' (2018). She portrayed Arthur Fleck/Joker's neighbor Sophie in the psychological thriller '' Joker'' (2019) and its sequel '' Joker: Folie à Deux'' (2024).

Life and career

Zazie Olivia Beetz was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1991. Her father Thomas Beetz is a German

cabinet maker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...

who immigrated to the United States in 1990 after the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...

, and her mother is an African-American social worker from New York. Her parents separated when she was very young. Beetz was named after the title character in the

Raymond Queneau Raymond Auguste Queneau (; ; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo (), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau, the only child of Auguste Que ...

novel '' Zazie in the Metro''. The pronunciation, with , follows the German-dubbed version of the 1960 film adaptation of the novel. She has a younger brother named Justin. Beetz attended preschool in Berlin and kindergarten in New York City before moving with her family there more permanently at the age of eight, speaking both German and English with her family at home. Her mixed-race identity was a source of discomfort for her during her youth. Growing up in New York's Washington Heights neighborhood, she became interested in acting while attending Muscota New School and performed in community theaters and on local stages. She graduated from the LaGuardia Arts High School in 2009, and attended

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

, graduating in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in French. She spent a year living in Paris. After Beetz graduated from college, she spent a year "broke and waiting tables" before she was cast in ''

''. At the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2018, Beetz received a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series, for her role in FX's ''Atlanta''.

Personal life

In May 2022, '' Vanity Fair'' reported that Beetz was recently engaged to her writing partner, actor David Rysdahl. They met during an acting workshop and have been together since 2014. They started a production company called Sleepy Poppy. The couple married in 2023.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beetz, Zazie 1991 births 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century German actresses Actresses from Berlin Actresses from Manhattan American film actresses American people of German descent American television actresses American voice actresses Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni German emigrants to the United States German film actresses German people of African-American descent German television actresses German voice actresses Living people People from Washington Heights, Manhattan People with multiple citizenship Skidmore College alumni