From performing improv and sketch comedies since the age of 20 to starring in over 50 successful movies and television shows, Aubrey Plaza has booked herself among the greatest female comedic talents ever.
Plaza first became well-known for her role as the sardonic, apathetic, and deadpan intern April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. She then soon gained supporting roles in films like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Damsels in Distress, which eventually led to her landing her first major role in the independent comedy Safety Not Guaranteed (2012).
The actress’s popularity was further expanded by her voice work in well-known animated films, such as Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever and Monsters University. As soon as an ever-growing legion of fans went in awe with Aubrey Plaza’s dry wit and deadpan humor, headlines started swirling around everywhere, reading “Wilmington native Aubrey Plaza builds major Hollywood buzz” (via Delaware Today).
Thanks to the headlines, we all know Aubrey Plaza is a Wilmington native. But what is her ethnicity?
Aubrey Plaza’s ethnicity
Aubrey Plaza was born on June 26, 1984, in Wilmington, Delaware, to an attorney mother Bernadette Plaza, and a financial advisor father, David Plaza. She was named by her mother after the song “Aubrey,” by 1970s pop group Bread. Talking about her first daughter after her rise to fame, Bernadette rejoiced,
“It was mysterious and haunting—what was so special about this girl, one could only imagine and never really know. It’s hard to put into words what makes her so special, but I always knew she would be.”
Though Aubrey was born in the United States, she traces her ancestry to multiple ethnic groups. Her paternal grandfather, Ismael, was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and moved to the mainland U.S. when he was 17 years old. On her mother Bernadette’s side, who is an attorney with Goldfein and Joseph, Plaza is of Irish and English descent.
Plaza proudly affirms her mixed background and once revealed “I’m half-Puerto Rican… I have a huge family and tons of cousins in Puerto Rico.” She also stated that she traces her ancestry to the Native Taíno people, who are the indigenous group of the Caribbean.
While talking to Parade, Plaza also opened up about her religious beliefs, stating that she grew up “very Catholic in a very Catholic household”. She continued that it was a “very tight-knit Irish Catholic community in Wilmington.”
Aubrey was “extremely shy” with people as a child, according to Plaza’s mother, which hardly signals her talents or interest in acting. However, her father claims that she was “actively doing little skits at home and creating home movies” even as a small child. And if you ask Plaza, she maintains that “For as long as I can remember I wanted to be an actor and comedienne” (via Delaware Today).
Nevertheless, with Aubrey Plaza’s name popping in Time’s 2023 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, it is undeniable that the world has witnessed the realization of her childhood ambition.