Amy Poehler

Poehler was born on September 16, 1971, in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Her parents Eileen and William Poehler are school teachers. Poehler credits her father with encouraging her to break social protocols and take risks. Poehler's ancestry is Irish, along with German, Portuguese, and English; her Irish roots originate from County Sligo and County Cork. She was raised as a Catholic. She was also raised as Jewish and has often jokingly referred to herself as being a "Cashew" (part Catholic, part Jewish). Poehler grew up in nearby Burlington, Massachusetts, which she describes as a blue-collar town. When she was ten years old, Poehler played Dorothy Gale in her school's production of L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. The experience inspired Poehler's love of performing. Poehler continued acting in school plays at Burlington High School.