2014–2021: Early work In 2014, Edebiri acted in an episode of the series
Defectives. She started her career as a stand-up comedian and performed a stand-up set on
Comedy Central's
Up Next. Edebiri made her film debut in the 2020 comedy-drama
Shithouse in an uncredited role. She co-hosted a podcast called
Iconography with Olivia Craighead in which guests were interviewed about their shared personal icons. A television writer, Edebiri wrote for the sole seasons of
The Rundown with Robin Thede and NBC's
Sunnyside. After
Jenny Slate stepped down from voicing the character Missy so the role could be played by a Black actress, Edebiri auditioned and was selected as the replacement in August 2020. Her voice acting as the character began at the end of the show's fourth season.
2022–present: Breakthrough and The Bear In 2022, Edebiri gained wider prominence as a main cast member on the
FX on
Hulu series
The Bear. She received a
Golden Globe Award,
Primetime Emmy Award, and
Independent Spirit Award in addition to nominations from the
Gotham Awards and the
Critics' Choice Awards for her role as
Sydney Adamu, an ambitious young
sous chef. Also in 2022, she became a writer and consulting producer on the FX series
What We Do in the Shadows, earning a nomination for the
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Comedy for the episode "Private School". That February, Edebiri contributed original poetry to
Eating Salad Drunk, a comedian
haiku anthology (edited by author
Gabe Henry) that benefited
Comedy Gives Back, a nonprofit supporting comedians facing financial hardship from the
Covid-19 pandemic. In the same year, she appeared in an episode of the
Mel Brooks Hulu series
History of the World, Part II and the
Black Mirror episode "
Joan Is Awful". and
April O'Neil in the animated
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Both films were financially successful. In 2023, she starred in the
mockumentary comedy film
Theater Camp alongside
Molly Gordon and
Ben Platt. The film premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews, with many comparing it to the films of
Christopher Guest. Later that year, she guest starred in the
ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary and starred in the
teen sex comedy Bottoms opposite
Rachel Sennott.
Bottoms premiered at
South by Southwest. Katie Walsh of
The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Sennott and Edebiri deliver two of the funniest performances of the year". She appeared in the film
The Sweet East directed by
Sean Price Williams, which premiered at the
2023 Cannes Film Festival at the
Directors' Fortnight. She won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2024; as
Quinta Brunson won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series that same year, that was the first year that two Black actresses won the two female comedy acting categories in the Primetime Emmys. Edebiri made her directorial debut in the season three episode "
Napkins" (2024). To train for communicating with the crew she shadowed the director of the flashback episode "
Fishes" in which her character did not appear. In January 2025 she was nominated for a
Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series for the episode. Edebiri hosted
Saturday Night Live with musical guest
Jennifer Lopez in 2024. In a sketch, Edebiri indirectly acknowledged having criticized Lopez previously on the podcast
Scam Goddess. She voiced Envy in the
Pixar film
Inside Out 2 (2024), a sequel to the
first film. Edebiri appeared as a crazed woman in the music video for
Tyler, The Creator's 2024 single, "
Noid". In February 2025, she directed the music video for
Clairo's song, "Terrapin", which starred
"Weird Al" Yankovic. Edebiri starred in the 2025
A24 horror film
Opus, co-starring
John Malkovich, and
Luca Guadagnino's thriller film
After the Hunt (2025), with
Julia Roberts and
Andrew Garfield. She played a supporting role in
James L. Brooks's comedy film
Ella McCay. In February 2025, it was announced that Edebiri was in talks to star in and write a film based on the children's television show
Barney & Friends for
A24,
Mattel Films, and producer
Daniel Kaluuya. For
season three of
The Bear, Edebiri received an
Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and another for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. This makes her the first Black woman ever to be nominated for acting and directing in the comedy categories in the same year. Additionally, she is the youngest Black woman in Emmy history to receive three acting nominations. She is also only the second Black woman to be nominated for comedy directing after
Millicent Shelton for
30 Rock in 2009. Edebiri also co-wrote the acclaimed
season four episode of
The Bear, "
Worms," which was named one of the top 10 TV episodes of the year by
The Hollywood Reporter, while
TheWrap named Edebiri to its list of the top 10 TV performers of 2025. Edebiri and
Lionel Boyce were nominated for an
WGA Award for Episodic Comedy for "Worms". Nigerian filmmakers
Arie Esiri and
Chuko Esiri cast Edebiri in
Clarissa, their adaptation of the
Virginia Woolf novel
Mrs Dalloway, which was filmed 2025 in
Lagos. Deadline described her turn as Catherine in a 2026 Broadway revival of
Proof as "transfixing" and a "revelation." Edebiri was nominated for a 2026
Drama League award in the category of
Distinguished Performance. ==Personal life==