2004–2009: Career beginnings '' premiere party in 2009|alt=A dark brunette woman wearing a yellow dress smiles. Plaza trained and performed improv and
sketch comedy at the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre since 2004. Plaza named
Amy Poehler as an inspiration for her decision to perform improv. Though being a page at
30 Rockefeller Plaza was a lower position than her
SNL internship, it is a "legendary" and highly selective program. She was also in two short films in 2006,
Killswitch and
In Love. In 2008, she was part of an Improv Everywhere sketch where she and others took an entire desktop computer and monitor to a Starbucks in New York City. In 2009, she made her feature film debut in
Derrick Comedy's
Mystery Team. She then played a standup comic and
Seth Rogen's love interest in the black comedy-drama film
Funny People, directed by
Judd Apatow. In the breaks between filming
Parks and Recreation seasons, Plaza appeared in other projects, films and television series. She appeared in a
CollegeHumor short alongside
Jason Bateman and
Will Arnett. In 2011, she had a recurring role in the
sketch comedy series
Portlandia, She also appeared in the comedy-drama film
Damsels in Distress (2011) and the romantic comedy
10 Years (2011). In 2012, Plaza had her first starring role in a major film in the comedy
Safety Not Guaranteed, playing a magazine intern who answers a curious want ad. In 2013, she portrayed the character
Sacagawea in the
Drunk History episode "Nashville" during a segment on
Lewis and Clark's expedition. In 2013, she also had the starring role in the
CBS Film The To Do List. In an impromptu attempt to promote the film, Plaza ran onto the stage at the
2013 MTV Movie Awards and grabbed
Will Ferrell's award for Comedic Genius, inspired by
Kanye West's interruption of
Taylor Swift at the
2009 MTV Video Music Awards, with a drink in hand while the film's name was written across her chest. She was ejected from the studio lot where the ceremony was held. Plaza voiced Eska in the animated fantasy action television series
The Legend of Korra (2013–2014). Plaza starred in the 2014 horror comedy film
Life After Beth about a young woman who returns from the dead, written and directed by her husband
Jeff Baena, and in
Hal Hartley's drama film
Ned Rifle (2014). She also provided a guest voice for the
SpongeBob SquarePants episode
"Mall Girl Pearl" with
Betty White. That same year, she portrayed Cat Adams, a contract killer, first in
Season 11 of the
CBS television series
Criminal Minds, and then again in
Season 12 and
15. Also in 2016 she played Lenore in
Dirty Grandpa beside
Zoey Deutch, Zac Efron and
Robert De Niro.
2017–present: Career expansion in 2019 In 2017, Plaza starred in and produced the films
The Little Hours and
Ingrid Goes West. The former is a black comedy about medieval nuns loosely based on stories from
The Decameron. The film won the
Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. The following year, she starred in the indie comedy
An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn. From 2017 to 2019, Plaza portrayed both
Amahl Farouk / Shadow King and Lenny Busker in the
FX series
Legion, which was critically praised along with Plaza's performance. The role of Lenny was originally written for a middle aged man. When Plaza was offered it, she requested that the character's dialogue and actions remain, as she did not want it "being tied down to anything gender-wise".
David Bowie was an inspiration for her approach to the role. In 2019 and 2020, Plaza hosted the
Independent Spirit Awards. In 2019, she starred in ''
Child's Play'', a reboot of the
1988 film, as Andy's mother who brings home a killer doll,
Chucky. In 2020, Plaza played Riley Johnson in the romantic comedy
Happiest Season, and produced and starred in the independent experimental thriller
Black Bear, garnering critical acclaim for her performance.
Black Bear follows a filmmaker who retreats to a cabin in the mountains to find inspiration for her next film.
NME wrote that the film "examin[es] the power dynamics in filmmaking", In 2021, Plaza wrote and made her directorial debut with the episode "Quiet Illness" of the Showtime anthology series
Cinema Toast. Created by her partner Jeff Baena, the series reinvents imagery from
public domain films to tell different stories. In crafting "Quiet Illness", Plaza was inspired by actress
Loretta Young's experiences and footage of her appearances. She edited various film and television clips starring Young into a psychological thriller about a woman's self-esteem, and cast
Christina Ricci as a voice narrator. She described the project as "trippy" with a "pandemic-filming style". Plaza said that she has always had an interest in directing, and she had been writing a project during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Plaza produced and starred as the titular character in the independent film
Emily the Criminal (2022), portraying a woman saddled with student debt and compelled into criminal activity. Her performance and the film received critical acclaim, with
The New York Times calling it "wonderfully nuanced",
Little White Lies writing that it is "perhaps Plaza’s best performance to date", and the
Chicago Sun-Times deeming it "richly layered work" and "one of the best performances of the year in one of the best movies of the year". She also appeared in the film
Spin Me Round, which premiered at the
South by Southwest film festival in 2022. In the
second season of the
HBO anthology series The White Lotus, Plaza portrayed Harper, a lawyer vacationing in Sicily with her husband. For her performance in the series, she received an
Emmy Award nomination for
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and a
Golden Globe Award nomination for
Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. In February 2022, Plaza contributed original poetry to
Eating Salad Drunk, a comedian poetry anthology (edited by author
Gabe Henry) that benefited
Comedy Gives Back, a nonprofit supporting comedians facing financial hardship from the
Covid-19 pandemic. On August 25, 2022, the
adult animated sitcom Little Demon premiered on
FXX, which features the voices of Plaza (who is also an executive producer),
Danny DeVito, and
Lucy DeVito. In October 2022, Plaza was given the Artist of Distinction Award at the
Newport Beach Film Festival. At the
2023 Independent Spirit Awards, Plaza received a nomination for
Best Lead Performance for
Emily the Criminal, as well as a nomination for
Best First Feature as producer. In January 2023, she hosted
Saturday Night Live for the first time and appeared in multiple sketches. In May, Plaza received criticism for participating in a parody ad for "Wood Milk", which mocked
plant-based milks in favor of dairy. In July, it was announced that she would be making her stage debut in an
off-Broadway revival of
John Patrick Shanley's
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, a
two-hander about strangers who become lovers after meeting at a dive bar, opposite her
Black Bear costar
Christopher Abbott. She was nominated for the
Drama League Distinguished Performance Award.
Time magazine named Plaza one of the
100 most influential people in the world in 2023. In 2024, Plaza and her
Parks and Recreation costar
Nick Offerman reunited in a
Mountain Dew ad that aired during the
Super Bowl LVIII broadcast. She was confirmed to be starring in
John Waters's first film in over 20 years,
Liarmouth, based on his novel of the same name. Plaza portrays the future self of Elliott Labrant in the comedy film
My Old Ass (2024), and TV presenter Wow Platinum in
Francis Ford Coppola's epic science fiction drama
Megalopolis (2024). She portrayed
Rio Vidal / Death in the
Disney+ miniseries
Agatha All Along, set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which premiered on September 18, 2024. Plaza has been the spokesperson for
Cointreau's "
MargaRight"
advertising campaign since 2023. In August 2025, it was announced that Plaza would produce and star in the upcoming biopic
The Heidi Fleiss Story, in which she will portray former Hollywood madam
Heidi Fleiss. ==Personal life==