Ellie Kemper

From the Classrooms of Missouri to the Scranton Office

Jon Hamm taught her drama class at John Burroughs School in St. Louis in the late nineties. That chance encounter sparked a calling that Ellie Kemper would take a few years to turn into a career. After attending Princeton University and studying English literature, she decided her path lay in pure, hardcore improv.

She moved to New York to train at the People's Improv Theater and the Upright Citizens Brigade. There she learned that comedy isn't about playing for laughs but about reacting truthfully to absurd situations. In 2009, she landed the role of Erin Hannon in the American version of The Office.

Her initial contract was for four episodes.

But her character's charm convinced the writers that the Dunder Mifflin reception desk needed that air of total innocence. She stayed until the end of the series in 2013 and earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination alongside the rest of the cast. That experience gave her the stage time she needed to make the leap to big-budget films.

The Phenomenon of the Unbreakable Woman

In 2011, she appeared in Bridesmaids and proved she could keep up with names like Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. The film grossed over $280 million worldwide. That's when Tina Fey noticed her and picked her to lead an original project that was meant to air on broadcast television.

Netflix bought the rights to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and the series premiered in 2015. Kemper played a woman who escapes a cult after fifteen years locked underground. The challenge was huge: she had to keep an upbeat tone without turning a real trauma into a parody.

And the gamble paid off.

The series aired until 2020, ending with an interactive episode that wrapped up the story for good. During those years, she received two consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress. Her clout in the industry grew thanks to that mix of physical strength and deadpan humor.

In 2021, she took on the challenge of starring in Home Sweet Home Alone for Disney+. It was a risky decision given the weight of the original franchise, but Kemper opted for a less cartoonish approach to her role as an accidental villain. Still, her career didn't stop at traditional family comedy.

Production and New Formats

In 2023, she premiered the movie Happiness for Beginners on Netflix. Filming took place entirely on location in Connecticut during October 2021. The production aimed for a visual realism that would contrast with the classic structure of the survival romantic comedy.

Her career as a writer has also taken up much of her time off set. In 2018, she published My Squirrel Days (a collection of autobiographical essays chronicling her move from Missouri to the competitive Los Angeles entertainment industry). The book made it onto the nonfiction bestseller lists that year.

The actress remains involved in animated voice-over projects such as the The Secret Life of Pets franchise. In 2024, her schedule included appearing in several audio fiction podcasts and making occasional guest appearances on sketch comedy shows in New York. Filming for her most recent movie in 2023 lasted seven consecutive weeks.