Her mom was an attorney while her dad was a financial advisor. Clearly, acting genes did not run in the family. However, Audrey Plaza would defy the odds, forging a tremendous career, which got kick-started thanks to a breakthrough role on the sitcom, 'Parks and Rec'. In truth, the road to getting the gig wasn't an easy one.
As we'll reveal throughout the article, Plaza underwent some major health complications, thankfully, she's fully recovered these days, though things could've been far worse.
We'll take a look at what happened and how it changed her perspective completely.
In addition, we'll also take a look at her life starting out in Hollywood which was filled with rejection and lesser paying roles behind the scenes.
It was all well worth the struggle and hard work, as Aubrey is busier than ever nowadays, with a slew of projects. She has three roles in the post-production stages, along with another two in the pre-production stages. In addition, she's currently filming 'The Ark and the Aardvark', doing voice-over work for the project. Yup, she's not slowing down.
Her Early Career Was Filled With Rejection
Plaza's career didn't skyrocket overnight and in truth, she went through a lot of hurdles along the way, both in her professional and personal life.
In terms of her work life, she started off working behind the scenes, taking on internships and a role with NBC page. It wasn't the easiest of gigs, as she revealed with The Guardian.
"It’s actually rare – going from an intern to a page, which is the lowest of the low. I mean, you’re wearing those uniforms and giving studio tours. I had a few contacts inside the 30 Rockefeller building who put in a good word for me, and I was very laser-focused. But you have no idea how you’re doing or what they want from you. We all had to give a presentation about who we are and why we deserve to have this job."
In terms of her success during auditions, things weren't any better. Though the actress admitted, she used the rejection as fuel.
"Auditioning always felt like this game that I was playing with life."
“I think I’ve always been very fuelled by rejection,” she says.
“It only made me want it more, because I think I just had that thing inside of me that’s like: ‘I wanna be in the club that I’m not in’ or whatever that is; ‘I want the thing that I can’t have, or the thing that I don’t have. And if you tell me that I’m not good enough, I’ll just find a way to prove you wrong somehow."
A great outlook especially considering how tough things were in her personal life just years prior.
Suffering A Stroke At 20
Just prior to her role as an intern, Plaza suffered from a stroke. It was deemed as a blood clot in her brain at the language center. As anyone can imagine, it was a tough experience, especially when it came to communicating with others.
"I could understand what’s happening, but I couldn’t talk or communicate. Like, you could say something and I would know what you meant but I couldn’t express it or even write it. That was the weirdest part. When they gave me a piece of paper and a pen I just kept writing lines instead of words. But at least I could walk."
Thankfully, given that she was of a younger age, Plaza was able to recover fully from the episode.
In addition, it completely changed her outlook on life, suddenly she was driven and very appreciative of the moments.
Five years later following the stroke, her life forever changed landing a role that seems like it was made for her.
Career Breakthrough Shortly After
She went through a traumatizing experience in 2004 but a couple of years later in 2009, her acting career soared, landing a role alongside the likes of Amy Poehler on 'Parks and Rec'. Her role as April Ludgate was a huge fan favorite and it drove the show to success. It would last seven seasons and 126 episodes.
Plaza admits, removing the label from the character was hard at first, as fans believed she was the actual April character in real life. Though given her recent work, she's doing a great job of letting go, taking on different roles.
Clearly, she has come a very long way in both her personal and professional life.