# Alison Brie
**Alison Brie** (born Alison Brie Schermerhorn, 1982, in Hollywood, California) is an American actress, writer, and producer known for playing Trudy Campbell on the AMC drama *Mad Men* (2007–2015) and Annie Edison on the NBC/Yahoo sitcom *[Community](https://www.edgepedia.org/community-tv-series)* (2009–2015), and for starring as Ruth Wilder in the Netflix comedy-drama *GLOW* (2017)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/) • [2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/alison-brie/). Some biographical sources, including her fan-maintained biography site, give her birth year as 1983[3](https://www.alisonbrie.com/alison-brie/biography/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / born | Alison Brie Schermerhorn, 1982, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/) |
| Signature TV roles | Trudy Campbell on *Mad Men* (2007–2015); Annie Edison on *Community* (2009–2015); Ruth Wilder on *GLOW* (2017); voice of Diane Nguyen on *BoJack Horseman* (2014 onward)[2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/alison-brie/) |
| Education | BFA in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts; also studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/) • [4](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/media%2Fpublicwebassets%2Flittlehourspresskit_%7B45159082-6b39-41b8-82d3-3d52709a84a3%7D.pdf) |
| Awards recognition | Two Golden Globe nominations for *GLOW*, in 2018 and 2019, for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy[2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/alison-brie/) |
| Voice work | Uni-Kitty in *The Lego Movie* (2014), which grossed over $400 million worldwide[4](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/media%2Fpublicwebassets%2Flittlehourspresskit_%7B45159082-6b39-41b8-82d3-3d52709a84a3%7D.pdf) |
| Writing and producing | Co-wrote and produced *Horse Girl* (2020), her first feature-length script[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-02-06/horse-girl-review-alison-brie) • [6](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/alison-brie-interview-2025/) |
| Marriage | Married actor Dave Franco in 2017; they co-starred in *The Disaster Artist* (2017), *The Rental* (2020), *Somebody I Used to Know* (2023), and *Together* (2025)[6](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/alison-brie-interview-2025/) |
## Early life and education
Brie was born in Hollywood to Joanne Brenner, who worked at a non-profit child care agency, and Charles Terry Schermerhorn, a musician and freelance entertainment reporter[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/) • [3](https://www.alisonbrie.com/alison-brie/biography/). She grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of South Pasadena with an older sister, Lauren[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/) • [3](https://www.alisonbrie.com/alison-brie/biography/). Her mother is Jewish and, though the family was secular, emphasized her daughters' Jewish heritage; Brie's father has Scottish, Dutch, English, German, and Norwegian ancestry[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/) • [3](https://www.alisonbrie.com/alison-brie/biography/).
**Early performing.** She began acting at an early age in community theater at the Jewish Community Center in Los Feliz, where her first role was Toto in *The Wizard of Oz*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/). She has said that acting was all she wanted to do from then on, though she chose a normal high school experience over a performing arts school[6](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/alison-brie-interview-2025/). After graduating from South Pasadena High School in 2001, she attended the [California Institute of the Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/california-institute-of-the-arts), receiving a BFA in Acting; while there she was one of the original cast members in the world premiere of *The Peach Blossom Fan*, the inaugural theater production at Disney's REDCAT Theater in downtown Los Angeles[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/). She also spent a year studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/) • [4](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/media%2Fpublicwebassets%2Flittlehourspresskit_%7B45159082-6b39-41b8-82d3-3d52709a84a3%7D.pdf).
## Television career
**First jobs and the double booking.** Her first television role was an episode of [Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel)'s *Hannah Montana*, in which she played a kooky hairdresser; she won the part by performing an unrequested [Long Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/long-island) accent at the audition, only to be told on set to lose it[7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jun/26/alison-brie-mad-men-shock-therapy-glow). In 2007 she was cast in *Mad Men* as Trudy Campbell, wife of ad executive [Pete Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/pete-campbell), straight out of college[7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jun/26/alison-brie-mad-men-shock-therapy-glow). Two years later she joined *Community* as the overachieving Annie Edison[2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/alison-brie/). She turned down a contract committing her to *Mad Men* in order to pursue pilot season, a decision that landed her the *Community* role; *Mad Men* creator Matthew Weiner later told her he thought she had made the right choice[8](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/alison-brie-graduates-greendale-9929/). Being a regular on two hit series at once was rare, and she occasionally filmed both shows in a single day[7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jun/26/alison-brie-mad-men-shock-therapy-glow). She has described the contrast as dramatic work on one set and, in her words, "jumping around making fart jokes" on the other[9](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/jan/14/alison-brie-the-post-spielberg-film-mad-men-glow-interview).
**GLOW.** After *Mad Men* and *Community* ended around the same time, Brie returned to television as the star of Netflix's *GLOW* (2017), a comedy-drama inspired by the real 1980s all-female wrestling league [Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling](https://www.edgepedia.org/gorgeous-ladies-of-wrestling)[9](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/jan/14/alison-brie-the-post-spielberg-film-mad-men-glow-interview) • [10](https://time.com/4838692/review-netflix-glow-wrestling/). She played Ruth Wilder, a struggling actress who joins the wrestling show and becomes its villain, or "heel"[10](https://time.com/4838692/review-netflix-glow-wrestling/). She fought hard for the physically demanding part, performing her own stunts and wrestling, and has called it the job of a lifetime[11](https://www.wmagazine.com/story/alison-brie-glow-mad-men-interview) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/jan/14/alison-brie-the-post-spielberg-film-mad-men-glow-interview). The role brought her Golden Globe nominations in 2018 and 2019[2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/alison-brie/).
**Voice work.** From 2014 she voiced Diane Nguyen on Netflix's animated series *BoJack Horseman*, and she voiced Uni-Kitty in *The Lego Movie* (2014) and its 2019 sequel[2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/alison-brie/) • [4](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/media%2Fpublicwebassets%2Flittlehourspresskit_%7B45159082-6b39-41b8-82d3-3d52709a84a3%7D.pdf) • [12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alison_brie).
## Film work
Brie's film roles include *Scream 4* (2011), *The Five-Year Engagement* (2012), *The Kings of Summer* (2013), *Sleeping with Other People* (2015), *Get Hard* (2015), *[How to Be Single](https://www.edgepedia.org/how-to-be-single)* (2016), *The Little Hours* (2017), and *The Disaster Artist* (2017)[2](https://goldenglobes.com/person/alison-brie/) • [12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alison_brie). In [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)'s drama *The Post* (2017), she appeared opposite [Meryl Streep](https://www.edgepedia.org/meryl-streep); the role came about in 2017 when her agent arranged a reading with Spielberg's casting director while she was on vacation in New York[3](https://www.alisonbrie.com/alison-brie/biography/) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/jan/14/alison-brie-the-post-spielberg-film-mad-men-glow-interview).
**Writing and producing.** With *Horse Girl* (2020), a Sundance indie in which she starred as the title character, she co-wrote her first feature-length script and served as producer[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-02-06/horse-girl-review-alison-brie) • [6](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/alison-brie-interview-2025/). She also wrote, produced, or starred in *[The Rental](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rental)* (2020), *Promising Young Woman* (2020), *Happiest Season* (2020), *[Spin Me Round](https://www.edgepedia.org/spin-me-round)* (2022), and *Somebody I Used to Know* (2023)[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alison_brie).
**Recent work.** In 2025 she starred with her husband [Dave Franco](https://www.edgepedia.org/dave-franco) in *[Together](https://www.edgepedia.org/together-2025-film)*, a body-horror film by Australian director [Michael Shanks](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-shanks); it was the first time the real-life couple played a couple on screen, and both roles demanded heavily physical performances[13](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-movies/together-stars-alison-brie-and-dave-franco-think-theres-no-place-for-vanity-in-either-comedy-or-horror-were-not-worried-about-how-we-look-when-were-in-these-crazy-positions/) • [14](https://apnews.com/article/53236fe22247cc771703300c7bc5a977). She plays Evil-Lyn in *Masters of the Universe* (2026)[15](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/alison-brie/).
## Personal life
Brie began her relationship with actor Dave Franco around 2012, and they married in 2017[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/) • [6](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/alison-brie-interview-2025/). Their first professional collaboration was a 2012 [Funny or Die](https://www.edgepedia.org/funny-or-die) sketch; Franco later directed her in *The Rental* and *Somebody I Used to Know*[6](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/alison-brie-interview-2025/).
## References
1. [Alison Brie – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1555340/bio/)
2. [Alison Brie – Golden Globes](https://goldenglobes.com/person/alison-brie/)
3. [Alison Brie biography, Alison Brie Source](https://www.alisonbrie.com/alison-brie/biography/)
4. [The Little Hours press kit](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/media%2Fpublicwebassets%2Flittlehourspresskit_%7B45159082-6b39-41b8-82d3-3d52709a84a3%7D.pdf)
5. [Review: Alison Brie writes herself a plum role in 'Horse Girl', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-02-06/horse-girl-review-alison-brie)
6. [The Specific Allure of Alison Brie, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/alison-brie-interview-2025/)
7. [Alison Brie: 'If you're imagining me from Mad Men, you're in for shock therapy', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jun/26/alison-brie-mad-men-shock-therapy-glow)
8. [Alison Brie Graduates From Greendale, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/alison-brie-graduates-greendale-9929/)
9. [Alison Brie: 'When Spielberg called it was the craziest half an hour of my life', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/jan/14/alison-brie-the-post-spielberg-film-mad-men-glow-interview)
10. [Review: Budget Wrestling Lights Up the Screen in Glow, Time](https://time.com/4838692/review-netflix-glow-wrestling/)
11. [How GLOW Made Alison Brie A Totally Different Person, W Magazine](https://www.wmagazine.com/story/alison-brie-glow-mad-men-interview)
12. [Alison Brie Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alison_brie)
13. [Together stars Alison Brie and Dave Franco think "there's no place for vanity", GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-movies/together-stars-alison-brie-and-dave-franco-think-theres-no-place-for-vanity-in-either-comedy-or-horror-were-not-worried-about-how-we-look-when-were-in-these-crazy-positions/)
14. [Movie Review: Real couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco lead 'Together', AP News](https://apnews.com/article/53236fe22247cc771703300c7bc5a977)
15. [Alison Brie – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/alison-brie/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Bo to Br*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license