# Lauren Lapkus
**Lauren Lapkus** (Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus; born 1985) is an American actress, comedian, and improviser from [Evanston, Illinois](https://www.edgepedia.org/evanston-illinois), best known for playing prison guard Susan Fischer on Netflix's *Orange Is the New Black* and Denise on *The Big Bang Theory* and its spin-off *Stuart Fails to Save the Universe*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1944055/) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/lauren-lapkus) Her career grew out of the Chicago and Los Angeles improv scenes, and alongside her screen work she has hosted several podcasts, including *With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus*, *Threedom*, and *Newcomers*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1944055/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985, Evanston, Illinois[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1944055/) |
| Training | Improv classes at iO Chicago as a high-school senior; DePaul University in Chicago; UCB classes in New York[3](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comics-watch-lauren-lapkus-q-52473/) |
| Breakthrough role | Susan Fischer on *Orange Is the New Black*; shared the 2015 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/lauren-lapkus) |
| Major nomination | Primetime Emmy nomination, 2017, Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, for *The Earliest Show*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/lauren-lapkus) |
| Notable films | *Jurassic World* (2015, as Vivian), *The Wrong Missy* (2020, title role), *The Unicorn* (2018)[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/lauren-lapkus) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1944055/) |
| Current series role | Denise in *Stuart Fails to Save the Universe*, a ten-episode *Big Bang Theory* spin-off on HBO Max, premiering in July 2026[4](https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/max-original-comedy-series-stuart-fails-save-universe-debuts-july-23?language_content_entity=en) |
| Podcasts | *With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus* (Earwolf), *Threedom* (with Scott Aukerman and Paul F. Tompkins), *Newcomers* (with Nicole Byer)[5](https://www.earwolf.com/person/lauren-lapkus/) • [6](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/threedom/id1437002676) |
## Early life and improv training
Lapkus grew up in the Chicago area and began performing in local children's theater. She has described a fifth-grade turn as a troll in *The Hobbit* as the moment that fixed her ambition to appear on *Saturday Night Live*, citing [Chris Farley](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-farley), Phil Hartman, and [Adam Sandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-sandler) as influences.[3](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comics-watch-lauren-lapkus-q-52473/) A teacher suggested improv during her senior year of high school, and she began training at iO Chicago (Improv Olympic) while her classmates were adults in their mid-twenties.[3](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comics-watch-lauren-lapkus-q-52473/) • [7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/lauren-lapkus-brings-wild-horses-and-its-dinner-party-vibe-to-the-kennedy-center/2020/02/14/4b5b920c-4dd1-11ea-bf44-f5043eb3918a_story.html)
She stayed in Chicago for college, attending [DePaul University](https://www.edgepedia.org/depaul-university) in order to keep performing improv at iO and other theaters.[3](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comics-watch-lauren-lapkus-q-52473/) After graduating in 2008 she moved to New York, where she joined the Story Pirates theater company and took classes at the [Upright Citizens Brigade](https://www.edgepedia.org/upright-citizens-brigade) (UCB), before settling in Los Angeles in 2010, where she was placed on improv teams at iO West and UCB.[3](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comics-watch-lauren-lapkus-q-52473/) In Los Angeles she has performed with the house teams Bangarang! and ASSSSCAT, and with Wild Horses, an all-female improv team she formed in 2013 with Stephanie Allynne, Mary Holland, and Erin Whitehead after being invited to the All Jane festival in Portland.[8](https://first-avenue.com/performer/lauren-lapkus/) • [7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/lauren-lapkus-brings-wild-horses-and-its-dinner-party-vibe-to-the-kennedy-center/2020/02/14/4b5b920c-4dd1-11ea-bf44-f5043eb3918a_story.html)
Her first screen break came through improv connections: a ten-minute improvised scene with [Ryan Reynolds](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-reynolds) and [Jimmy Kimmel](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-kimmel) on *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*, playing an intern who was Reynolds's biggest fan, was her first network television appearance and helped bring her to wider attention.[9](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/the-three-questions-with-andy-richter/lauren-lapkus) • [3](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comics-watch-lauren-lapkus-q-52473/)
## Television and film
**Early sitcom work.** Lapkus's early credits include guest roles on *The Middle*, *Hot in Cleveland*, and *Key & Peele*, and a series-regular role as Dee Dee on the NBC sitcom *Are You There, Chelsea?* (2012).[10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lauren_lapkus) • [3](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comics-watch-lauren-lapkus-q-52473/) She later held series-regular roles on the TBS sitcom *Clipped* (2015).[5](https://www.earwolf.com/person/lauren-lapkus/)
**Orange Is the New Black.** Lapkus played corrections officer Susan Fischer on the Netflix comedy-drama *Orange Is the New Black*, appearing from 2013 and returning in later seasons.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/lauren-lapkus) As part of the cast she shared the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/lauren-lapkus) The role is the one the Television Academy and her other professional profiles cite as her best known.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/lauren-lapkus)
**Film and later television.** Her film work includes the blockbuster *Jurassic World* (2015, as Vivian), Adam Sandler's *Blended* (2014), [Matthew Weiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthew-weiner)'s *Are You Here* (2013), *Holmes & Watson* (2018), *The Unicorn* (2018), and the Netflix comedy *The Wrong Missy* (2020), in which she starred opposite [David Spade](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-spade).[5](https://www.earwolf.com/person/lauren-lapkus/) • [10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lauren_lapkus) Critics generally panned *The Wrong Missy* while singling out her performance; the Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus states that "Lauren Lapkus lifts *The Wrong Missy* above abject failure," and the film earned her 2021 Razzie nominations for Worst Actress and, with David Spade, Worst Screen Combo.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wrong_missy) • [12](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1944055/awards/)
On television she recurred as Jess, the protagonist's wife, on the HBO comedy *Crashing* (2017–2019), starring [Pete Holmes](https://www.edgepedia.org/pete-holmes) and produced by [Judd Apatow](https://www.edgepedia.org/judd-apatow), and played Denise, Stuart's girlfriend, on *The Big Bang Theory* in 2018–2019.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/lauren-lapkus) • [13](https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/4b498b06-e048-4522-9ee5-7d4091f53546/downloads/lauren_lapkus_orange_is_the_new_black.pdf) Her short-form work earned a 2017 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, for playing Samantha Newman on the [Funny or Die](https://www.edgepedia.org/funny-or-die) series *The Earliest Show*.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/lauren-lapkus)
**Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.** In 2026 Lapkus reprised Denise in *Stuart Fails to Save the Universe*, a ten-episode comedy for [HBO Max](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbo-max) co-created by [Chuck Lorre](https://www.edgepedia.org/chuck-lorre), Bill Prady, and Zak Penn, in which Stuart Bloom ([Kevin Sussman](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-sussman)) accidentally triggers a multiverse collapse and must repair reality with help from Denise, Bert (Brian Posehn), and Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie).[4](https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/max-original-comedy-series-stuart-fails-save-universe-debuts-july-23?language_content_entity=en) Published accounts differ on the exact premiere day within July 2026: Warner Bros. Discovery's press release announces a July 23 debut, Max's Spanish-language press release states July 24, and the Associated Press reports July 28.[4](https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/max-original-comedy-series-stuart-fails-save-universe-debuts-july-23?language_content_entity=en) • [14](https://press-spain.max.com/post/hbo-max-lanza-el-trailer-oficial-y-el-cartel-de-la-comedia-origi) • [15](https://apnews.com/article/79cb6a516f3286520cd587b48af1caa0) Lapkus has described filming the series, which abandons the traditional multicam format for cinematic, action-style staging, as feeling like making an action movie.[16](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/lauren-lapkus-says-filming-stuart-fails-to-save-the-universe-felt-like-an-action-movie-20260923)
She also wrote, starred in, and executive produced her own sketch episode of the Netflix anthology *The Characters* (2016), and executive produced and acted in the 2023 film *Another Happy Day*.[8](https://first-avenue.com/performer/lauren-lapkus/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1944055/)
## Podcasts
Lapkus's audio work has been a defining part of her career alongside screen acting.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/lauren-lapkus-brings-wild-horses-and-its-dinner-party-vibe-to-the-kennedy-center/2020/02/14/4b5b920c-4dd1-11ea-bf44-f5043eb3918a_story.html) Her premise-driven Earwolf show *With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus*, in which she plays a different character who is the guest on a fictional podcast hosted by a rotating comedian, debuted at number one on the iTunes comedy chart.[5](https://www.earwolf.com/person/lauren-lapkus/) TIME listed it among the best podcasts of 2018, describing its format as Lapkus "pretend[ing] to be a guest on another person's made-up podcast."[17](https://time.com/5178078/best-podcasts-2018/)
**Threedom and Newcomers.** Since 2018 she has co-hosted *Threedom* with Scott Aukerman and Paul F. Tompkins, a comedy conversation show distributed by Lemonada Media with 240 episodes listed by 2026.[6](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/threedom/id1437002676) On *Newcomers*, co-hosted with Nicole Byer, the two take a deep dive into cultural staples they have never encountered, such as the *Star Wars* films.[18](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/newcomers-sports-with-nicole-byer-and-lauren-lapkus/id1494534953) She also appears regularly as an improviser on the live tour and podcast of *Comedy Bang! Bang!* with Aukerman.[5](https://www.earwolf.com/person/lauren-lapkus/)
## Recognition
Lapkus has appeared on several industry watch lists: Backstage named her one of its "10 Comics to Watch" in 2012, the year she also performed in the New Faces Character Showcase at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival; Time Out New York included her on its 10 Comics to Watch list in 2015; and Variety named her one of its 10 Comics to Watch in 2016.[3](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comics-watch-lauren-lapkus-q-52473/) • [8](https://first-avenue.com/performer/lauren-lapkus/) Her awards total, according to IMDb, is one win and three nominations, comprising the 2015 SAG ensemble award, the 2017 Emmy nomination, and the two 2021 Razzie nominations.[12](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1944055/awards/)
## References
1. [Lauren Lapkus, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1944055/)
2. [Lauren Lapkus, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/lauren-lapkus)
3. [10 Comics to Watch: Lauren Lapkus Q&A, Backstage (2012)](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comics-watch-lauren-lapkus-q-52473/)
4. [Max Original Comedy Series STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE Debuts July 23, Warner Bros. Discovery Pressroom](https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/max-original-comedy-series-stuart-fails-save-universe-debuts-july-23?language_content_entity=en)
5. [Lauren Lapkus, Earwolf](https://www.earwolf.com/person/lauren-lapkus/)
6. [Threedom, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/threedom/id1437002676)
7. [Lauren Lapkus brings Wild Horses and its 'dinner party vibe' to the Kennedy Center, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/lauren-lapkus-brings-wild-horses-and-its-dinner-party-vibe-to-the-kennedy-center/2020/02/14/4b5b920c-4dd1-11ea-bf44-f5043eb3918a_story.html)
8. [Lauren Lapkus, First Avenue](https://first-avenue.com/performer/lauren-lapkus/)
9. [The Three Questions with Andy Richter – Lauren Lapkus transcript, Podscripts](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/the-three-questions-with-andy-richter/lauren-lapkus)
10. [Lauren Lapkus, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lauren_lapkus)
11. [The Wrong Missy, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wrong_missy)
12. [Lauren Lapkus – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1944055/awards/)
13. [Lauren Lapkus: Orange Is the New Black (cast overview), retrieved PDF](https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/4b498b06-e048-4522-9ee5-7d4091f53546/downloads/lauren_lapkus_orange_is_the_new_black.pdf)
14. [HBO Max lanza el tráiler oficial y el cartel de la comedia original STUART NO CONSIGUE SALVAR EL UNIVERSO, Max Prensa España](https://press-spain.max.com/post/hbo-max-lanza-el-trailer-oficial-y-el-cartel-de-la-comedia-origi)
15. [What to Stream: Charli xcx, 'The Dink,' 'Stuart Fails to Save the Universe' and '72 Hours', Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/79cb6a516f3286520cd587b48af1caa0)
16. [Lauren Lapkus Says Filming STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE Felt Like an Action Movie, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/lauren-lapkus-says-filming-stuart-fails-to-save-the-universe-felt-like-an-action-movie-20260923)
17. [The 50 Best Podcasts to Listen to Right Now, TIME (2018)](https://time.com/5178078/best-podcasts-2018/)
18. [Newcomers: Sports, with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/newcomers-sports-with-nicole-byer-and-lauren-lapkus/id1494534953)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › American stand-up comedians, contemporary › Stand-up comedians born 1980 onward › Surnames A to M*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 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