In Amy We Trust

Thanks to comedy goddess Amy Poehler—actress, writer, producer, and all-around talent booster—the world we see onscreen is a whole lot funnier, weirder, and female. Allow these ladies to explain.…

- Seth Plattner

Nearly 20 years ago, Comedy Central premiered the sketch series Upright Citizens Brigade, and Amy Poehler—one of four brilliantly subversive comedians who founded the improv troupe of the same name—burst into our comedy consciousness like a lightning rod in a sprite’s body. She was all energy and wit, shored up with impeccable timing and the ability to convey almost any character, no matter how straight-on, slaphappy, or twisted. And for the next two decades—through seven and a half seasons on Saturday Night Live, seven seasons leading and producing Parks and Recreation, countless film roles (Baby Mama, Inside Out), a best-selling book (Yes Please), an Emmy (for SNL), a Golden Globe (for Parks), a bar-raising hosting gig (the Globes, with close friend and Mean Girls/Sisters costar Tina Fey), and the cofounding of an organization for young women (Smart Girls)—Poehler has continued to expand ideas of what funny women can do and be.