Arab Americans

Alia Shawkat

Alia Martine Shawkat (/ˈæliə ˈʃoʊkɑːt/ al-ee-ə shoh-kaht; born April 18, 1989) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Maeby Fünke in the Fox television series Arrested Development.

Early life

Shawkat was born in Riverside, California to Dina (née Burke) and actor Tony Shawkat. She grew up in nearby Palm Springs.^[1] She has two brothers.^[2] The actor Paul Burke was her maternal grandfather. Shawkat’s father is an Arab^[3]Iraqi, from Baghdad.^[4] Her mother is of half-Norwegian, one-quarter-Irish, and one-quarter-Italian descent.^[5]

When she is not working (acting), she likes to paint; she has participated in gallery shows in Los Angeles, Mexico Cityand Paris. She also likes to make music and sing in jazz bars.^[6]

Career

As Maeby Fünke, Shawkat was a regular cast member of Arrested Development for the entire run of the show from 2003 to 2006.^[7] The series received nearly universally positive reviews, with Shawkat’s performance occasionally singled out for praise. Pop-culture commentator Brian M. Palmer remarked that she was “one of the brightest lights on a show populated solely by bright lights,”^[8] and Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic described her as “one funny young lady.”^[9] In an interview with The A.V. Club in 2010, Shawkat remarked that many of her “formative moments” as an actress took place on the Arrested Development set: ” [Show creator]Mitch Hurwitz was like a father figure to me. In a way, it was great to be around [the cast], because I feel that my understanding of comedy was able to grow really well during that time.”^[10]

In 2009, Shawkat appeared in Whip It co-star Har Mar Superstar‘s music video for “Tall Boy”, which also featured Eva Mendes and Eric Wareheim. In October 2009, it was announced that Shawkat, Har Mar, and fellow Whip It co-star Page would produce and write a show for HBO called Stitch N’ Bitch.^[10] According to theHollywood Reporter, the show “follows two painfully cool hipster girls as they relocate from Brooklyn‘s Williamsburg neighborhood to Los Angeles‘ Silver Lakeenclave in hopes of becoming artists–of any kind.”^[11]

Shawkat, along with Arrested Development co-star Mae Whitman, sang guest vocals on a number of tracks from indie-punk band Fake Problems‘ 2010 album Real Ghosts Caught on Tape.^[12]

Six years after the series was canceled by Fox, filming for a revived fourth season of Arrested Development began on August 7, 2012 and Shawkat reprised her role as Maeby Fünke. The season consists of 15 new episodes which debuted at the same time on Netflix on May 26, 2013. Each episode focuses on one particular character, with Shawkat’s Maeby, now a high school senior, featured in episode 12, “Señoritis” and appearing in several other episodes of the season.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References