Ellie Kemper is an actress known for several projects like Bridesmaids, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and, Happiness for Beginners. Before she found worldwide fame and love, however, Ellie Kemper was a struggling actress.
From not getting roles to getting roles that were overtly se*ual in nature, Ellie Kemper has seen a whole lot of ups and downs in her life and in Hollywood. She started her career in Hollywood with an ‘American’ style.
It All Started With Ellie Kemper’s American Style
It was the year 2005 when Kemper finally found a role to portray in a television series. The actress picked up the role of Cindy in the TV series Sexual Intercourse: American Style.
The TV series had eight episodes to its name and Ellie Kemper was featured in two of the episodes. She later portrayed the roles of extras and background artists until finally, her moment to shine appeared before her.
The popular American sitcom The Office was all the buzz around that time and Ellie Kemper was a huge fan. Well, it was her lucky day when she auditioned for a role in the sitcom.
In an interview with Today, Kemper talked about the numerous challenges and struggles that she faced during her initial time in Hollywood. Despite the challenges, Kemper was so happy that she got to audition for a role in The Office.
When Ellie Kemper Joined The Office
It was the end of Season 5 of The Office and Ellie Kemper auditioned for a role in the sitcom. Auditioning for Erin, the optimistic receptionist, Kemper couldn’t believe that she was actually auditioning for the role.
During her interview, the actress revealed that she wasn’t even expecting a role in the show. According to Kemper, she was happy to give a simple audition because she got to do it in front of Ed Helms.
I was a huge fan of The Office before I got a part on it and I joined at the end of Season 5 and I remember thinking during my audition as Erin. I was reading with Ed Helms and I thought ‘You know, this is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me career-wise’.
She further continued,
‘So, if it ends right now that’ll be fine’. Well, no it wouldn’t be fine because then I wouldn’t have gotten a part in The Office. No, the greatest thing of all was learning that I sort of lost my mind. Getting to work on the first day was surreal.
The actress portrayed the role of Erin till the end of The Office and is shown dancing alongside her partner during the season finale. So, overall, Ellie Kemper had quite a great time at The Office.
Her days of struggle finally seemed to be over and Kemper had gotten a lot of Hollywood exposure by that time (alongside the fame). Her career was only looking upwards.
Bridesmaids, 21 Jump Street, and, Kemper’s Rebirth
Well, not actual rebirth, but we’ll get to that later. During her time at The Office, Kemper started getting offers for other roles. The actress portrayed the role of Becca in the 2011 Kristen Wiig film Bridesmaids and Ms. Griggs in the 2012 film 21 Jump Street.
Voicing several characters in projects like The Lego Batman Movie, The Secret Life of Pets, and more, Ellie Kemper found her second breakthrough with a series dedicated completely to her.
Portraying the lead role, Kemper starred in the 2015 TV show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. A woman who is rescued from a cult is given a new life to live again in the hub of New York City. The series received high ratings and went on for 4 seasons before concluding in 2019.
As of now, the actress has 68 finished projects to her name and is also associated with one upcoming TV series. On the other hand, The Office ran for 9 seasons and received a rating of 9/10 on IMDB and a whopping 81% on Rotten Tomatoes.
With Ellie Kemper in the mix, The Office is available to stream on Peacock in the U.S.
