Zazie Beetz
Zazie Beetz
Born Name: Zazie Olivia Beetz
Date of Birthday: June 1, 1991
Place of Birth: Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Height: 1.68 m
Nationality: Germany, United States
Alma mater: Skidmore College (BA)
Occupation: Actress
Zazie Olivia Beetz (born June 1, 1991) is an German-born American actress. She stars in the FX comedy-drama series Atlanta (2016–present), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She also appeared in the Netflix anthology series Easy (2016–19) and voices Amber Bennett in Amazon's animated superhero action series Invincible.
In film, Beetz has appeared in the disaster film Geostorm (2017) and has played the Marvel Comics character Domino in the superhero film Deadpool 2 (2018) and Arthur Fleck/Joker's neighbor Sophie in the psychological thriller Joker (2019).
Early life and career
Zazie Olivia Beetz was born in Berlin in 1991. Her father is a German cabinet maker who immigrated to the United States in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and her mother is an African-American social worker from New York. Her parents separated when she was very young. Beetz was named after the titular character in the Raymond Queneau novel Zazie in the Metro. The pronunciation, with [s], follows the German-dubbed version of the 1960 film adaptation of the novel. She has a younger brother named Justin.
Beetz attended pre-school in Berlin and kindergarten in New York City before moving with her family there more permanently at the age of eight, speaking both German and English with her family at home. Her mixed-race identity was a source of discomfort for her during her youth. Growing up in New York's Washington Heights neighborhood, she became interested in acting while attending Muscota New School and performed in community theaters and on local stages. She graduated from the LaGuardia Arts High School in 2009, and attended Skidmore College, graduating in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in French. She spent a year living in Paris.
After Beetz graduated from college, she spent a year "broke and waiting tables" before she was cast in Atlanta.
Personal life
Beetz is engaged to David Rysdahl, an actor and writer. They met during an acting workshop and have been together since 2014.
Awards
Beetz received a 2018 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series, for FX's Atlanta.
