Alia Shawkat

A young and charming character actress, Alia Shawkat first caught attention for her turn as sensitive preteen on the coming-of-age comedy drama "State of Grace" (Fox Family Channel/ABC Family 2001-02), before breaking out as Mae "Maeby" Fünke on "Arrested Development" (Fox, 2003-06). Full of cunning and angst-ridden rebelliousness, Shawkat stood out among her more flamboyant co-stars and elevated her career to the next level. But in the end, "Arrested Development" was too smart for its own good and was canceled due to low ratings, leaving Shawkat to return to making guest starring appearances on other shows. Meanwhile, she delivered quality supporting turns in popular indie films like "Amreeka" (2009), "Whip It" (2009), "The Runaways" (2010) and "Ruby Sparks" (2012), only to struggle to find that next career defining role. In a strange twist of fate, Shawkat was able to reprise Maeby Fünke for the resurrected "Arrested Development," which was set to air on Netflix in 2013 and allowed the actress the rare opportunity to reprise the role that turned her into a star.