Early Life
Poehler was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Eileen Frances (née Milmore) and William Grinstead Poehler, both teachers. She is a distant cousin of author Stephen King and U.S. senator Scott Brown, through shared New England ancestry. She is also a distant cousin of Benjamin Franklin, Herman Melville, Dick Cheney, the Folger family (of Folgers fame) and the Starbuck whaling family of Nantucket. Poehler has Irish, German, Portuguese, and English ancestry.
A 1993 graduate of Boston College, Poehler was a member of America's oldest collegiate improv comedy troupe, "My Mother's Fleabag." After graduating from college, Poehler moved to Chicago, where she studied improvisational theatre at Second City, with friend and future co-star Tina Fey. She also studied with Del Close at ImprovOlympic, going on to become part of the touring company as well as teaching classes at IO.
Read more about this topic: Amy Poehler
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