Lauren Lapkus

Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus (born September 6, 1985) is an acclaimed American actress and comedian, most recognized for several prominent roles in popular film and television projects. She is known for her portrayal of Susan Fischer in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2014, 2019) and Jess in the HBO comedy-drama series Crashing (2017–2019). Besides these, she has made appearances in the television series Are You There, Chelsea? (2012), Hot in Cleveland (2012), Clipped (2015), The Big Bang Theory (2018–2019), and Good Girls (2020–2021) while having various film credits including Jurassic World (2015), The Unicorn (2018), and The Wrong Missy (2020). She also lent her voice to the animated comedy series Harvey Girls Forever! (2018–2020) and hosted her own podcasts like With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus, Laptime with Lauren Lapkus, Threedom, Raised by TV, and Newcomers.

Born on September 6, 1985 in Evanston, Illinois, Lapkus displayed an early interest in performance, filming sketches with her older brother and later participating in student revues at Evanston Township High School. She pursued improv at the iO Theater in her senior year and graduated from DePaul University in 2008 with a degree in English. Moving to New York City and becoming involved with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre marked the beginning of her full-fledged acting and comedy career. After landing roles in commercials and getting representation, she became a significant part of the Netflix series Orange is the New Black where she was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2015.