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Producer · Actor

1991-06-01 · Mitte, Berlin, Germany · Female

13 series in the catalog

Zazie Olivia Beetz ( zə-SEE BAYTS; German: [zaˈsiː ˈbeːts]; born June 1, 1991) is a German-American actress. She is known for her role as Van in the FX comedy-drama series Atlanta (2016–2022), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She starred in the Netflix anthology series Easy (2016–2019) and has voiced Amber Bennett in the adult animated superhero series Invincible since 2021.

In film, Beetz appeared in the disaster film Geostorm (2017) and portrayed the Marvel Comics character Domino in the superhero film Deadpool 2 (2018), with the latter landing her a nomination for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie Actress. She portrayed the title character's neighbor in the psychological thriller Joker (2019) and its sequel Joker: Folie à Deux (2024); the former landing her a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. Beetz has also voiced Diane Foxington (a.k.a. the Crimson Paw) in the DreamWorks Animation heist comedy film The Bad Guys (2022) and its sequel The Bad Guys 2 (2025); the former of which landed her a nomination for the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Voice Performance.

Early life and education

Zazie Olivia Beetz was born in Berlin in 1991. Her father Thomas Beetz 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 title character in the Raymond Queneau novel Zazie in the Metro. The pronunciation, with, follows the German-dubbed version of the 1960 film adaptation of the novel. She has a younger brother named Justin.

Beetz attended preschool 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.

Career

After Beetz graduated from college, she spent a year "broke and waiting tables" before she was cast in Atlanta. At the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2018, Beetz received a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series, for her role in the show.

Personal life

In May 2022, Vanity Fair reported that Beetz was recently engaged to her writing partner, actor David Rysdahl. They met during an acting workshop and have been together since 2014. They started a production company called Sleepy Poppy. The couple married in 2023.