What Is Alia Shawkat's Net Worth?
Alia Shawkat is an American actress, producer, writer, and director who has a net worth of $4 million. Shawkat is best known for playing Maeby Fünke on the Fox/Netflix sitcom "Arrested Development" (2003–06; 2013; 2018–2019) and Dory Sief on the TBS/HBO Max series "Search Party" (2016–2022), which are both critically-acclaimed shows. Alia has more than 90 acting credits to her name, including the films "Three Kings" (1999), "Bart Got a Room" (2008), "Whip It" (2009), "The Runaways" (2010), "The To Do List" (2013), "The Final Girls" (2015), and "Being the Ricardos" (2021) and the television series "State of Grace" (2001–2002), "The Starter Wife" (2008), "Getting On" (2014), and "Transparent" (2017–2019). She wrote, executive produced, and starred in the 2018 film "Duck Butter," and she also produced "Search Party" and the films "Nasty Baby" (2015) and "Adam Green's Aladdin" (2016) and directed the 2021 "Search Party" episode "The Imposter." Shawkat has lent her voice to several animated projects, such as "Animals." (2016), "Adventure Time" (2015–2017), "Big Mouth" (2017–2020), "Summer Camp Island" (2018–2021), and "Ultra City Smiths" (2021).
Early Life
Alia Shawkat was born Alia Martine Shawkat on April 18, 1989, in Riverside, California. She is the daughter of Dina and Tony Shawkat, and she grew up with two brothers in Palm Springs. Dina and Tony produced Alia's film "Bart Got a Room," and Tony and Alia both appeared in "Three Kings." Dina's heritage is Irish, Norwegian, and Italian, and Tony is from Iraq. Shawkat is the granddaughter of actor Paul Burke, who earned two Primetime Emmy nominations for "Naked City" and played Neal McVane on "Dynasty." As a teenager, Alia attended a Rancho Mirage private school when she wasn't filming.
Career
Shawkat made both her film and television debuts in 1999 when she appeared in "Three Kings" and guest-starred on "JAG." In 2000, she appeared in the TV movie "The Trial of Old Drum," and from 2001 to 2002, she played Hannah Rayburn on the Fox Family Channel/ABC Family Channel series "State of Grace" alongside Mae Whitman, who would go on to have a recurring role as Ann Veal on "Arrested Development." Alia then guest-starred on "Presidio Med" (2002), "Without a Trace" (2003), "Boomtown" (2003), "Veronica Mars" (2006), and "The Starter Wife" (2008), and she appeared in the films "Rebound" (2005), "Deck the Halls" (2006), "Bart Got a Room" (2008), "Prom Wars" (2009), "Amreeka" (2009), and "Whip It" (2009). In 2003, she began starring as Mae "Maeby" Fünke, the daughter of Portia de Rossi's Lindsay Bluth Fünke and David Cross' Tobias Fünke, on "Arrested Development." The series aired three seasons on Fox before being canceled in 2006, and luckily for the show's loyal fans, Netflix revived it in 2013. "Arrested Development" won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2004, and it was dubbed "the best sitcom on TV" by Tim Stack of "Entertainment Weekly." Brian M. Palmer, a pop culture commentator, called Shawkat "one of the brightest lights on a show populated solely by bright lights."
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
Alia appeared in "The Runaways" (2010), "The Lie" (2011), "Cedar Rapids" (2011), "The Oranges" (2011), "Damsels in Distress" (2012), "That's What She Said" (2012), "Ruby Sparks" (2012), "The Brass Teapot" (2012), "Night Moves" (2013), and "Wild Canaries" (2014), and she co-starred with Aubrey Plaza in the 2013 romantic comedy "The To Do List" and the 2014 zombie comedy "Life After Beth." She guest-starred on "The League" (2010), "NTSF:SD:SUV::" (2013), and "Portlandia" (2016), and she appeared on Comedy Central's "Drunk History" in 2014, 2015, and 2016, portraying Frances Cleveland, Virginia Hall, and Alexander Hamilton. In 2014, Shawkat had a recurring role as Colleen Hoover on HBO's "Getting On," and in 2015, she began playing the lead role of Dory Sief on "Search Party," which aired 50 episodes over five seasons and earned her a Gracie Allen Award. Alia starred in the 2015 horror comedy "The Final Girls" alongside Taissa Farmiga, Malin Åkerman, Adam DeVine, Thomas Middleditch, Alexander Ludwig, and Nina Dobrev, then she appeared in "Adam Green's Aladdin" (2015), "Green Room" (2015), "Me Him Her" (2015), "The Intervention" (2016), "Pee-wee's Big Holiday" (2016), "Paint It Black" (2016), and "Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town" (2017).
In 2016, Shawkat co-starred with Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, and Billy Crudup in the Golden Globe-nominated film "20th Century Women," and in 2017, she landed a recurring role on Showtime's "Transparent," which starred her "Arrested Development" grandfather Jeffrey Tambor. Alia starred in the films "Blaze" (2018), "Duck Butter" (2018), "Animals" (2019), and "First Cow" (2019), and she won numerous awards for her performance in the 2019 short film "Alina." She guest-starred on "Living with Yourself" (2019) and "Moonbase 8" (2020), and she portrayed LGBTQ rights activist Madeleine Tress in the FX miniseries "Pride" (2021). In 2021, Shawkat played TV writer Madelyn Pugh in the Amazon Studios film "Being the Ricardos" alongside Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J. K. Simmons, and "Arrested Development" co-star Tony Hale, and in 2022, she had a cameo in "Jackass Forever."
Personal Life
Alia is bisexual, and in 2017, she told "Out" magazine, "I was a tomboy growing up, and I remember my mom asking me when I was 10, 'Are you attracted to boys or girls?' I said I don't know. Now I consider myself bisexual, and I think balancing my male and female energies has been a big part of me growing as an actor." In the same interview, she stated, "I used to be less outspoken. But as a woman, an Arab-American, and a member of the LGBTQ community, I have to use whatever voice I have. There's no more delicacy in being quiet." Shawkat enjoys painting and has showcased her art at gallery shows in Paris, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. Alia also enjoys making music and singing in jazz bars, and she sang on several tracks on the 2010 Fake Problems album "Real Ghosts Caught on Tape." Shawkat is often mistaken for Ilana Glazer of "Broad City," and in 2015, she guest-starred on the show as a lookalike and love interest of Glazer's character.
Awards and Nominations
In 2004, "Arrested Development" won the Future Classic Award at the TV Land Awards, and in 2006, Shawkat and her co-stars shared a Gold Derby Award for Ensemble of the Year. Alia won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Supporting Young Actress for the series in 2005, and the cast earned Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2005, 2006, and 2014. In 2017, Shawkat received a Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Breakthrough Role for "Search Party," and she was named Best Actress – U.S. Narrative Competition for "Duck Butter" at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.
For "Alina," Alia won Best Actress awards from the Canadian Cinematography Awards, FirstGlance Film Festival, Garden State Film Festival, Oceanside International Film Festival, Overcome Film Festival, Rincon International Film Festival, and Southern Shorts Awards, and the cast shared an Independent Shorts Award for Best Acting Ensemble. The short film also earned her nominations from the Austin Indie Fest, Beeston Film Festival, Chilliwack Independent Film Festival, Dublin International Short Film and Music Festival, New Renaissance Film Festival, Rome Prisma Independent Film Awards, and Satisfied Eye International Film Festival. In 2002, Shawkat received a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Leading Young Actress for "State of Grace," and she earned a San Diego Film Critics Society Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for "Blaze" in 2018 and a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award nomination for Best Actress – Supporting Role for "Animals" in 2020.
