Amy Poehler was born on September 16, 1971. Massachusetts born and raised, she began her life in the town of Burlington. She graduated from Burlington High School, where her mother Eileen was a teacher, and went on to attend Boston College.

Poehler discovered the art of improvisation at BC. She joined a group called "My Mother's Fleabag," a shortform team that taught her about initiations and commitment. Unsure of what she wanted to do next, she graduated from BC and moved to Chicago to study improv further. She started at Second City and took classes with improv guru Del Close at the ImprovOlympic in 1993, alongside former SNL co-star Tina Fey. Poehler went on to teach classes at IO and tour with Second City.

After her year of touring was complete, she understudied for mainstage and ETC shows. During this time, she took an improv class taught by Matt Besser and met the Upright Citizens Brigade, a sketch and improv group consisting of Besser, Adam McKay, Ian Roberts, and Horatio Sanz. Poehler and Matt Walsh quickly became members of the group, and it eventually narrowed down to the final four: Besser, Poehler, Roberts, and Walsh. The four worked in Chicago doing both sketch and improv comedy. They wrote and performed shows such as "The Real, Real World" and "Thunderball," which were both successful. In 1996, they came to a collective decision to move their group to New York in hopes of getting a TV show. They worked in New York for a few years and did various shows in the city. Poehler made memorable appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Andy Richter's little sister, Stacy. After doing small writing jobs for MTV and Comedy Central, the Upright Citizens Brigade was given a thirty-minute show on Comedy Central in 1998.

The show, named after the group, was a Monty Python-esque type of sketch comedy. The show revolved around four special agents: Antoine (Roberts), Colby (Poehler), Trotter (Walsh), and Adair (Besser). The agents installed hidden cameras in random locations to spy on civilians, whom were also played by the four. They took on many different roles to create elaborate storylines, which included characters ranging from housewives to astronauts to a boy with an enormous penis of which he is unaware. At the end of each episode, the characters and storylines were all tied together into one final sketch. The UCB agents would also go out into the streets with cameras to try to incorporate the content of their bizarre sketches into the real world.

In February of 1999, during the second season of the TV show, the Upright Citizens Brigade started their own theatre in New York City. Located on 161 West 22nd Street, the UCB turned a former strip club into a seventy-four seat theatre. Shows were held seven nights a week and they started teaching classes as well, covering both improv and sketch writing. ASSSSCAT, an improv show held on Sunday nights, was created around that time. The name ASSSSCAT, for the record, has little meaning. They came up with it on stage one night. Also in 1999, Poehler played Ruth in the film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalo.

The television show went on through the year 2000, when it was cancelled after the third season. The UCB remained a group and continued to teach and perform. On September 29, 2001, Poehler made her debut on NBC's Saturday Night Live. She was quickly promoted to the status of Repertory Player, making her the second person ever to be bumped up halfway through their first season. Wet Hot American Summer, a film Poehler was featured in, was released that year. Even with all of her other projects, she remained a big part of the UCB and performed at shows with the group whenever possible.

The Upright Citizens Brigade got together to make Martin & Orloff, their first film, in 2002. While it was not technically a UCB film, all four members were featured in it. They also shot an improvised movie titled Wild Girls Gone, which has yet to be released. Unfortunately for the group, the UCBT was shut down in November of 2002 due to fire regulations. After holding shows in different locations, selling items on eBay, and trying to raise funds, the UCB Theatre moved to a new space. It is located at 307 West 26th Street, the former home of the Maverick Theatre. Although the theatre was officially opened on April 1, 2003, the 500th performance of ASSSSCAT and the celebration of the new theatre was held on May 4.

Poehler married Arrested Development star Will Arnett in August of 2003. Throughout the series, she made several guest appearances as the wife of GOB, Arnett's character.

In 2004, Poehler starred in Mean Girls and Envy. Her upcoming films include Blades of Glory, On Broadway, Spring Breakdown, and Shrek the Third.