She’s the new it girl.

Alia Shawkat, star of Search Party, aka the next big thing, is the ultimate cool girl.

The 27-year-old actress is brilliant and talented and yet somehow remains completely understated and under-hyped. You probably recognize her from her days on Arrested Development opposite Michael Cera as George Michael’s cousin and crush Maeby. But despite being a total gem, she seems to have flown under the radar — well, until now.

When she was first trying to get work, however, she often heard she was too “weird” or “ethnic.”

She told Nylon, “They were like ‘Our lead girl can’t have curly hair.’ I just wasn’t right to play the easy-breezy, giggly girl that the guy falls for and the whole movie is about.”

And after appearing in Arrested Development, she soon got type-cast as the sassy sarcastic girl, a role she didn’t really want to stay in the rest of her life.

“I got really bitter.”

She disengaged for a while, but now she’s back and possibly bigger than ever. Search Party is already lighting up the internet, and might just be the thing to make Alia a household name.

And despite acting since she was nine years old, Alia hasn’t let Hollywood changed in her the least.

Parenthood actress and Alia’s friend Mae Whitman said about her, “She’s definitely, by far, the coolest person that anyone’s ever met.”

And one thing that makes her so cool, at least by our standards, is her attitudes on feminism and sex-positivity. Growing up around parents who worked in the strip club industry has made her find power in sexuality.

“I have sex with a lot of people, but I’m strong and independent about it. I own myself doing it.”

So is Alia Shawkat the new “it girl?” Gosh, we hope so.

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