Zazie Beetz

Zazie Olivia Beetz^[7][8] was born in Berlin in 1991.^[3][9][10] Her father Thomas Beetz^[11] is a German cabinet maker who immigrated to the United States in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall,^[12][13] and her mother is an African-American social worker from New York.^[13][14] Her parents separated when she was very young.^[9][13] Beetz was named after the title character in the Raymond Queneau novel Zazie in the Metro. The pronunciation, with [s], follows the German-dubbed version of the 1960 film adaptation of the novel.^[15][16] She has a younger brother named Justin.^[17]

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.^[12][14] Her mixed-race identity was a source of discomfort for her during her youth.^[13] Growing up in New York's Washington Heights neighborhood,^[14] she became interested in acting while attending Muscota New School and performed in community theaters and on local stages.^[12] She graduated from the LaGuardia Arts High School in 2009, and attended Skidmore College, graduating in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in French.^[18] She spent a year living in Paris.^[12]

After Beetz graduated from college, she spent a year "broke and waiting tables" before she was cast in Atlanta.^{[13][clarification needed]} At the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2018, Beetz received a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series, for her role in FX's Atlanta.^[19]

In May 2022, Vanity Fair reported that Beetz was recently engaged to her writing partner, actor David Rysdahl.^[20][21] They met during an acting workshop and have been together since 2014.^[13] They started a production company called Sleepy Poppy.^[22][23] The couple married in 2023.^[24][25]