Zazie Olivia Beetz (/zəˈsiː ˈbeɪts/ zə-SEE BAYTS; German: ) is a German-American actress. She stars in the FX comedy-drama series Atlanta (2016–present), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She also appeared in the Netflix anthology series Easy (2016–19).
In film, Beetz has appeared in the disaster film Geostorm (2017), and has played the Marvel Comics character Domino in the superhero film Deadpool 2 (2018) and Arthur Fleck/Joker’s neighbor in the psychological thriller Joker (2019).
Early life
Zazie Olivia Beetz was born in Berlin. Her father 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 titular 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.
Beetz attended pre-school 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. 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.
Awards
Beatz received a 2018 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series, for FX’s Atlanta.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | The Crocotta | The Crocotta | Eric Stumpf | Short film |
| 2014 | Beasts | Ally | Axel Öhman | Short film |
| 2015 | James White | Girl #1 | Josh Mond | |
| Applesauce | Rain | Onur Tukel | ||
| Double Bind | Baily | Ted Day | Short film | |
| 5th & Palisade | Detective McBride | Chad Scarborough | Short film | |
| 2016 | Wolves | Victoria | Bart Freundlich | |
| MBFF: Man’s Best Friend Forever | Ivana | Tony Ducret | Short film | |
| 2017 | Sollers Point | Courtney | Matthew Porterfield | |
| Geostorm | Dana | Dean Devlin | ||
| 2018 | Dead Pigs | Angie | Cathy Yan | |
| Deadpool 2 | Domino | David Leitch | ||
| Slice | Astrid | Austin Vesely | ||
| 2019 | Wounds | Alicia | Babak Anvari | |
| High Flying Bird | Sam | Steven Soderbergh | ||
| Seberg | Dorothy Jamal | Benedict Andrews | ||
| Joker | Sophie Dumond | Todd Phillips | ||
| Lucy in the Sky | Erin Eccles | Noah Hawley | ||
| 2020 | Nine Days | Emma | Edson Oda | |
| Still Here | Keysha | Vlad Feier | ||
| TBA | Extinct  |
Dottie | David Silverman | Voice role In production |
| The Harder They Fall |
Stagecoach Mary | Jeymes Samuel | Post-production | |
| Bullet Train | David Leitch | Filming |
|
Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Margot vs. Lily | Allie | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| 2016–present | Atlanta | Vanessa “Van” Keefer | 10 episodes |
| 2016–2019 | Easy | Noelle | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | The Twilight Zone | Sophie Gelson | Episode: “Blurryman” |
| 2020 | Robot Chicken | (voice) | Episode: “Callie Greenhouse in: Fun. Sad. Epic. Tragic.” |
| 2020 | Home Movie: The Princess Bride | Princess Buttercup | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Invincible | Amber Bennett (voice) |