Ellie Kemper Answers Our Rapid-Fire Quiz
First kiss, what she'd be if she weren't an actress, song she wants played at her funeral—it's all covered.
Playing a cult escapee turned New Yorker, Ellie Kemper continues to stay alive, dammit, when Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt returns to Netflix this month. Here, a quick game of tell-all with the star:
1. If I weren't an actress, I'd be: A teacher.
2. Best career advice I've gotten: Create your own material.
3. The three qualities that got me where I am today: A large, round moon face; red hair that I now have to dye; and several substantial bribes.
4. Moment I felt I'd made it: Being cast as Erin Hannon on NBC's The Office.
5. Kind of work I'd do for free: Something involving taste-testing gooey butter cake.
6. Favorite perk of the job: Working with brilliant artists.
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7. Worst pitfall of the job: Waiting.
8. How I made my first dollar: Babysitting the neighbor kids.
9. Who do you admire and why? Tina Fey, because she works hard and doesn't complain.
10. Last thing I binge-watched: Final month of Late Show with David Letterman.
11. Book that left a lasting impression on me: The Easter Parade by Richard Yates.
12. Song that always makes me cry: Sufjan Stevens' "Fourth of July."
13. Song I want played at my funeral: Andraé Crouch's "Soon and Very Soon."
14. First album I bought: Belinda Carlisle's Runaway Horses.
15. If I could live in a foreign country, it would be: England.
16. One thing I'm exceptionally good at: Keeping a conversation going.
17. One thing I'm epically bad at: Ending a conversation.
18. How I clear my mind after a crappy day: A nice long run.
19. Something nice I did for myself recently because, hey, why not? Asked/told my husband to give me a foot massage.
20. If I could compete in an Olympic sport, I'd like it to be: Figure skating.
21. My first kiss: Was slobbery and reeked of Italian food.
22. The three qualities I thought I wanted in a partner: Very tall, brown hair, kind.
23. The three qualities I know now matter: Fairly tall, brown hair, kind.
24. Advice to a woman with a broken heart: One day at a time.
25. What my high school boyfriend would say about me: She ate too much Italian food.
This article appears in the April issue of Marie Claire, on newsstands now.
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