Alia Shawkat (born on April 18, 1989) is an American actress. Shawkat was born in Riverside, California. She is Iraqi on her father's side, and of Irish and Norwegian descent on her mother's. Her maternal grandfather was actor Paul Burke, who appeared as Detective Adam Flint on the TV series Naked City (1959-1963).
From 2001 to 2002, Shawkat starred as Hannah Rayburn in the television sitcom State of Grace, aired in the United States on the cable television channel Fox Family (renamed ABC Family in 2001). She has been a regular cast member of the Fox Network series Arrested Development since the show's debut in 2003. She plays Maeby Fünke.
Shawkat also appeared in the feature film Three Kings and the television movie Trail Of The Old Drum. She has made guest appearances in the television series JAG, Without a Trace, and Veronica Mars. Her next feature is in a Lifetime movie original "Not Like Everyone Else."
