Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus Bio
Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus is an American actress and comedian whose work spans scripted television, feature films, voice acting, improv comedy, and podcasting. She is best known for portraying correctional officer Susan Fischer in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black, Denise in The Big Bang Theory, and Jess in the HBO comedy-drama series Crashing. Lapkus has also appeared in Are You There, Chelsea?, Hot in Cleveland, Clipped, and Good Girls, and in films including Jurassic World. A lifelong improviser and prolific podcaster, she has co-created and hosted several popular shows, including With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus and Newcomers.
Lapkus performs improv regularly and is a cast member of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre flagship show Asssscat as well as the improv group Wild Horses. Her podcasting work, which includes the Headgum network series Newcomers with co-host Nicole Byer, has earned a dedicated following for its comedic take on popular film franchises. She carries an American background with Greek and Lithuanian ancestry and remains active across comedy, television, and podcasting.
Early Life and Background
Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus was born on September 6, 1985, in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She grew up with Greek and Lithuanian heritage, a background that has shaped her identity throughout her career in entertainment. From an early age, Lapkus demonstrated a natural inclination toward performance by filming sketches with her older brother, an early sign of the comedic instincts that would later define her professional life.
At Evanston Township High School, Lapkus became actively involved in the performing arts, participating in the annual student revue and variety show known as YAMO. It was during her senior year of high school that she enrolled in improvisational theatre classes at the iO Theater in Chicago, a move that introduced her to the craft of improv and set her on a path toward a career in comedy. She has cited watching television sitcoms and Saturday Night Live as a child as the inspiration that drew her toward becoming a comedian.
After graduating from high school, Lapkus attended DePaul University, where she earned a degree in English in 2008. Throughout her college years, she continued performing improv most nights, building her skills on stage while completing her academic studies. This dual commitment to education and live comedy gave her a strong foundation in both storytelling and comedic performance.
Path to Actress and Comedian
After graduating from DePaul University in 2008, Lapkus relocated to Los Angeles to pursue comedy and acting full time. During her first year in Los Angeles, she began landing roles in a number of national commercials, including campaigns for Snickers and Jack in the Box, and she appeared in a sketch on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. These early successes helped her acquire talent representation, and during pilot season she landed a supporting role in the short-lived NBC sitcom Are You There, Chelsea?, marking her first significant television credit.
The opportunity that would define Lapkus’s early career came when she self-taped her audition and was subsequently cast as correctional officer Susan Fischer on the first and second seasons of the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. Her comedic timing and distinctive presence made the character a fan favorite, and the role provided the platform that would lead to broader recognition in the industry. Her work on the series aligned with her improv background and established her as a reliable comedic performer in ensemble casts.
Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus Career
Early Career (2005–2012)
Lapkus’s professional career began in earnest around 2005, rooted in her years of improv training at the iO Theater in Chicago and later at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. After moving to Los Angeles and completing her studies at DePaul University, she built her resume through commercial work and small television appearances. Her roles in Snickers and Jack in the Box commercials, along with a sketch appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, gave her visibility and helped her secure representation with a talent agency.
During the 2012 pilot season, Lapkus landed a supporting role in the NBC sitcom Are You There, Chelsea?, which marked her entry into scripted network television. Though the series was short-lived, the role demonstrated her ability to hold her own alongside established comedic talent and proved to be a stepping stone toward larger opportunities.
Breakthrough (2013–2019)
The defining breakthrough of Lapkus’s career arrived when she was cast as Susan Fischer, a well-meaning but socially awkward correctional officer, on the first and second seasons of Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black. She filmed her audition and sent it in, a process that led to her being cast in the role that would become her most recognizable. Her performance in the ensemble cast was a key part of the show’s early success, and her comedic sensibility made Susan Fischer one of the series’ most beloved supporting characters. She returned to the role in the show’s final season in 2019.
In 2015, Lapkus expanded into film with a role in Jurassic World, one of the highest-grossing films of that year. She filmed scenes in both Hawaii and New Orleans, and many of her scenes with co-star Jake Johnson were improvised, drawing on her extensive improv background. That same year, she portrayed Joy the receptionist on the TBS sitcom Clipped, which ran for one season. In 2016, she wrote and starred in her own 30-minute episode of the sketch show Netflix Presents: The Characters, further demonstrating her range as a writer and performer.
Between 2017 and 2019, Lapkus appeared in the HBO series Crashing as Jess, the main character’s ex-wife, in a recurring role that allowed her to showcase a more grounded dramatic-comedic performance. She also voiced the character Lotta in the animated series Harvey Girls Forever!, which ran from 2018 to 2020. She joined the cast of Good Girls for its 2020 to 2021 run, continuing to build a diverse portfolio of television work across networks and streaming platforms.
Notable Works and Milestones
Lapkus’s body of work reflects a rare breadth across scripted and unscripted comedy. Her portrayal of Susan Fischer in Orange Is the New Black remains her most celebrated role, earning her and the ensemble cast the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2015. Her appearance in Jurassic World placed her in one of the highest-grossing film franchises in history, while her recurring roles in The Big Bang Theory and Crashing established her as a reliable presence in premium comedy television. Her simultaneous career in podcasting, beginning with With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus in 2014 and continuing with Newcomers in 2020, has made her one of the most prominent comedian-podcasters working today.
Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus Award Nominations
Over the course of her career, Lapkus has been part of projects that have received industry recognition and award nominations. The most significant recognition came through her work on Orange Is the New Black, a series that was nominated for multiple Screen Actors Guild Awards during its run and won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2015, with Lapkus as a named member of the winning ensemble.
Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus Awards Won
Lauren Lapkus won the Screen Actors Guild Award in 2015 as part of the ensemble cast of Orange Is the New Black, recognized in the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. The award reflected the collective strength of the show’s cast and the critical acclaim the series received during its early seasons.
| Award | Wins | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Screen Actors Guild Award – Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | 1 | 2015 |
Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus Family
Lauren Lapkus has Greek and Lithuanian ancestry through her American family background. She married actor and improviser Chris Alvarado on May 3, 2014, and the couple announced their separation on February 14, 2016, later divorcing that same year. She married actor Mike Castle on October 5, 2018. Lapkus gave birth to her first daughter with Castle in July 2021, and the couple welcomed a second daughter in May 2024.
Personal Life
Beyond her screen work, Lapkus is a dedicated improviser and a fixture in the live comedy scene. She performs regularly as a cast member of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre flagship show Asssscat and is part of the improv group Wild Horses. Her podcasting career began in 2014 with the launch of With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus on the Earwolf network, where each episode features a guest who hosts their own podcast and Lapkus appears as a character on that show. In 2020, she co-created and began hosting Newcomers with Nicole Byer on the Headgum podcast network, a series in which the two comedians watch major film franchises for the first time, including Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Batman, Fast & Furious, Tyler Perry, and other series. Lapkus has said she never expected to pursue podcasting but has embraced it as a natural extension of her comedic work.