Ellie Kemper is funny, upbeat, and the type of person who immediately replies to emails and types out HAHAHAs instead of using LOLs. She writes in all caps and generously uses exclamation points. She is not afraid of emotion. I appreciate this! I like to type out HAHAHAs, too! (See what I did there with the capitalization and exclamation points?!?!).
You may know Ellie from her role as Erin Hannon on the NBC sitcom The Office or as the title role in Netflix's The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. You may be surprised to learn that Ellie played field hockey at Princeton and loves lentils. And quinoa. And bananas. And she experienced a face-off with a squirrel and lived to tell the tale. She also has the nicest things to say about working with Tina Fey.
I learned all of this and much more in her new book My Squirrel Days. I loved this book. And not because I think Ellie Kemper is perfect. She is super talented and smart, but she shares information in this book that indicates she is not perfect. She is quirky and I suspect has tightly wound rage that she keeps under wraps. I appreciate her even more for it.