Alia Shawkat, a talented actress, was born in Riverside, California, to Dina Burke and actor Tony Shawkat, whose ancestry is a rich blend of Irish, Italian, Norwegian, and Iraqi, with her father hailing from Baghdad, Iraq. Her maternal grandfather, Paul Burke, was also an actor, adding to the family's artistic heritage.
At just 11 years old, Alia's career took off when she landed a role on the ABC Family series State of Grace in 2001. She went on to star as the rebellious and mischievous Maeby Funke on Fox's Emmy-award winning Arrested Development, where she played a dysfunctional Orange County family trying to adjust to their loss of wealth.
Before Arrested Development, Alia was introduced to the entertainment industry through a Calvin Klein catalog, which caught the attention of commercial and theatrical agents in Hollywood. She soon landed a role opposite George Clooney in Three Kings (1999) and then appeared in the Ron Perlman movie The Trial of Old Drum (2000).
However, it was her role in State of Grace that catapulted her into the forefront of young actresses. She has also had guest-starring roles on JAG (1995),Without a Trace (2002),Boomtown (2002),and Presidio Med (2002),and recently starred opposite Martin Lawrence in Rebound (2005).
When not filming, Alia attended a private school near her home in Rancho Mirage, where she was able to continue her studies in English, Physics, Math, Geography, and Drama. Her ambition is to attend Yale University and study International Relations.
In her free time, Alia enjoys horseback riding, ice-skating, and dancing. She is an accomplished pianist and speaks several languages. She splits her time between her home in Rancho Mirage and Los Angeles, where she resides with her parents and two brothers.
