After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler joined the improvisational-comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade in 1995.

Poehler served as an executive producer on the television series Welcome to Sweden, Broad City, Difficult People, Duncanville, Three Busy Debras, and Russian Doll.

She frequently collaborated with Tina Fey on SNL and later acted with her in the feature films Mean Girls (2004), Baby Mama (2008), Sisters (2015), and Wine Country (2019).

[17][18] Early members included Horatio Sanz, Adam McKay, Ian Roberts, Neil Flynn, and Matt Besser, although the membership was not static.

[17] Poehler also started making appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, often playing her recurring role as Andy Richter's younger sister, Stacy.

[17] During the show's second season, the group founded an improv theater/training center in New York City on West 22nd Street, occupying the space of a former strip club.

[8] In the summer of 2000, Comedy Central canceled the Upright Citizens Brigade program after its third season,[19] although the UCB Theatre continued to operate.

[19][28] In addition to her original characters, Poehler performed a number of impressions, including Hillary Clinton, Dakota Fanning, Avril Lavigne, Michael Jackson, Kim Jong-Il, Nancy Grace, Kelly Ripa, Katie Couric, Sharon Stone, Sharon Osbourne, Julia Roberts, Britney Spears, Madonna, Paula Abdul, Courteney Cox, Dolly Parton, Dennis Kucinich, Ann Coulter, Nancy Grace, Pamela Anderson, Christian Siriano, Rosie Perez, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Martha Stewart, Anna Nicole Smith, Paula Zahn, Norah O'Donnell, Lindsay Lohan, Marcia Cross and Farrah Fawcett.

[19][27][29] When Fey left after the 2005–2006 season to devote time to the sitcom she created, 30 Rock, Seth Meyers joined Poehler at the Weekend Update anchor desk.

In 2008, Poehler was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series,[30] the first year SNL cast members were eligible for the category.

[31] The SNL premiere of the 2008–2009 season opened with Fey and Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton, respectively discussing sexism in political campaigning.

At the end of Weekend Update, special guest Maya Rudolph and cast member Kenan Thompson sang a custom rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" for Poehler.

[41] For the 2008–2009 season finale, Poehler returned to co-host Weekend Update and joined host Will Ferrell's version of the Billy Joel song "Goodnight Saigon".

[5] Although she had already left SNL, Poehler joined Meyers in September 2009 for two episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, which aired in prime time and led directly into Parks and Recreation.

[50] Poehler also returned sporadically for appearances on Weekend Update with Meyers, as well as in sketches when Jimmy Fallon (2011) and Maya Rudolph (2012) hosted.

[51][52] In 2015, during the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, she returned to anchor Weekend Update, this time with Fey and Jane Curtin.

[58][59] An ensemble cast including Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Schneider, and Nick Offerman joined Poehler.

[81] Rolling Stone wrote afterward that the pair "left no superstar unscathed during their riotous opening monologue" in which they "casually roasted the assembled masses".

[84] At the 2020 Television Critics Association winter press tour, NBC announced Poehler and Fey would host the Golden Globes again in 2021.

[88] The debut episode tied for the highest-rated premiere of summer 2018 and earned Poehler and Offerman a Primetime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program.

[92] Wet Hot American Summer was the first film from David Wain, who cast Poehler based on her work with Upright Citizen's Brigade.

[3] Other film credits include: Envy (2004), Southland Tales (2006), Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006), Blades of Glory (2007), Mr. Woodcock (2007), Hamlet 2 (2008), Spring Breakdown (2009), A.C.O.D.

"[5] Poehler co-created, produced, and starred in an animated series for Nickelodeon titled The Mighty B!, about Bessie Higgenbottom, a "sweet, merit-badge-obsessed girl scout".

[119] After initially selling a script to FX, the project ultimately landed at Comedy Central where it aired for five years until its 2019 series finale.

[123] Amy Poehler makes cameo appearances in multiple episodes as herself as a celebrity client of her brother's character, a former New York tax accountant.

[124] Poehler, along with Natasha Lyonne and Leslye Headland, created and executive produced the comedy-drama series Russian Doll for Netflix.

[5] In addition to serving as an executive producer, Poehler also provides the voices for two main characters in the series Duncanville, which premiered on Fox on February 16, 2020.

The new Smart Girls at the Party YouTube Channel went live on July 2, 2012, including new episodes of the series along with additional shows by Poehler, Walker, and Miles.

Poehler said in a statement, "We at Smart Girls are excited to be working with Legendary and look forward to providing funny and inspirational content for all of the goofballs out there.

[14] During their relationship, Poehler and Arnett worked together on several projects, including the series Arrested Development, the films Blades of Glory, Horton Hears a Who!, and The Secret World of Arrietty.