Entertainment

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Meet The Actress Who Plays Annie On 'Girlboss'

by Chrissy Bobic

Since Netflix rarely goes wrong where its original series are concerned, you have every right to get excited for Netflix's new series Girlboss, which follows the career of a San Francisco millennial who starts her own online business and has to somehow keep business and vintage clothing flowing while making a profit. It’s based loosely off Nasty Gal clothing company founder Sophia Amoruso and follows 20-something Sophia and her friends — one of which is named Annie. So fans are probably going to be asking who plays Annie on Girlboss, since Sophia's BFF on the show is important too.

You might know Ellie Reed from the roles she’s played on single episodes of Empire or 2 Broke Girls, but her role as Annie on Girlboss marks Reed’s first major multi-episode arc in a series. And since, like I said, Netflix rarely steers its viewers in the wrong direction, the series could see the kind of success that its other widely popular shows like Orange is the New Black or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt have accumulated.

It looks like Reed’s acting career began in 2010, but she’s been working consistently on different shorts and TV series since then, making Girlboss her big break in a way. Reed was also a part of Chicago’s Second City Conservatory improv program and the IO West comedy improv theater. But judging from her Instagram, she doesn’t really need to be an actress to be kind of awesome.

From her anti-Trump posts to her pro-female empowerment comments on Instagram, Reed is unafraid to say what’s on her mind and seems like she’s a lot of fun in real life. On Girlboss, Annie seems like the loud and outspoken best friend we all have, and honestly it doesn’t seem like a huge stretch from what she’s like in real life (in the best way possible). She also posts photos with her adorable boyfriend, who seems like a lot of fun as well.

Even if she’s not all that familiar to you just yet, you’re probably going to love Reed as Annie in Girlboss because from the trailer alone, she seems like the perfect choice to cast opposite Britt Robertson, who plays the lead character, Sophia.

Karen Ballard/Netflix

Although she’s an actress, Reed is also a writer and in 2012 she was the winner of the Douglas Morrison National Playwriting Cagematch. She even premiered her play The Beecher Sisters at the Awkward Pause Theatre in Chicago in late 2015. Suffice to say, this lady has got a whole lot of talent to go around.

Girlboss premieres its 13-episode first season on Netflix on April 21.