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Aya Cash
Aya Cash July 14, 2014 (cropped).jpg
Cash in 2014
Born (1982-07-13) July 13, 1982 (age 42)
Alma mater University of Minnesota (BFA)
Occupation Actress
Years active 2006–present
Spouse(s)
Josh Alexander
(m. 2012)
Parent(s)
  • Kim Addonizio (mother)
Relatives Pauline Betz (grandmother)
Bob Addie (grandfather)

Aya Cash (born July 13, 1982) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Gretchen Cutler in the FX/FXX dark comedy series You're the Worst (2014–2019), as Stormfront in the Amazon Prime Video superhero drama series The Boys (2020–2022), and most recently as Cheryl Peterson in the Fox sitcom Welcome to Flatch. She was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series and the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy for You're the Worst. Cash also appeared in numerous films, including The Oranges (2011), Sleepwalk with Me (2012), Begin Again (2013), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Mary Goes Round (2017), Game Over, Man! (2018), and Scare Me (2020).

Early life

Cash was born in San Francisco, California, to poet and novelist Kim Addonizio and Buddhist teacher Eugene Cash. On her mother's side, she is the granddaughter of tennis champion Pauline Betz and sports writer Bob Addie. Her father’s upstairs neighbor, Margarita Landazuri, was one of the first employees for Turner Classic Movies and avidly supported Cash’s love for acting and film. Her father's family is Jewish, whereas her mother is Catholic and of Italian descent. Cash has described herself as Jewish, and explained that their surname "was originally something like 'CH-irsch'."

Cash is an alumna of the San Francisco School of the Arts. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting, in partnership with the Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program. She then moved to New York City, where she began her acting career. For years, she struggled financially and worked as a full-time waitress to make ends meet.

Career

Television

Cash’s television appearances include Brotherhood, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Mercy, and The Newsroom. Cash was also a series regular in the 2011 Fox comedy Traffic Light, which ran for one season. From 2014 to 2019, she starred in the FX Network series You're the Worst as Gretchen Cutler. She received critical acclaim for her performance, with the website The A.V. Club calling her acting in the second season "the best TV performance of 2015".

In 2019, she was cast as Stormfront in the second season of the Prime Video superhero dark comedy-drama series The Boys. The second season premiered in September 2020.

In 2020, Cash was cast as local newspaper reporter Cheryl Peterson in a pilot for a Fox sitcom titled This Country. The title was later changed to Welcome to Flatch, which premiered in 2022.

Film

Cash's film credits include The Oranges, Winter of Frozen Dreams, Off Jackson Avenue, Begin Again, The Bits In Between, Game Over, Man!, and The Happy House. She had a small role as Janet, Jordan Belfort's assistant in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Theatre

Additionally, Cash has appeared on Off-Broadway. In 2014, she starred in the world premiere of Zoe Kazan's play Trudy And Max In Love.

Personal life

Cash met writer and producer Josh Alexander when she was his waitress. They dated for seven years before marrying in 2012. They reside together in New York City.

Cash both identifies as Jewish and was raised Jewish, but no longer practices the religion, stating, "my mother is Catholic, my father is Jewish, but I was raised Jewish in a very not strict temple [...] then I chose, after my Bat Mitzvah, not to continue." Although she also mentioned that she has participated in Jewish holidays over the years, but not in many of them in recent years.

Cash said that she has a hawk tattooed on her back because she was told that Aya means "hawk" in Hebrew. However, when she visited Israel she was told that "Aya" (איה) is an archaic word for "hawk", though it is, in fact, the Modern Hebrew word for "honey buzzard", a different bird of prey.

Cash is a celebrity ambassador for INARA, an NGO that helps war-wounded refugee children from Syria get medical help.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Off Jackson Avenue Olga
Deception Secretary #2
2009 Winter of Frozen Dreams ...
The Bits in Between Suzy
2011 The Oranges Maya
2012 Sleepwalk with Me Hannah
2013 The Happy House Wendy
Begin Again Jenny
The Wolf of Wall Street Janet
2014 Loitering with Intent Jesse
2016 10 Crosby Aya Short film
All Exchanges Final Dom Short film
2017 Village People Barbara
Mary Goes Round Mary
2018 Brand New Old Love Hannah Becker
Game Over, Man! Cassie
Social Animals Jane
2020 Scare Me Fanny
2021 We Broke Up Lori
2023 The Young Wife

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Law & Order Janine Lesko Episode: "Kingmaker"
2006 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Lori Episode: "Weeping Willow"
2007 Brotherhood Martha Danners Episode: "Shelter from the Storm 1:1-2"
2007 Spellbound Chrissy Unaired CW pilot
2009 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Katrina Lychkoff Episode: "Hothouse"
2010 Mercy Bliss Edlestein Episode: "Too Much Attitude and Not Enough Underwear"
2010 Strange Brew Lizzy Unaired FOX pilot
2011 Traffic Light Callie Main role; 13 episodes
2012 Friday Night Dinner Lizzy Unaired NBC pilot
2012 A Gifted Man Trish Sulloway Episode: "In Case of Heart Failure"
2013 The Newsroom Shelly Wexler 3 episodes
2013 We Are Men Claire 5 episodes
2014–2019 You're the Worst Gretchen Cutler Lead role; 62 episodes
2015 Modern Family Vanessa Episode: "Rash Decisions"
2015 The Good Wife Amber Audrey Episode: "Don't Fail"
2015 Sirens Cindy Episode: "Let Pythons be Pythons"
2015 The Walker Unknown 2 episodes
2016 American Dad! Jody the Waitress (voice) Episode: "The Unincludeds"
2016–2019 Easy Sherri 4 episodes
2019 Fosse/Verdon Joan Simon Miniseries
2019 Will & Grace Olivia Walker Episode: "The Scales of Justice"
2020–2022 The Boys Klara Risinger / Liberty / Stormfront Main role (season 2)
Guest (season 3); 10 episodes
2021 Family Guy (voice) Episode: "Peterschmidt Manor"
2022 Welcome to Flatch Cheryl Peterson Main cast
2022 Robot Chicken (voice) Episode: "May Cause Internal Diarrhea"
2022 The Girl from Plainville Katie Rayburn Miniseries
2022 The First Lady Shirley Liebowitz 2 episodes
TBA The Franchise Anita Main role, upcoming series

Theatre

Year Title Role Venue
2006 The Pain and the Itch Kalina Playwrights Horizons
2008 From Up Here Lauren Manhattan Theatre Club
2008 Three Changes Steffi Playwrights Horizons
2009 Offices Laura / Emma / Secretary Linda Gross Theater
2011 The Other Place The Woman Music Box Theatre
2011 Happy Hour Performer Peter Norton Space
2014 Trudy and Max in Love Trudy South Coast Repertory
2017 The Light Years Ruth / Adeline Playwrights Horizons
2018 Kings Lauren The Public Theater
2023 The Best We Could (A Family Tragedy) Ella Manhattan Theatre Club

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Work Result Ref.
2016 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Actress in a Comedy Series You're the Worst Nominated
TCA Awards Individual Achievement in Comedy Nominated
2021 Critics' Choice Super Awards Best Actress in a Superhero Series The Boys Won
MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Villain Nominated
Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama Nominated
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