Known for playing comedic roles, she rose to prominence with the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the Scary Movie film series — Faris has had voice-over roles in the film series Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs — and Alvin and the Chipmunks — , and in The Emoji Movie In , Faris launched Unqualified , an advice podcast, and in , her memoir of the same name was published, which became a New York Times Best Seller.
Faris was born on November 29, , in Baltimore, Maryland , the second child of Jack, a sociology professor, and Karen Faris, a special education teacher. Faris has an older brother, Robert, who is also a sociologist and professor at the University of California, Davis. She enjoyed watching plays and eventually produced her own material in her bedroom with neighborhood friends.
She has said in interviews she often imagined her orthodontal retainer talking to her, and that she pictured herself "on talk shows to talk about [her] talking retainer".
Faris attended Edmonds Woodway High School where she graduated in , and while studying, performed onstage with a Seattle repertory company and in nationally broadcast radio plays. She once described herself as "a drama-club dork," and said she used to wear a Christmas-tree skirt in school.
However, she ended up living in Los Angeles "at the last minute," once she committed to the idea of pursuing acting. Shortly afterwards, she obtained the starring role in Scary Movie.
