Maya Erskine was born in Los Angeles in 1987. Maya performed with the LA-based theater group The East-West Players in her early career. Erskine would go on to be featured in the 2019 comedy Wine Country, sharing the screen with SNL alums Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, and Tina Fey. Erskine had been featured in a plethora of films and TV before and following PEN15, such as the FXX comedy series Man Seeking Woman, 2015's Frankenstein, and post-PEN15 projects such as Big Mouth and the voice of Mercy Graves in the 2022 animated DC League of Super-Pets.
Anna Konkle was born in Vermont; however, she was raised in Massachusetts from the age of 7. After her parent's divorce (which would eventually be used as a PEN15's storyline), Konkle would attend New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Starting with musical theater study, Konkle eventually transitioned to experimental theater. While not being featured in as many projects as Erskine, Konkle has been featured in such projects as the FXX comedy Man Seeking Woman, New Girl, Shameless, and Big Mouth.
Konkle also has the distinction of being the recipient of prestigious entertainment awards and accolades, such as two Prime-time Emmys.
The protagonists of PEN15, the shy Maya Ishii-Peters and the easily persuaded Anna Kone are undoubtedly near and dear to the hearts of both Erskine and Konkle. This is, of course because the seventh-graders are based on the co-creators.
According to scriptmag.com, Konkle discussed drawing inspiration from real life during an interview saying, "I would have moments right before a scene, sort of closing my eyes and picturing myself at 13, what I probably looked like to other people, and just kind of trying to assume the stance of not being as tall as I was.
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