Background
Levy was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Mary (née Tilbury), an artist, and Lester Levy, a musician.
Levy was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Mary (née Tilbury), an artist, and Lester Levy, a musician.
She attended Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo, California. She attended Goucher College for a semester before transferring to the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New New York
She is best known for her role as Tessa Altman on the American Broadcasting Company comedy series Suburgatory. She made her television debut on Showtime"s Shameless. Levy appeared in the films Fun Size and Nobody Walks in 2012, and Evil Dead in 2013.
She was named by critics as one of the breakout stars of 2011, and Forbes named her on their list of 30 under 30 who are "reinventing the world" (a list of the brightest stars of the future).
While in school, she was on the hip hop dancing team and was captain of the soccer team, and appeared in community theatre productions of Annie and The Wizard of Ounces She describes herself at school as being a "floater", someone who got along with everyone.
While at high school she visited England for five months. Levy moved back to Los Angeles after two years in New York City.
Levy was cast as Mandy Milkovich in a five-episode role on the Showtime series Shameless within a few weeks of returning to the West Coast.
In March 2011, she landed the first lead role of her career on the sitcom Suburgatory, with Jeremy Sisto and Cheryl Hines. Since being in the show she has been compared to Emma Stone, due in part to her red hair. She was named by both television Guide and TheInsider.com as one of the breakout stars of 2011, and was included on the top eleven list of funniest women compiled by America Online. Forbes named her as one of the handful of entertainment stars on their list of 30 under 30 who are "reinventing the world" (a list of the brightest stars of the future).
Noting that Suburgatory was "one of the big hits of the new season" and that Levy would be seen in two upcoming films, Forbes called her "one to watch".
Levy appeared in two films in 2012, Fun Size and Nobody Walks. The former was the first feature from Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz.
Released before Halloween, Fun Size co-starred Victoria Justice and comedian Chelsea Handler. While filming it, Levy was disappointed that she failed to meet co-star Johnny Knoxville, as he was on set for the one week of shooting that she was not.
Levy starred in the 2013 remake of the horror classic The Evil Dead as the drug-dependent Mia, replacing Lily Collins who had originally been cast.
In February 2013, Levy landed the lead role in Gold Circle"s thriller film In a Dark Place directed by Bharat Nalluri. Levy will star in Paramount Animation"s first upcoming live-action/Consultants to Government and Industry film which is being directed by Ice Age"s Chris Wedge.