Allegra Edwards has owned the role of Ingrid in the hit show, Upload, for the last seven years. With impeccable comedic timing and a warmth that radiates through the screen, she has both transformed her character and with her character. She loves what she does, and as the show ends, and her career continues, it is becoming more obvious that Allegra Edwards makes any show worth watching.

Upload is on its fourth and final season. What has the show meant to you? How has it impacted your life?
This show changed my life entirely. It was my first series regular role, my first time staying with a character year after year, season after season. Greg Daniels, our show’s creator, is exceptionally collaborative and invites his actors into the writers’ room every season to offer insights on where their character has been and where they might be headed. That was such an empowering experience and served to strengthen my confidence as the world’s biggest Ingrid expert while also teaching me about the detailed process of shaping a season of television. And, it must be mentioned, I believe living with Ingrid has made me a more compassionate person. She’s severe and sharp but also deeply wounded and yearning for something universal - belonging - and her bravery has humbled me.

You’ve displayed a great comedic performance, especially of physical comedy which is (almost) a lost art. How did you find your footing and taste in comedy?
My parents are very, very funny people. I’m lucky they not only modeled and encouraged big silly voices, re-enactments, and impressions, but they also introduced me to some of pop culture’s best physically comedic performances. I was absolutely gobsmacked by the iconic Vitameatavegamin bit by Lucille Ball, bowled over by Kevin Kline’s acrobatic gunman in A Fish Called Wanda, completely smitten with Kristen Wiig’s run on SNL, and constantly imitating every voice from The Simpsons. I learned early and often that comedy requires a sense of rhythm and the courage to take a huge risk, even if you fail spectacularly. My home was a safe place with an eager and accepting audience, just waiting for me to go bigger.

Your character, Ingrid, has a certain style. Who is your character’s style icon/inspiration? Our costume designer, Farnaz Khaki-Sadigh, is such a talent with an incredible eye for the complete picture. She is so detailed in her approach, and from the get-go she knew she wanted to lean into 1960s mod silhouettes and cuts for Ingrid. There are traces of Judy Jetson in some of her season one looks, and in season two we see some outfits that hint at more country club wifey, showing us how Ingrid is trying on what her idea of motherhood might look like. A lot of those looks felt reminiscent of some of the agents from Selling Sunset (and I’ve drawn inspiration from those ladies’ personalities as well!) By season three, darker earthy colors started working their way into her color palette, and by season four she’s wearing DENIM, which felt like a huge deal! Her footwear is also rarely visible, but always fabulous.

How close to the present is Upload?
I believe the first season of Upload takes place in 2033, which at the time of filming was still 15 years away. Back then, the tech seemed wildly weird and fun to daydream about, but more fantasy than reality. Now, we’re four seasons and 7 years in, and it is astonishing how many aspects of the show have arrived or are just a few months away. Technology doesn’t evolve gradually, it evolves exponentially, and I think Upload will be looked back on as ahead of its time and almost prescient.

For your birthday you had a painting party! Can you explain the joy you find in the act of physically creating?
That painting party fed so many birds with one scone! It allowed me to learn a new skill in the company of kind people. It provided an opportunity for my dear friend and collaborator, Elyse Brandau, to teach and showcase one of her many gifts, acrylic painting. It fostered community among women I love who hadn’t met yet as we all tried something new together. And it selfishly gave me some personal and beautiful artwork for my mostly undecorated new home. Doing something for the pleasure of it is such an important ritual in the life of an artist, when often our value can be so inextricably linked with our output. Exploring the simple beauty of a tomato was just my speed for my 37th birthday.

How has motherhood treated you?
Motherhood has been one big, oddly-placed mirror, revealing parts of myself I never had a reason to inspect or question until now. When you hear your toddler use your own phrasing back at you, or negotiate using tactics you were so proud of yourself for inventing, it is hysterical and humbling all at once. I also didn’t expect how cool it would be to have a little friend accompany me everywhere I go, my mobile peanut gallery narrating our shared experience and noticing the otherwise unremarkable. Motherhood is a tectonic shift in perspective.

Your family recently moved into your first house which has a lot of character. Have you found the time to settle yourselves in it?
Our home is definitely a character in our lives in and of itself. It is a Queen Anne Victorian, built in 1887, one of the first 67 homes built in our town. As of writing this, we’ve been in it for a year, and I’m quite proud of how many projects we’ve been able to take on in that timeframe. Her interior went from bubblegum pink (I called them Pepto Biswalls) to a serene cream, her floors are refinished and cleaned, and a new HVAC system will be installed just as the summer is ending (perfect timing). At every project’s completion, we feel a great sense of relief and accomplishment, but it isn’t long before a new project rears its head. If motherhood is a lesson in perspective, home ownership is all about small victories and big PATIENCE.

How have you found yourself trusting the process and where has trust brought you?
I won’t lie, trusting the process has been more challenging this year for me, and I think it’s because with Upload ending, I’m technically now unemployed. A grounding reminder for me is that everything can change in the matter of a day, and if I’m leaving myself open to the possibility that life will be hard, I have to leave room for an equal and opposite possibility that life will be wonderful. I also benefit from trusting myself more, that though I may feel like I’m starting over, I’m never back at square one. I always have the lessons I’ve learned, the relationships I’ve developed, and the confidence in my own ability to adapt. That and the peace that comes from knowing I’m not in control!

Your Instagram bio says, “in all things, give thanks”. What are you most thankful for?
This is a paraphrasing of the second half of a Bible verse from Philippians that is often quoted in my family. “Be anxious for nothing but in all things give thanks.” And I think the toughest part of it to stick to is being thankful in *all things.* It’s easy to be thankful for my husband, my car, the roof over my head. It’s tough to be thankful during a writer’s strike, or amidst a global pandemic, or during a creative dry spell. And yet we know those seasons produce endurance, compassion, perseverance, maturity and more, and most of the time walking through them is the only way to know those virtues fully.

What is your biggest dream and are you living it?
Yes. I can confidently and without hesitation say I am living my biggest dream. Which is a completely humbling sentence to type in black and white.

And it’s time for me to dream a bigger dream!

EDELINE LEE DRESS
LAGOS FINE JEWELRY
LARROUDE HEELS

How was your experience at San Diego Comic Con?
Going to Comic Con, (for the first time!) to promote Upload’s final season with Greg Daniels, Maxwell Vivian and the cast, felt like senior prom and graduation all squeezed into one amazing day. The panel went so well, and we really felt a tremendous amount of love and enthusiasm from the fans in the room. It was a high-adrenaline buzzy-whirlwind with all my favorite people, and I will be reliving it until I can hopefully one day return!

What are you most excited for in the future?
I’m in the middle of filming a very intense and dynamic indie film in Colorado, helmed by the multi-talented Anatasha Blakely, and I’m excited to see it all come together. I’m excited for folks to check out the revival of King of the Hill on Hulu (I voiced the wild Willow) and the final season of Upload premiering August 25th on Prime. And I’m excited to go home and give my kid a big squeeze.

CREW CREDITS:
Talent: Allegra Edwards
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz
Photographer: Sela Shiloni
Fashion Stylist: Amanda Lim at The Only Agency
Hair + Makeup: Ghost
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Seana Watson, Associate Fashion Editor, PhotoBook Magazine

Allegra Edwards In Real Life