Alexandra Petri

Biography Early life and education Petri grew up in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., the only child of Wisconsin congressman Tom Petri and nonprofit executive Anne D. Neal, and attended the National Cathedral School. She has appeared on Jeopardy!, won prizes in the O. Henry Pun-Off, and performed at an international whistling competition. Her play The Campsite Rule, a sex comedy whose title is derived from an idea taken from Dan Savage, was premiered at the Capital Fringe Festival in 2013.

In December 2015, Petri created the parody Twitter account "Emo Kylo Ren", which envisioned the Star Wars: The Force Awakens character Kylo Ren as an angsty teenager obsessed with Darth Vader. The account went viral after being retweeted by Hot Topic and receiving attention from media outlets such as USA Today and People Magazine, soon gaining more followers than Hot Topic. During the 8th Shorty Awards in 2016, the account won the award for best parody account. Petri revealed that she created this parody account in an interview with Syfy published on January 25, 2018. and William Shakespeare.

In June 2020, Petri released her second book, Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why, a collection of essays on the Trump presidency years. In April 2023, she released her third book Alexandra Petri's US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up), which won the Thurber Prize for American Humor. The Atlantic announced that it hired her in May 2025. They welcomed their first child in February 2022. They welcomed their second child in January 2025.

Works A Field Guide to Awkward Silences, New American Library, 2016. Nothing Is Wrong and Here is Why: Essays, W. W. Norton & Company, 2020. Alexandra Petri's US History: Important documents (I made up): Essays, W. W. Norton & Company, 2023.