Emily the Criminal is a 2022 American crime thriller film written and directed by John Patton Ford in his feature directorial debut. It stars Aubrey Plaza as the titular character, alongside Theo Rossi, Megalyn Echikunwoke, and Gina Gershon in supporting roles. The film follows Emily Benetto, a young woman saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a criminal record, who gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles.

Aubrey Christina Plaza is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (2009–2015), played Julie Powers in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023), voiced Claire Wheeler-Worthington in Monsters University (2013) and Monsters at Work Season 2 (2024), and featured as the Shadow King and Lenny Busker in the FX superhero series Legion (2017–2019). In 2022, she starred in the second season of the HBO anthology series The White Lotus, for which she received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.