Kendrick was born in Portland, Maine, on August 9, 1985,^[3][4] the daughter of accountant Janice (née Cooke) and history teacher William Kendrick.^[5][6] She is of English, Irish, and Scottish descent.^[7] She began performing in community theater at the age of six.^[8] Her older brother, Michael (b. 1983), is also an actor; he appeared in the drama film Looking for an Echo (2000).^[9] She attended Deering High School.^[10]

Kendrick started her career at age 12 in a supporting role in the 1998 Broadway musical High Society, which earned her a Theater World Award and nominations for Featured Actress in a Musical at the Drama Desk Awards and Tony Awards. She went on to a supporting role in the 2003 New York City Opera production of Stephen Sondheim's musical A Little Night Music.^[11]

Her film debut in the musical Camp as nerdy Fritzi Wagner earned her a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance.^[12] She played an ambitious high school debater in Rocket Science (2007), earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female.^[13]

Kendrick rose to prominence in 2008 for the fantasy romance Twilight, a major box-office hit based on Stephenie Meyer's 2005 novel of the same name; Kendrick played Jessica Stanley, a friend of protagonist Bella Swan.^[14] In 2009, she appeared in the comedy The Marc Pease Experience, in her first leading role in the crime thriller Elsewhere, and reprised her Jessica Stanley role in Twilight's sequel, New Moon.

She then starred alongside George Clooney in director Jason Reitman's Up in the Air (2009). Critics praised her performance as an ambitious college graduate, saying that she "grabs every scene she's in".^[15] It brought her nominations for several Best Supporting Actress awards, including the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and BAFTA Awards. Kendrick has been a member of the Actors' Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2010.^[16]

In 2010, Kendrick again portrayed Jessica Stanley in the Twilight saga's third installment, Eclipse. Later that year, she appeared in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, as the sister of the title character. The film did not fare well at the box office, but has since become a cult classic. In 2011, she appeared in the critically acclaimed comedy-drama 50/50, as an inexperienced therapist to a cancer patient played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Later that year, she made her final appearance as Jessica Stanley in Twilight's fourth installment, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011).

In 2012, Kendrick featured as part of the ensemble cast of What to Expect When You're Expecting, loosely based on the pregnancy guide of the same name. Also that year, she lent her voice to the stop-motion animated film ParaNorman, starred in the commercially successful crime drama End of Watch, and appeared in Robert Redford's political thriller The Company You Keep.

Kendrick's most successful film of 2012 was the musical comedy Pitch Perfect, loosely based on the non-fiction book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. Kendrick played Beca Mitchell, a rebellious college freshman who joins an a cappella group called the Barden Bellas and finds that her more modern approach to music clashes with the traditional approach of the group's leader. The film emerged as a major commercial success. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who called Kendrick's performance "splendid", saying that she "hits just the right note between pithy and chummy".^[17]

In 2013, Kendrick featured in the romantic comedy-drama Drinking Buddies, which received mostly positive reviews from critics, as well as the largely panned fantasy comedy Rapture-Palooza. At the Sundance Film Festival in January 2014, Kendrick was featured in three films. She played leading roles in the comedy-drama Happy Christmas and the horror comedy The Voices, which both received generally favorable reviews from critics, as well as a supporting role in the zombie comedy Life After Beth. Both Happy Christmas and Life After Beth received limited releases later in 2014, while The Voices was given a limited release in early 2015. Kendrick hosted Saturday Night Live in 2014.^[18]

At the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2014, Kendrick was featured in two films. She starred in the musical romance The Last Five Years, an adaptation of the off-Broadway musical of the same name. While the film itself received mixed reviews, Kendrick garnered widespread critical acclaim for her performance. She also played a supporting role in the comedy-drama Cake. Cake was eventually given a wide release in January 2015, while The Last Five Years received a limited release in February 2015. Kendrick was next seen playing Cinderella in Disney's Into the Woods (2014), director Rob Marshall's film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical of the same name. Kendrick was a part of the large ensemble cast. The film became a major commercial success and received mostly positive reviews from critics.

Kendrick competed in the first season of Lip Sync Battle against John Krasinski, one of the show's executive producers, in an episode aired in April 2015. She first performed "Steal My Girl" by One Direction, in which she jokingly revealed the object of her affection to be Krasinski's newlywed wife, Emily Blunt. Kendrick also performed "Booty" by Jennifer Lopez, in which Lopez herself made a surprise appearance at the end of the song. The audience declared Kendrick the winner. The episode garnered over 1.75 million U.S. viewers.^[19]

Kendrick played a supporting role in Digging for Fire, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and received a limited release in August of that year. In May 2015, she reprised her role of Beca Mitchell in Pitch Perfect 2. The film, which followed Mitchell in her senior year of college as the co-president of the Barden Bellas, emerged as a major box office blockbuster and surpassed the success of the first film.

Kendrick starred in the action comedy Mr. Right, which premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and was released on April 8, 2016. She also starred in The Hollars, a comedy-drama directed by and starring John Krasinski, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, and was theatrically released in August 2016. She was then seen in the coming-of-age film Get a Job, which received a limited release in March 2016 after being delayed since 2012.^{[citation needed]}

Also in 2016, Kendrick starred in the commercially successful comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, voiced Princess Poppy, the main character of the animated film Trolls,^[20] and co-starred in the action thriller The Accountant.^[21][22][23] Kendrick's memoir Scrappy Little Nobody was published on November 15, 2016.^[24]

Kendrick starred in Table 19, which was released March 3, 2017.^[25] She again reprised the role of Beca Mitchell in Pitch Perfect 3, released on December 22, 2017.^[26] In September 2018, she starred as Stephanie Smothers in the mystery-thriller film A Simple Favor. Also in September 2018, Kendrick began appearing in a series of advertisements across a range of media for Hilton Hotels.^[27]

In 2019, Kendrick co-starred in the satirical crime comedy The Day Shall Come and played the titular character in the Disney+ Christmas comedy Noelle. Kendrick also voiced a character in the Facebook Watch adult animated comedy series Human Discoveries.^[28] Also in 2019, it was announced that Kendrick would star as a state trooper with irreversible hearing loss in Unsound, directed by Bharat Nalluri.^[29]

Kendrick reprised her role as Poppy in the 2020 sequel Trolls World Tour. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Universal Pictures released the film via video on-demand platforms as a digital rental on April 10, 2020.^[30][31] She starred in the Quibi comedy series Dummy, for which she also served as executive producer. For her performance, she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series.^[32][33] Also in 2020, Kendrick starred in the HBO Max romantic comedy anthology series Love Life, for which she additionally served as an executive producer. She appeared next as the lead in Stowaway, a science-fiction thriller which was released on April 22, 2021.^[34] She starred in the films Alice, Darling and Self Reliance.^[35][36] In 2025, she reprised her role as Stephanie Smothers in Another Simple Favor.

Helen Barlow of The New Zealand Herald and Mary Pols of Time agreed that Kendrick was often cast as mean characters early in her film career.^[37][38] In addition to contributing comedic relief in supporting roles,^[38] she became known for playing neurotic yet warm, endearing women in a range of genres.^[39][40][41] According to Ryan Gilbey of The Guardian, she is drawn towards tenacious and hyper-confident characters, although the actress admitted she is much less assertive than the characters she plays, describing her work as "wish-fulfilment".^[42][43] Gilbey described her artistic trademark as "that moment when her characters undergo a revelatory or disorienting change".^[42] For a period of time after her breakthrough, Kendrick rejected a handful of specific roles to avoid being typecast.^[44] The Philippine Star said Kendrick's versatility and commitment to ultimately resulted in her becoming the first main Twilight cast member nominated for an Oscar.^[44] However, in 2020, writer Mary Elizabeth Williams opined that she had struggled to transition "into more diverse, complicated roles".^[45]

Alex Vo of Rotten Tomatoes said her career has been "defined by steady versatility", and she particularly excels in hybrid comedies and musicals.^[46] Her public profile grew from starring in a series of high-profile musical films,^[47] with Pitch Perfect cementing her as "one of her generation's most adept 20-something actresses", according to Asawin Suebsaeng of Mother Jones.^[48] Film critic Ty Burr called her "the first great movie musical star of her generation".^[49] Citing Pitch Perfect, The Last Five Years and Into The Woods as examples, Helen Whitaker of Glamour found musicals "to be the only constant" in her diverse filmography.^[50] Up in the Air director Jason Reitman said Kendrick "talks like someone from the 1940s", and the actress confirmed some of her favorite films are from this era.^[51] Meanwhile, Gilbey said she is "a crisp dramatic actor with a facility for screwball, as well as a knack ... for being adorable without lapsing into kookiness".^[42] Burr felt Kendrick "might have been a valued triple threat" similar to Ginger Rogers had she been famous during the studio era.^[52] She has been described as having a soprano vocal range.^[53][54]

Kendrick herself has said that she is perceived as quirky and relatable on the internet,^[55] and journalists have often commented on the outspokenness, wit, relatability, and self-awareness she presents across interviews and social media.^{[56][57][58][59]} However, she described herself as too "snarky" to interact directly with fans in fear of offending them.^[60] Although some publications have called her "America's Sweetheart",^[45][61] Kendrick has said she has no interest in embracing the title.^[62] Emma Stefansky of Vanity Fair declared her one of the funniest women in Hollywood,^[63] whereas Sadaf Ahsan of the National Post said Kendrick has cultivated an image that is charming, endearing, and precocious both on and off-screen, comparing her to Shirley Temple.^[64] In 2016, Allison P. Davis of The Ringer remarked that Kendrick has remained likeable by avoiding backlash commonly associated with overexposure.^[56] In 2017, Elle writer Antonia Blyth described the actress as warm, friendly, and honest "with none of the typical celebrity reserve", despite her growing fame.^[43] The Globe and Mail film critic Barry Hertz said the actress has spent much of her career since Pitch Perfect perfecting "the funny-perky-nerdy-but-cool-girl image", finally breaking it with 2023's Alice Darling.^[65]

Kendrick said she would rather celebrities use their privilege to amplify more educated experts on social issues, rather than discuss them herself.^[66] She has spoken about experiencing gender bias in Hollywood, specially times when she has been forced to wait for a film's male characters to be cast before she is seriously considered for a role.^[58] Kendrick donated her Woman of the Hour salary to various charities.^[67]

Kendrick resides in Los Angeles.^[68]

She began dating English filmmaker Edgar Wright in 2009, after they met while filming Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.^[69][70][71] They split up in March 2013.^[72] She began dating English cinematographer Ben Richardson in February 2014, after they met while filming Drinking Buddies.^[73][74][75] They split in 2020.^[76] She dated actor Bill Hader from 2020 to 2022.^[76] Kendrick is currently dating American comedian Alex Edelman.^[77]

She has said that her experience in an emotionally abusive relationship inspired her performance in Alice, Darling.^[78] In her 2016 memoir Scrappy Little Nobody, she wrote "Motherhood isn't for me."^[79]

Throughout her career, for her work on screen and stage, Kendrick has received several awards and nominations. Among them, she is one of the few actors to have been nominated for an Oscar, Emmy and Tony in acting categories, labeled the "Triple Crown of Acting".

• Tony Award (1998) nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, for High Society
• Academy Award (2009) nomination for Best Supporting Actress, for Up in the Air
• Primetime Emmy Award (2020) nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Series, for Dummy