Meet Progressive's Flo: Standup Comic Stephanie Courtney

Stephanie Courtney was born Feb. 8, 1970, in Stony Point, N.Y. Her mother is a singer and her father is a retired high school history teacher.

And in case you were wondering, this is what she looks like without all that makeup on.

Courtney graduated from Binghamton University (home of the Bearcats) in New York in 1992.

While numerous sources report that her degree was in criminology, she had an interest in acting while in college since she played Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible.

“I was never tortured over whether I wanted to become an actor,” Courtney told her alma mater's magazine. “There was never another option in my mind.”

The school is very proud of its famous alumna and features her prominently on its admissions site.

After graduating, Courtney moved to New York City. There she took classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse, a school where Gregory Peck, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton also studied.

Since studying theater doesn't pay much, and neither did acting, she made ends meet by working as the evening secretary for Robert S. Greenhill, then chairman of Smith Barney.

Her roommate at the time was, now author and L.A. Times columnist, Megan Daum.

After living in New York for some time, Courtney headed out to the other coast and started doing stand-up (there's a clip below).

In Los Angeles, she and her sister, Jennifer Courtney, who is also an actress, moved in together. They also wrote a play, called "Those Courtney Girls," that they performed in L.A. and at the Aspen Comedy Festival, where it attracted the attention of some television studios (although nothing has yet come of that).

After moving to L.A., Courtney joined The Groundlings, a skit and improve troupe that that counts Will Ferrell, Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig and Lisa Kudrow in its alumni.

She met Scott Kolanach, the lighting director, while performing with the group and married him in 2008. "Every crazy old lady character I ever walked out as on that stage had beautiful, peachy gem lighting because he liked me," she told People.

Courtney has filmed more than 50 commercials as Flo since 2008 and some sources estimate that she earns $500,000 a year playing the character.

According to an interview she did with The Daily Beast, her favorite commercial is this one, featuring the guy with the man bag.

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Courtney's first big break in commercials was a Bud Light Super Bowl spot (below) that paid only $38,000 before tax and agency fees.

Her other commercial roles include ads for Skittles, Glade, General Mills, and Weinerschnitzel.

Yes, that is really her behind the counter.

Courtney has also appeared in a number of TV shows and movies, including Blades of Glory, The Heartbreak Kid, House, and The United States of Tara.

She even had a recurring role on our favorite drama, Mad Men, as Madge the telephone operator.

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Two alternate universes collided by accident when Courtney appeared opposite Geico's spokesman in three episodes of his short-lived sitcom, Caveman, before she landed the gig as Flo.

Courtney is often quoted saying that she knew Flo was catching on when people started dressing up like her for Halloween. It's such a popular costume that Progressive now sells it on their website.

“It’s a pretty cheap costume to make—all you need is a white polo shirt, white jeans, blue Chuck Taylors, and a white apron,” Courtney told The Daily Beast. "So it’s a nice, non-slutty Halloween costume.”

Courtney is all natural and there are no enhancements used to create that hair. In fact, Flo's hair ritual, which includes a lot of back-combing and teasing—takes a full hour. Her trademark face of makeup takes another full hour.

This is not Stephanie Courtney's mom.

Judging by her stand-up, the whole bubbly act is just that, an act. So Courtney drew inspiration from close to home.

"Nobody is naturally that perky! They'd strain something. I'd say at times Flo is like my mom when she's at her most chipper," she is quoted saying on IMDB.

She clarifies in an interview with Cleveland.com, that Flo is just "a very positive version of my mom. But, of course, amped up to 1,000."

Despite the legions of male fans and Facebook groups dedicated to Flo, Courtney still doesn't think that Flo is sexy. This despite the fact that one blogger waxes on about her "kissable red lips" in his article titled "The Cult of the Progress...ce Chick."

She told Adweek, "The way I play her, she's pretty much the most asexual thing on TV right now. I think the Geico lizard puts out more sexual vibes than Flo does. But I do think the cavemen are totally crushable."

Seems like there's no bad blood between competitors here.