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For years, Stephanie Courtney has been Flo from Progressive, the company’s spokesperson, and most recognizable employee.

Along with her celebrity mascot competitors, — Geico’s Gecko, Allstate’s Mayhem, and Jake from State Farm — Stephanie Courtney’s character has imprinted her insurance brand’s voice on the public’s consciousness.

But the woman behind Flo from Progressive isn’t just about a blue headband and bundled insurance. Her background and net worth may surprise you.

Stephanie Courtney attends the Legacy Ensemble Tribute: The Groundlings
Stephanie Courtney | Steve Jennings/WireImage/Getty Images

Stephanie Courtney is more than just ‘the lady from Progressive’

Stephanie Courtney started playing the perky Flo in Progressive’s commercials in 2008, a gig she landed after moving to Los Angeles, California. The New York native studied acting in college and graduated from Binghamton University. Her theater background helped her excel in stand-up comedy, and she spent years honing her craft.

Courtney wrote an essay for Cosmopolitan in 2015 and shared that one night in 1996, she was offered an opportunity to work with an agent — with a catch.

“Later that year, Naomi Odenkirk saw me doing stand-up at a comedy club in New York City,” she wrote. “They approached me and said, ‘If you’re interested in representation, move to L.A. and we’ll be your managers.’ By that time, it had been some fun but very hard years. So I was like, ‘Absolutely!’”

Courtney moved to L.A. to pursue a career in entertainment and used to perform with The Groundlings, a well-known theater/comedy company whose alumni list includes Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, and Will Ferrell.

She worked odd jobs to support herself, auditioned constantly, and also had small roles in commercials and TV shows such as Mad Men. Eventually, the part for Progressive came along and she made Flo a household name.

Courtney shot the first commercial in December 2007 and it aired in January 2008. Since then, she’s had roles in TV shows such as Green Eggs and Ham and The Goldbergs.

Stephanie Courtney is married

Courtney is married to Scott Kolanach, a theater director who also hails from Stony Point, New York, where Courtney grew up. They met at The Groundlings and tied the knot in 2008 when she was 35.

The couple share one son. In her piece for Cosmopolitan, she shared that she had him at age 40. “I booked Flo when I was just about to turn 38. I got married at 35. I had my kid at 40. I’m a late bloomer. But it tastes just as sweet when it’s late,” Courtney wrote.

“I definitely was a calmer person getting these things later in life. It allowed me to have a more sane approach to a good job with a good paycheck. In my 20s, I would have spent it all on sweater capes and mid-sized winter boots — and I live in L.A.,” she added.

Flo from Progressive has helped grow Stephanie Courtney’s net worth

So much remains mystery surrounding Flo’s background, but Courtney has had a steady stream of success thanks to the character and her work as an actor and comedian.

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