Early life
Alexis grew up on the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation Reserve and in Edmonton, Alberta.1 From the age of four she played hockey competitively, eventually skating left wing.1 Her father worked in documentary filmmaking through his own production company, an early exposure to the craft that shaped her path toward acting.1
Career
Alexis earned her first professional screen credit at eighteen when director Jason Reitman cast her in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) after reviewing her video audition submission and then inviting her to a live audition.1 That same period brought her the role of April in the semi-autobiographical Canadian film Beans (2020, directed by Tracey Deer).3 On the Beans set she met D'Pharaoh Woon-a-tai, who would become her co-star on Reservation Dogs.3
Her breakthrough came with Reservation Dogs, the FX on Hulu comedy-drama created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, which ran for three seasons from 2021 to 2023.2 The series was the first television production to feature an exclusively Native writing staff and directing roster, alongside an almost entirely Native North American cast.2 Alexis originally read for the role of Elora Danan, one of the female leads, but showrunners asked her to audition for Willie Jack, a character originally written as male.2 The role was reimagined as female when Alexis was cast. She was encouraged to improvise dialogue and contribute ideas to the character's wardrobe, and Willie Jack grew over the course of the series into a central, emotionally grounded voice of the ensemble.
Reservation Dogs received two Peabody Awards,4 and its third season earned the show's first Emmy nomination in the Best Comedy Series category.5 Alexis received nominations for the Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in both 2023 and 2024,2 and she shared in the Independent Spirit Award for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series, which the show won in 2022.2
Her additional film credits include Bones of Crows (2022), in which she plays Immpy, an inter-generational drama about Indigenous women and the legacy of Canada's residential school system.3 In 2024 she provided voice work as Young Dove in the Indigenous-language short Inkwo for When the Starving Return and guest-voiced the character Ramona in the Bob's Burgers episode "Saving Favorite Drive-In."36 A series adaptation of Bones of Crows also featured her in 2024.3
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Alexis was cast as Bunny, a teenage resident of Summerville, Oklahoma, who works at Spinners Roller Hop alongside Lucky Domingo.7 The role was her first professional screen credit.1 Director Jason Reitman called her in for a live audition after reviewing her initial video submission.1 Bunny appears as part of the film's small-town ensemble in the scenes surrounding the Spengler family's arrival in Summerville.8
Personal life
Alexis plays hockey and rides horses and participates in horse relay racing.1 In August 2024 she publicly announced she was expecting her first child.1
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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"Paulina Alexis," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulina_Alexis.
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"Reservation Dogs," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_Dogs.
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"Paulina Alexis," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11279312/.
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The Peabody Awards, "Reservation Dogs," accessed 2026-06-13, https://peabodyawards.com/stories/reservation-dogs/ and https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/reservation-dogs-2023/ (two awards: 2022 and 2023).
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The Hollywood Reporter, "'Reservation Dogs' (Finally) Nominated for Best Comedy Series Emmy" (July 17, 2024), https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/2024-emmys-reservation-dogs-nominated-four-emmys-1235950466/.
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"Bob's Burgers: Saving Favorite Drive-In (2024)," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33482013/.
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"Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) - Full Cast and Crew," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4513678/fullcredits/.
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"Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) - Paulina Alexis as Bunny," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4513678/characters/nm11279312.
