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Maeby Fünke

Maeby Fünke is the wily granddaughter of the Bluth family.
Actor: Alia Shawkat — First Appearance: "Pilot" — Last Appearance: "The Fallout"

Mae "Maeby" Fünke is portrayed by Alia Shawkat and appeared in 76 episodes of Arrested Development. She is last seen in "The Fallout".

About[]

Maeby (born September 22, 1990) is the biological daughter of Lindsay and Tobias Fünke. Despite her parents' lack of skill and talent, Maeby is an accomplished con artist. She has an alter ego named Surely Fünke, a wheelchair bound girl suffering from a disease called BS, which she uses to get money through donations. She also cons her way into being a movie executive at Tantamount Studios for a couple of years.

Maeby is the on-and-off object of her cousin George Michael's affection and the two briefly experiment with incestuous behaviors. Maeby is also strongly attracted to Steve Holt, who, unfortunately, is also her cousin.

Parental Absence[]

1x19 Best Man for the Gob (16)

Maeby and her parents in Dr. Fünke's 100% Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution in "Best Man for the Gob"

Although Lindsay and Tobias struggled to conceive Maeby and the Bluth family spent $130,000 into fertility tests and lab equipment, Maeby was born a natural birth to Lindsay. ("Beef Consommé") ("Exit Strategy") Her mother, being incredibly vain, took an extremely hands-off approach to raising her so therefore Maeby began rebelling in any way possible. Her father was busy with his career that he didn't have time for her until he lost his job. By then, she wanted nothing to do with him. After moving from Boston to Newport Beach in 2003 Maeby became fully self-sufficient in her daily life. She was often forgotten by her parents but she found a smile and a lie could get her anything she wanted. 

Her parental absence led her to fail out of high school just to get their attention. They never noticed and even moved away (thinking she was living with the other or in boarding school) so she became a career high school student. ("Señoritis")


Romantic interests[]

3x12 Exit Strategy (86)

George Michael and Maeby kiss in "Exit Strategy"

To teach her mother a lesson, Maeby kissed George Michael at George Bluth's retirement party. ("Pilot") George Michael then became enamored with his cousin and struggled to hide his incestuous attraction. ("Top Banana") After a year of trying to suppress his love and find out if she was really his biological cousin, the two made out in the model home. ("Righteous Brothers") The kiss made their relationship even more awkward so they tried to finish the kiss, to see if it would help relieve the tension. ("The Cabin Show") They finally went to second base before they found out Maeby was absolutely the daughter of Tobias and Lindsay. ("Development Arrested")

3x03 Forget-Me-Now (37)

Maeby and Steve, in "Forget-Me-Now"

Meanwhile, Maeby became attracted to Steve Holt at high school but was repelled by his scent (her mother's perfume) during Much Ado About Nothing. ("Bringing Up Buster") She continued to be attracted to him and nearly slept with him, but drugged him before going through with it. ("Forget-Me-Now") Good thing, too, as Steve Holt is her cousin as well.

Annyong also became enamored by Maeby when she kissed him to make George Michael jealous. ("Let 'Em Eat Cake")​​​​ He still thought about her years later. ("Development Arrested")

Years later Maeby began dating high school student Perfecto Telles and seduced him. She was arrested for sleeping with him at age 23 when he was just 17. ("Señoritis")


Careers[]

2x17 Spring Breakout (24)

Maeby at work at Tantamount Studios in "Spring Breakout"

After a brief stint working at the Banana Stand Maeby realized she could make easier money by lying to people. She constructed a fake sister Surely Fünke and raised money for her BS disease. ("Altar Egos") While tagging along with her father to Tantamount Studios, she conned her way into a job as a studio executive. ("Switch Hitter") She then oversaw the production of several films including The Young Man and the Beach, Almost Cousins, and Love, Indubitably. She lost her job when George Michael sent invitations to her 16th birthday party. ("Exit Strategy") She got a job at Imagine Entertainment but was fired when Kitty discovered she lacked her high school diploma. She became a career high school student and at the same time worked as a pimp for her unwitting mother. She also made money by leasing out the model home to the crew of John Beard's To Entrap a Local Predator: Orange County Edition: Super Creep. Upon hearing about George Michael's Fakeblock project, Maeby decided to wedge her way into the ground floor and began raising investment funds, until she was abruptly fired. ("Señoritis")

Character history[]

Purple - Season One photoshoot (7)

Maeby in Season One

Season one[]

Maeby attended her grandfather's retirement party where she kissed George Michael as an attempt to teach her mother a lesson that she should see her family more often. ("Pilot") Michael asks Maeby to help work at the Banana Stand and she begins taking money from the register in exchange for throwing bananas away. When George Michael realizes the bad math, he attempts to burn the stand down. ("Top Banana")

Maeby auditions for Much Ado About Nothing in order to get closer to Steve Holt but she quits once her father takes over the director's role. She takes it back up and kisses Steve, but she doesn't enjoy it. ("Bringing Up Buster") Maeby attempts to save a tree that her mother wants destroyed, then wants to destroy the same tree when her mother changes her position. ("Key Decisions") Maeby and George Michael break into a permit office for G.O.B. and George Michael gets arrested while she escapes. ("Charity Drive")

Furniture - Season One photoshoot (7)

Maeby in Season One

Maeby follows her parents to counseling and grows worried that her parents are getting a divorce which would mean she would have to spend more time with them. ("Visiting Ours") Maeby leads George Michael on by complementing his muscle suit, even though she knew it was fake. ("In God We Trust") Maeby and George Michael get kicked out of an R-rated movie so George Michael gets fake IDs so they can see Les Cousins Dangereux. ("My Mother, the Car")

Maeby dressing in all leather to annoy her "anti-leather" mother, but Lindsay takes no notice. Maeby then takes no notice of her father, who is trying to reach out to her. ("Storming the Castle") Maeby is punished for her poor grades and must spend time with Lucille. At first they bond over being family outcasts but Maeby realizes that Lindsay had a rough childhood if Lucille was always that critical. ("Pier Pressure") Maeby watches as her family goes through PR training. ("Public Relations")

1x13 Beef Consomme (30)

Maeby and her cousin in "Beef Consommé"

Maeby switches rooms to stay with her mother at the model home. ("Marta Complex") George Michael learns that the Bluth family spent $130,000 on Maeby's conception but doesn't tell her that she might not be related when she realizes the frazzled Bluth family is better than no family at all. ("Beef Consommé") Maeby and Annyong go to the Diversity Dance, where she dances with Steve Holt. ("Shock and Aww") Maeby works at the banana stand and mocks George Michael, whose father is too busy for him. ("Staff Infection")

1x17 Justice is Blind (28)

Maeby as Surely Fünke in "Justice Is Blind"

Maeby dresses as Surely Fünke to accept a $500 check for her BS disease. ("Altar Egos") George Michael calls BS on Surely and her BS but gets caught up in the frenzy when she calls him a "hero" for getting ramps installed at the courthouse. ("Justice Is Blind") Lindsay and Maeby attempt to track down Nana and end up spending an afternoon with the wrong elderly woman. ("Missing Kitty") Tobias reunites Dr. Fünke's 100% Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution in order to get back in touch with his family, to Maeby's chagrin. ("Best Man for the Gob")

Maeby and George Michael visit George in prison to attempt to prove they aren't afraid of prison. ("Whistler's Mother")​​​​ Michael attempts to be a good role model to Maeby and makes her a $50 bet that he can go longer without lying than she can. She ends up lying to the police on Bring Your Daughter To Work Day and helps Michael escape charges. ("Not Without My Daughter") Maeby becomes jealous when George Michael starts seeing Ann so she kisses Annyong to make him jealous, to no avail. ("Let 'Em Eat Cake")​​​​


Season two[]

Season 2 Character Promos - Maeby Fünke 01

Maeby in Season Two

Maeby witnesses the start of her parents experiment of starting to see other people. ("The One Where Michael Leaves") She then challengers her parents if they have the guts to go through with it. ("The One Where They Build a House") Maeby rides down to Mexico to rescue George. She then rides back up north in the stair car with Michael, bashing her mother while Michael based Ann. ("¡Amigos!") Tired of both her parents' selfish attitudes about dating, Maeby asked Barry if he could emancipate her from their care. To prove she was in an unloving home she attempted to get Lindsay to flirt with Ice. ("Good Grief")

Lindsay takes notice of Steve Holt so Maeby tells him that she is a transvestite to stem his attraction towards her. ("Sad Sack") Because George Michael is off with Ann, Michael takes Maeby to the Bluth Company Christmas party and they sing "Afternoon Delight" then avoid each other when they realize the vulgarity of the lyrics. ("Afternoon Delight")

Maeby joins her father as he tours Tantamount Studios, spreading good words about the name Fünke by the water cooler. Maeby sits in an office and a reader thinks she is an executive so he writes a report on The Old Man and the Sea for her. Mort Meyers then notices that she's the Fünke everyone's been talking about. ("Switch Hitter") Maeby starts using "Marry Me!" when people comment that she looks so young to be a movie exec. She tries to take notes on some scripts in the attic but gets bored. George finds them and notes them, but Maeby thinks George Michael annotated them, and his lust for her is reignited. ("Queen for a Day")

2x10 Ready, Aim, Marry Me (58)

Maeby in "Ready, Aim, Marry Me"

Ann tries to throw a music burning party to destroy non religious music, but Maeby tells people it is a CD burning party and people attend just to share free music. ("Burning Love") Maeby teases George Michael about his fear of Uncle Jack, and has no interest in knowing why her father was dressed all westerny. ("Ready, Aim, Marry Me") Maeby helps George Michael break up with Ann by inviting her to meet Lucille, who they assume will be critical. Instead, Lucille is in shock about Buster's departure for Army and Ann converts Lucille to a Christian. ("Out on a Limb") Maeby runs into G.O.B. as she is filming The Young Man and the Beach, but he takes no notice of her career. ("Hand to God")

2x15 Sword of Destiny (23)

Maeby in her company car, in "Sword of Destiny"

When Maeby hears that George Michael gets to miss school because of a Christian camping trip, she pretends to be a Christian so she can reap the same benefit. ("Motherboy XXX") Maeby helps Steve Holt run for class president, over George Michael. She then meets Mrs. Featherbottom but sees right through her father's cheap act. ("The Immaculate Election") Maeby received a company car from Tantamount, even though she was 15 years old. ("Sword of Destiny") Maeby's job started to have consequences on her normal life, as she would curse and demand things from her family members. She was still getting her homework done for free though. ("Meat the Veals")

Mort demands that Maeby head down to Spring Break and learn how teenagers really talk for The Young Man and the Beach rewrites. She is frustrated by the airheads and George Michael pours his heart out to her, but she misses the sentiment and only cares about the words. ("Spring Breakout") Maeby attempts to salvage the trainwreck of a movie Almost Cousins and Ann's protest stirs up enough controversy for people to attend. Maeby and George Michael are then thrust into each other's arms when the model home begins to sink, and they kiss. ("Righteous Brothers")


Season three[]

Season 3 Character Promos - Maeby Fünke 01

Maeby in Season Three

After kissing, Maeby and her cousin tried to avoid each other, but decided they should finish the kiss to make their situation less awkward. Her mother drives them to Reno to find Tobias and Maeby makes out with Steve Holt when George Michael disappears with his father. ("The Cabin Show") In an attempt to avoid George Michael, Maeby begins to date Steve Holt but fears things are going too fast so she gives him a forget-me-now pill to fool him into thinking they went all the way. ("Forget-Me-Now")

At the Church and State Fair Maeby dons her Surely Fünke disguise to prove that even the Miss Inner Beauty pageant is an outward beauty pageant. She wins, much to her surprise. ("Notapusy") Maeby and Mort scramble to recoup losses from the horrible Love, Indubitably film by turning it into a ride at the Tantamount Studios tour. ("Mr. F") Maeby, struggling to finish a film, turns to Rita for advice. When she discovers that Rita is an MRF she rushes to halt production. ("The Ocean Walker")

While asking Warden Stefan Gentles for permission to film inside Orange County Prison, he asks her to read his New Warden script, which she pawns off on George Michael. ("Prison Break-In") Maeby's job is on the line if she can't fix a floundering horror movie. Maeby takes inspiration from her grandmother's chemical peel and releases the successful film Gangee. ("Making a Stand") When Lindsay and Tobias discover that Maeby has not been attending the private school Openings Tobias attempts to give her parental guidance by having her assemble gift bags to send to casting directors. ("S.O.B.s")

3x10 Fakin' It (75)

George Michael and Maeby (accidentally) get married in "Fakin' It"

George Michael asks Maeby to participate in a fake wedding ceremony for elderly patients at Buster's hospital. Maeby runs from the altar the first time, but goes through with it the second time. Little did they know the priest was real and the wedding was official. ("Fakin' It")​​​​ She gets upset when she finds this out, and that George Michael is taking it so seriously. ("Family Ties")

George Michael throws a surprise party for Maeby's 16th birthday and sends invitations to everyone in her address book, ruining her career at Tantamount. They drink fake wine and get fake drunk and really make out. They then find out that Maeby is 100% the daughter of Lindsay and Tobias. ("Exit Strategy") Maeby and George Michael then learn that Lindsay is adopted, making them not genetic cousins, but still family. Maeby attempts to get the film rights of the Bluth family story from her family at George exoneration party about the RMS Queen Mary. She then meets with Ron Howard who tells her that he sees the story as a movie. ("Development Arrested")


Season four[]

Season 4 Poster - Maeby Fünke 01

Maeby in Season Four

Immediately after the Queen Mary sank, Maeby tried to get her parents' attention by failing her senior year of high school while simultaneously getting a job at Imagine Entertainment. When her parents went out of town, she took a film crew to India to shoot Gangie on the Ganges. While in India, she spotted her mother at the Four Seasons Mumbai, so she posed as a shaman to convince her mother to return and pay attention to her.

Upon returning to the States, Maeby learned she had been fired from Image for not having her diploma. She decided to go back to high school, but kept flunking out hoping to get her parents' attention. After they abandoned her for Marky Bark and DeBrie she decided to make a career of remaining a high school senior at various schools. In her fifth senior year she adopted the last name Featherbottom, the surname of her father's British nanny alter ego. She decided to finally graduate high school but realized she needed math tutoring. Her tutor ends up being her cousin George Michael.

At that time Maeby learned there was an undercover cop at her school. As Maeby was 23 many suspected it was her but after spotting a student named Perfecto Telles flashing a badge in a bar Maeby suspected it was him. After being told by Barry Zuckerkorn that she risked being expelled for being over 21 she decides to seduce Pefecto so she wouldn't be busted.

Meanwhile she helped George Michael turn Fakeblock into a legitimate company until she overhyped it too much and he fired her. She also acted as a pimp for the unwitting Lindsay who was sleeping with Herbert Love.

Maeby told her suspicions to Perfecto about him being an undercover cop. He confirmed that he was and they ended up having sex, and were accidentally seen by his foster mum Lucille Austero. At Cinco de Cuatro Maeby found out Perfecto was lying and was only 17 years old. The badge he had flashed earlier was one that proclaimed him to be a member of the unimpressive "anti-bullying brigade". Days later at school Maeby was arrested for sleeping with a minor and was last seen cringing at the prospect of having to be forced to move to Sudden Valley due to California's strict sex offender laws.

Maeby's focal episode in Season Four is "Señoritis". She also appears in the episodes "Flight of the Phoenix", "Indian Takers", "The B. Team", "A New Start", "Red Hairing", "It Gets Better", "Off the Hook", "Blockheads".


Season five[]

Despite getting arrested, Maeby somehow avoids jail time and heads to Lucille Austero's penthouse to clean it out of her stuff, eluding Michael Bluth in the process. ("Family Leave") She meets up with George Michael in the process in the courtyard to discuss his recourse over he and his father's relationship with Rebel Alley.("Family Leave")

They eventually drive out to Sudden Valley looking for Michael but instead run into Steve Holt, the three of them heading to Mexico where Maeby finds a life helping the locals and learns that FakeBlock isn't real. ("Self-Deportation") She eventually returns home to help support her mother's run for political office and hopefully ruin it, but her attempts only make Lindsay more popular. ("Everyone Gets Atrophy")

Now looking for a place to live, Maeby disguises herself as an older woman to live at Lucille 2's house at the Spotted Palm Retirement Community, but she instead gets stuck with Stan Sitwell, Lucille's old roommate ("An Old Start") and tries to get rid of him. Tobias, DeBrie and Murphy-Brown soon move in as well. When they vote her out, she discovers that Stan was eliminating her fellow tenants, and moves to a different empty house in the community. ("Chain Migration") ("Saving for Arraignment Day")

Meanwhile, Maeby and George Michael are trying to unload themselves of FakeBlock and after someone buys it, they learn that Michael has purchased it ("Check Mates"), later passing it on to the Chinese to cover his parents' debt to them. ("5x18")

Trivia[]

Images[]

→ See 413 pictures of Maeby Fünke at Images of Maeby Fünke.

Videos[]

→ Watch more videos of Maeby Fünke at Category:Videos of Maeby Fünke


Main Arrested Development Characters
BusterG.O.B.George MichaelGeorgeLindsayLucilleMaebyMichaelTobias
AnnAnnyongBarry ZuckerkornJohn BeardKittyLucille 2LupeMort MeyersOscarRebelSteve HoltOfficer Taylor
All characters
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