Carrie Brownstein is the co-creator, co-writer and co-star of Portlandia, as well as an accomplished musician and author. She made her television career debut in 2011 with Portlandia, and in 2012 received an Emmy nomination in the "Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series" category for her work on the series.

Brownstein first became widely known as a member of the indie rock bands Sleater-Kinney and Wild Flag. She was named one of the top female electric guitarists by Elle Magazine, and Rolling Stone lists Sleater-Kinney's song "Dig Me Out" - featuring Brownstein on guitar - as one of the 50 greatest guitar songs of all time. In 2006, Brownstein earned a spot on Rolling Stone's list of the "25 Most Underrated Guitarists of All-Time" as their highest-ranked female guitarist.

Brownstein started acting as a "mere hobby," with small roles in the films Fan Mail, Group, and Miranda July's Getting Stronger Everyday, and publishing several video skits with Saturday Night Live's Fred Amisen as part of a comedy duo called ThunderAnt. The two later developed Portlandia, a television comedy sketch series that debuted on the Independent Film Channel in January 2011. The series features appearances by some of the characters from ThunderAnt and a new world of quirky characters, from militant bike messengers to feminist bookstore owners. The two star in the series and write for it with Allison Silverman from The Colbert Report and Jonathan Krisel, a writer for Saturday Night Live.

Brownstein's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Believer, Slate and numerous book anthologies on music and culture. She is currently working on a memoir for Riverhead Books.