Why The Willy Wonka-Like Woman In The Sparkling Ice Commercial Looks So Familiar

In a preview for an upcoming Super Bowl 2024 commercial — set to air during the big game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers — a woman with wild eyes and a hot-pink suit shows people around a fanciful, mysterious laboratory. As workers catapult peaches to draw out maximum flavor and try and discern what part of the raspberry has the "razz" in it, the woman gives visitors a tour of the Sparkling Ice drink factory. At one point, she worries that she's spotted a fleck of sugar in the factory for the sugar-free beverage ... only for her to realize it's fuzz on someone's sweater. She's got major Willy Wonka vibes. So, who is she?

That would be Annie Murphy, an Emmy-winning actress who rose to fame on a hit sitcom before transitioning into dark, challenging roles that brought her career to new heights. Where have you seen Murphy before? From Canadian comedies to unsettling Netflix originals, here are a few of the biggest projects you're likely to recognize her from.

There's no question that, as of this writing, Annie Murphy's most famous and beloved performance is as Alexis Rose on the unexpected runaway hit "Schitt's Creek." Co-created by Eugene and Dan Levy, the PopTV sitcom stars the father-son duo along with Catherine O'Hara and Murphy as the uber-wealthy Rose family. At the beginning of the series, they lose it all and are forced to resettle in Schitt's Creek, a small town the family patriarch Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) once bought as a joke. 

At first, younger sibling Alexis is insufferable, just like the rest of the Rose family. But once the show lets the Roses settle into Schitt's Creek, form relationships, and build their lives in the small hamlet, Alexis becomes a beautifully well-rounded character. She goes back to school (and gets her high school diploma), falls in and out of love, and truly discovers where her priorities are in life ... and along the way, she performs the original hit "A Little Bit Alexis" (a beautifully funny "pop song" penned by Murphy herself). Murphy went on to win an Emmy for her pitch-perfect comedic performance. 

Pretty much any casual sitcom viewer is familiar with the trope of a schlubby, emotionally immature, and needy man who is somehow paired with an endlessly patient, stunningly beautiful wife prepared to cater to said man's every whim. This is definitely what inspired showrunner and creator Valerie Armstrong to craft the original AMC series "Kevin Can F*** Himself," starring Annie Murphy as resentful, unhappy housewife Allison McRoberts.

Paired with the irritating slob Kevin McRoberts (Eric Peterson), Murphy's Allison inhabits two worlds: one where she's stuck in a laugh-track-filled multi-camera sitcom performing cheerful exasperation over her husband's antics, and one where she's in a dark single-camera dramedy where she's constantly fantasizing about murdering Kevin in cold blood. Murphy's ability to switch from bubbly and perky to vengeful and furious is on perfect display here, and though "Kevin Can F*** Himself" only ran for two short seasons, it showcased Murphy's comedic range beautifully.

In 2023, Annie Murphy took on her most unsettling project yet when played the title role on a "Black Mirror" episode. "Joan is Awful" opens the dystopian, tech-obsessed show's 6th season and follows Joan Tait as she has, by all accounts, a mostly unremarkable day. Her fiancé Krish (Avi Nash) makes her breakfast, and while she's at work, she fires a colleague named Sandy (Ayo Edebiri) and then vapes while watching the woman get led out by security. After work, Joan meets up with her ex-boyfriend Mac (Rob Delaney), and the two share a kiss before she heads home where she and Krish settle in for the evening to watch a new show on the popular streaming service Streamberry called "Joan is Awful."

As Joan watches, her entire day is replayed in front of Krish, with Salma Hayek playing the part of her. To say things get more and more convoluted from here is an understatement. It's eventually revealed that Streamberry can create content using anyone's likenesses, including Hayek, who is actually only appearing on the show as an AI deepfake. Murphy might play Joan, but this episode takes so many twists and turns that by the end, the Emmy winner is actually playing herself as she eventually meets the real Joan (Kayla Lorette). The hour is a masterclass in lunacy from Murphy, and it's much funnier than a typical "Black Mirror" segment — despite the disturbing implications at hand.