Heather Morris
Heather Morris | |
|---|---|
 Morris at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010. | |
| Born | Heather Elizabeth Morris February 1, 1987 |
| Occupation | Dancer/Actress/Singer |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Heather Elizabeth Morris (born February 1, 1987) is an American actress, dancer, and singer best known for her role as the cheerleader Brittany S. Pierce in the musical comedy series Glee.
Early life
Born in Thousand Oaks, California but raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, she was introduced to dancing when she was one year old.[1][2]
Career
Morris' first significant appearance was in 2006 on So You Think You Can Dance Season 2 where she made the "green mile" but failed to make the final 20 by a vote of 3-2.[3]
Not discouraged, Morris decided to move to LA and actively pursue a career in dancing. Her big break came in 2007 via Beyoncé. Morris was one of Beyoncé's backup dancers on The Beyoncé Experience world tour and, following that, worked again with Beyoncé on a mini "Single Ladies" promotional tour that included 2008 performances on the American Music Awards,[4] Saturday Night Live,[5] The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Today,[5] and MTV's Total Request Live Finale. She also danced backup for Beyoncé and Tina Turner at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008 [citation needed].
Her second big break came via a small role in the movie Fired Up, where she met choreographer Zach Woodlee. Following that film, Woodlee brought Morris in to dance on other shows he was choreographing, including episodes of Eli Stone and Swingtown, the movie Bedtime Stories, and eventually Glee.[2]
Morris was taking acting classes and actively pursuing an acting career when she was asked by Woodlee to teach the choreography for Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" dance to the Glee actors. At the same time, the show was looking for a third cheerleader, and Morris ended up landing the role of Brittany.[5] Initially a background character who hardly ever spoke, the role grew as writers discovered Morris had a gift for delivering one-liners.[6] Jarrett Wieselman of the New York Post opined that Morris has "emerged as one of the funniest second bananas on TV right now"[7] and the LA Times wrote of having a "...comedy crush on Morris, who plays the galactically dim Glee Club cheerleader Brittany".[8] When a promotional clip for the episode "Sectionals" indicated that Brittany Pierce and Santana Lopez had slept together, Dorothy Snarker, writing for lesbian entertainment website After Ellen, praised the pairing, referring to them by the portmanteau "Brittana".[9] Snarker called the two her "new favorite Glee pairing", commenting that: "While Heather Morris (Brittany) and Naya Rivera (Santana) have had minimal screen time, they've made it count. Heather in particular has brought the laughs as the Cheerio least likely to get a Mensa invitation. Never mind Finn and Rachel — I'm on Team Brittana now."[9]
Due to the positive response to her character, Morris was promoted to official series regular status during season two.[10] She was at the center of the second episode, "Britney/Brittany", (a tribute to Britney Spears) and made her singing debut covering two Spears songs solo and one featuring Naya Rivera. Like on Glee, Morris is best friends in real life with co-star Rivera.[11] In December 2010 was announced she is in talk for the lead role in the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer remake.[12]
Filmography
| Film appearances | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | Bedtime Stories | Dancer | Uncredited, Cat dancer |
| 2009 | Fired Up! | Fiona | Also uncredited tumbler/body double |
| Television appearances | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | So You Think You Can Dance | Contestant | Season 2 |
| 2007 | The Beyoncé Experience | Dancer | DVD: The Beyoncé Experience Live |
| 2008 | Swingtown | Dancer | Uncredited, Episode: "Get Down Tonight" |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | Dancer | Uncredited, Episodes: "The Path" and "The Humanitarian" |
| 2009- present |
Glee | Brittany Pierce | Season 1 – 21 Episodes: "Showmance" onwards Season 2 – Series Regular Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series |
| 2010 | How I Met Your Mother | Suit Dancer | Uncredited, Episode: "Girls vs. Suits" |
Discography
References
- ^ "Star from Hit TV Show Visits Good Morning WNY". WKBW. December 31, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ^ a b http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/2583
- ^ "So You Think You Can Dance 2, June 8: Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas". Reality News Online. September 6, 2006. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Beyonce " Single Ladies " American Music Awards". Retrieved January 8, 2010. This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Dick Clark Productions, Inc..
- ^ a b c "Young Entertainers Get a Taste of Hollywood". My Buffalo. December 31, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ^ http://scrippsnews.com/content/tv-heather-morris-has-become-reliable-comic-voice-glee
- ^ Wieselman, Jarrett (November 19, 2009). "'Glee's' secret weapon". New York Post. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
- ^ "Underrated / Overrated". The Los Angeles Times. April 25, 2010.
- ^ a b Snarker, Dorothy (December 7, 2009). ""Glee" spoils us with an unexpected coupling". After Ellen. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ^ http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/04/27/glee-promotes-brittany-santana/
- ^ "Glee's Summer Fun". OK! US edition. Northern & Shell North America. July 19, 2010. pp. 50–51. issue #29.
- ^ Buffy the Vampire Slayer Wants Heather Morris as Buffy
External links
- Living people
- American television actors
- American film actors
- Actors from California
- American female singers
- Singers from California
- 1987 births
- So You Think You Can Dance contestants
- American dancers
- California dance occupations
- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- Musicians from Arizona
- Actors from Arizona