Heidi Gardner
Heidi Gardner | |
|---|---|
| Born | Heidi Lynn Gardner July 27, 1983 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2014–present |
| Spouse | |
Heidi Lynn Gardner (born July 27, 1983) is an American actress, comedian, and writer, who currently works as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. She also voices the anthropomorphic cat Cooch on the Crackle series SuperMansion, which was later broadcast under a secondary license by U.S. cable network Adult Swim.
Early life
Gardner was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, where she was born on July 27.[1] She grew up with an older brother Justin.[2]
Growing up, Gardner worked part-time at the Tivoli Theater where she did everything "from selling tickets to making popcorn." She later credited the theater as "setting the tone in her life."[3] Gardner was not interested in acting as a child, only performing on stage as a flutist for the school band and doing comedy sketches in school talent shows.[4] Gardner graduated from the all-girls Catholic high school Notre Dame de Sion in 2001. In her senior year, she was voted by her classmates as "Most likely to be a cast member of “Saturday Night Live.”[2] Upon graduating from high school, Gardner followed in the footsteps of her friend and enrolled at the University of Kansas for two years before transferring to the University of Missouri. Although she became uninterested in school and often skipped classes, Gardner discovered a fondness for haircutting.[4]
Career
At the age of 21, Gardner dropped out of college and left Kansas to move to Los Angeles, where she worked at a salon for nine years.[5] Prior to the move, she saved up $600 over one summer.[6] She was encouraged by a friend to attend a performance at The Groundlings theatre where she became inspired to become an actress.[5] Due to her lack of acting experience, Gardner enrolled in community workshops to learn the basics of improvising. Once she was comfortable, Gardner auditioned into the Groundlings basic class and was accepted.[4]
In 2014, Gardner joined the Sunday Company, and a year later she was promoted to the Main Company resulting in her quitting her job as a hairstylist to focus on acting.[4] During that time, she became a voice actress,[7] regularly appearing on animated series such as Bratz, SuperMansion, and Mike Tyson Mysteries.[8] In 2017, Gardner joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) for its forty-third season.[6]
Following her first year on SNL, Gardner was hired to play the supporting role of Leonor in the Ben Falcone-directed film Life of the Party, alongside Melissa McCarthy.[4] On August 28, 2019, TVLine reported that Gardner would have a guest role on the NBC comedy series Superstore playing Dina Fox's nemesis Colleen who is transferred to Store 1217 after Cloud 9’s Bel-Ridge location gets shut down.[9] In 2019, Gardner made her stage debut in Michael Frayn's Noises Off at The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts.[10]
- Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live[11]
- Angel (Every Boxer’s Girlfriend), a distressed woman who tries to give "Weekend Update's Good News Report," but inevitably derails into melodramatic rants about her boyfriend's dangerous boxing career.
- Bailey Gismert, a teen film critic who gives awkward reviews.
- Brie Bacardi, one half a shallow couple always on the brink of an argument, who runs a relationship-themed Instagram account with her boyfriend Nico Slobkin (Mikey Day).
Personal life
Gardner met her future husband, Marvel Comics writer Zeb Wells, while a member of Groundlings.[12]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Dibs! | Erica | |
| 2018 | Life of the Party | Leonor | |
| 2018 | Making Babies | Meg | |
| 2019 | Otherhood | Erin |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Mike Tyson Mysteries | Old Woman (voice) | Episode: "Love Letters" |
| 2017–present | Saturday Night Live | Various | 69 episodes |
| 2019 | The Other Two | Mona | Episode: "Chase Turns Fourteen" |
| 2019 | Veep | Amanda White | Episode: "Discovery Weekend" |
| 2019 | Alien News Desk | Tuva Van Void (voice) | 12 episodes |
| 2019 | American Dad! | Various voices | Episode: "Lost Boys" |
| 2019 | Mike Tyson Mysteries | Jennifer (voice) | Episode: "The Yung and The Restless" |
| 2019 | Superstore | Colleen | Episode: "Forced Hire" |
| 2020 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Jenny | Special: "Kimmy vs the Reverend" |
Web
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Adult Wednesday | Hairdresser | Episode: "The Haircut" |
| 2015 | Bratz | Yasmin (voice) | 8 episodes |
| 2015–19 | SuperMansion | Various voices | 46 episodes |
| 2016 | CollegeHumor Originals | Patient | Episode: "Why Are My Nipples Pixelated?" |
Audio
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Heads Will Roll | Various voices | 10 episodes |
Writing credits
Web
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Bratz | 3 episodes |
| 2015–17 | SuperMansion | 11 episodes |
References
- ^ "HEIDI GARDNER". nbc.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ a b Gutierrez, Lisa (September 27, 2017). "This KC native is being hailed as the next household name on 'Saturday Night Live'". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ Diana Lambdin Meyer. "MY KANSAS CITY: INTERVIEW WITH SNL'S HEIDI GARDNER". visitkc.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Cizmar, Martin (August 21, 2019). "How Heidi Gardner went from a hair stylist taking improv classes to Saturday Night Live star". kansascitymag.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ a b Coy Dugger. "How Kansas City Native Heidi Gardner Ended Up On Saturday Night Live". kcur.org. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ a b Steinberg, Brian (November 22, 2019). "'SNL': Heidi Gardner's Kooky 'Weekend Update' Characters Make News". variety.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ Bradley, Nina (September 26, 2017). "Who Is Heidi Gardner? The New 'SNL' Cast Member Is Someone You Should Get To Know ASAP". Bustle.
- ^ Hatchett, Keisha (October 13, 2016). "TMS Interviews the SuperMansion Cast About Santa's Existential Crisis and Jordan Peele's Get Out". The Mary Sue. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
- ^ Schwartz, Ryan (28 August 2019). "Superstore Season 5: Justina Machado to Recur, SNL's Heidi Gardner Also Cast". TVLine. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (August 7, 2019). "Jeremy Webb, Janine LaManna, Jennifer Cody Join SNL's Heidi Gardner in Noises Off at Cape Playhouse". Playbill. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (2019-11-22). "'SNL': Heidi Gardner's Kooky 'Weekend Update' Characters Make News". Variety. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
- ^ Hoedel, Cindy (August 1, 2019). "IN Conversation with Heidi Gardner". inkansascity.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.