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Briga Heelan

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Briga Heelan
Born (1987-04-02) April 2, 1987 (age 37)
Andover, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
Occupation(s)Actress
Comedian
Years active2009–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2015)​
Children1

Briga Heelan (pronunciation /ˈbriːɡɑː/ BREE-gah)[1] (born April 2, 1987)[2] is an American actress and comedian. She is known for her work on the sitcoms Cougar Town, Ground Floor, Undateable, Love, and most recently, Great News.

Early life and education

Heelan was born in Andover, Massachusetts,[3] the daughter of actress and Lowell Public Schools teacher Kimball Heelan and playwright Kevin Heelan.[1][4] She has a brother named Conor.[4] Heelan's father, as well as being a dramatist, has been a faculty member at Phillips Andover Academy since 1983.[5] Her parents met when her father was getting his Master's degree at Smith College.[4]

Heelan attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts and studied for a year at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, before transferring to the University of Southern California.[1]

Career

Heelan initially thought she was going to be in musical theatre.[6] She first met her Ground Floor co-star, Skylar Astin, at a musical theatre convention.[6]

Heelan's break-out TV role was on Cougar Town.[7] She is credited as being a recurring character on Undateable and appears in three episodes plus the pilot. She was able to shoot both Bill Lawrence-helmed Ground Floor and Undateable simultaneously [8] because both comedies are multi-camera, which require fewer production days than single-camera shows.[9]

On Heelan's role in Ground Floor, TV critic Alan Sepinwall said Heelan is "simply terrific as Jenny: warm and quirky while always feeling like a strong and independent character".[10][11] The Los Angeles Times said Heelan "makes Ground Floor watchable", describing her as "remarkably alive and in the moment; she makes real all that she touches. I could easily recommend tuning in just to watch her work – and hereby do."[12]

Personal life

Heelan currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

On her unusual name, she said, "It's an Irish name. In fact, my last name was O'Heelahan back in the day. And Briga, I read somewhere, is some pagan Celtic goddess, which sounds great, so I really like saying that. But I was named after my grandmother's best friend, who was Irish and came from Dublin."[1]

Heelan dated singer Martin Johnson in 2009. They both attended Andover High School.

On October 16, 2014, Heelan became engaged to her Ground Floor co-star Rene Gube.[13] They were married on May 8, 2015.[14][15] On October 31, 2016, it was announced they were expecting their first child, a daughter, due in March 2017. Heelan gave birth to their daughter Bennet Alejandra Gube on March 23, 2017.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Man Up! Money Episode: "Disciplining the Keens"
2012 Jane by Design Amanda Clark 5 episodes
2012 Cougar Town Holly 7 episodes
2013 Happy Endings Ryan Episode: "The Ex Factor"
2013–15 Ground Floor Jenny Miller Main role (20 episodes)
2014–15 Undateable Nicki 7 episodes
2015 Truth Be Told Katherine/Kiki Episode: "Guess Who's Coming to Decorate"
2016 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Connie Cavanaugh Episode: "That Text Was Not Meant for Josh!"
2016–17 Love Heidi 6 episodes
2017–18 Great News Katie Wendelson Lead role

References

  1. ^ a b c d Soroff, Jonathan (May 2014). "Briga Heelan - From the Ground Up". The Improper Bostonian. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Briga D Heelan, "United States Public Records"". United States Public Records. FamilySearch. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Meet the Cast – Part 3. Name: Briga Heelan". Prospect Theater Company's Weblog. October 14, 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "Kevin Heelan: Instructor of Playwriting, Acting and Directing". Phillips Academy Andover. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  5. ^ Britton, Sharon (Fall 1997). "Kevin Wheelan: Bring On the Ghosts". Andover Bulletin. Phillips Academy. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  6. ^ a b Mitovich, Matt Webb (14 November 2013). "Ground Floor's Briga Heelan: 8 Things to Know About the TBS Comedy's Pretty 'Revelation'". TVLine. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  7. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (20 March 2012). "Review: 'Cougar Town' - 'Something Big': Who's Your Daddy". HitFix. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  8. ^ Fienberg, Daniel (29 May 2014). "Interview: Bill Lawrence and Adam Sztykiel on 'Undateable' and The State of TV Comedy". HitFix. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (5 September 2013). "Briga Heelan Back On NBC Comedy 'Undateable' As Recurring". Deadline Hollywood. PMC. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  10. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (13 November 2013). "Opposites Attract Comedy from Lawrence & Malins a Reminder that Multi-Cam Can Be Fun". HitFix. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  11. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (17 January 2014). "Brody Has to Choose Between Mansfield and Jenny; Will the Show Come Back?". HitFix. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  12. ^ Lloyd, Robert (14 November 2013). "TV review: Briga Heelan makes 'Ground Floor' watchable". L.A. Times. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  13. ^ Gube, Rene (16 October 2014). "renegube: I'm out the game". Instagram. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  14. ^ Heelan, Briga (9 May 2015). "brigaheelan: My last morning as an unmarried woman. IM READY!!". Instagram. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  15. ^ Heelan, Briga (9 May 2015). "brigaheelan: Was surrounded by love in every way last night..." Instagram. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
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