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Heidi Gardner

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Heidi Gardner
Gardner in 2016
Born
Heidi Lynn Gardner[1]

(1983-07-27) July 27, 1983 (age 41)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Kansas
University of Missouri
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • writer
Years active2011–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2010; div. 2023)​
[2]

Heidi Lynn Gardner[3] (born July 27, 1983)[4] is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Gardner has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live since season 43 in 2017, when she debuted as a featured player. She was promoted to repertory status on the show in 2019.

Early life

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Gardner was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri.[5] She grew up with an older brother, Justin.[6]

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".[7] 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.[8] Gardner graduated from the all-girls Catholic high school Notre Dame de Sion in 2001. In her senior year, her classmates voted her "most likely to be a cast member of Saturday Night Live".[6] Upon graduation, Gardner followed a friend's footsteps and enrolled at the University of Kansas for two years before transferring to the University of Missouri for a semester. She became uninterested in school and often skipped classes, but discovered a fondness for haircutting.[8]

Career

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At age 21, Gardner dropped out of college and left Missouri for Los Angeles, where she worked at a hair salon for nine years.[9] Before moving, she saved up $600 over one summer.[10] A friend encouraged her to attend a performance at The Groundlings theatre, where she became inspired to become an actress.[9] Lacking acting experience, Gardner enrolled in community workshops to learn the basics of improvisation. Once she was comfortable, Gardner auditioned for the Groundlings basic class and was accepted.[8]

In 2014, Gardner joined the Sunday Company, and a year later, after a promotion to the Main Company, she quit her job as a hairstylist to focus on acting.[8] During that time, she became a voice actress,[11] regularly appearing on animated series such as Bratz, SuperMansion, and Mike Tyson Mysteries.[12] In 2017, Gardner joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) along with Luke Null and Chris Redd for its forty-third season.[10]

After her first year on SNL, Gardner was hired to play Leonor in the Ben Falcone-directed film Life of the Party, alongside Melissa McCarthy.[8] 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.[13] In 2019, Gardner made her stage debut in Michael Frayn's Noises Off at The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts.[14]

Gardner, who had never broken character in seven seasons on SNL, cracked while playing NewsNation host Bobbi Moore in a Beavis and Butt-Head-centered sketch on April 13, 2024.[15] Vulture magazine described the moment as breaking in "spectacularly charming fashion".[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live[23]
  • Angel (Every Boxer's Girlfriend from Every Movie About Boxing Ever), 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 of a shallow couple always on the brink of an argument, who runs a relationship-themed Instagram account with her boyfriend Nico Slobkin (Mikey Day).
  • Baskin Johns, a woman who works for Goop and gets worried Gwyneth Paltrow will fire her.
  • Mandy, a cousin of a celebrity who shames their movie careers
  • Sandy, a joyful cook on a baking reality competition show who is qualified and skilled but often gets passed over as a winner for more poorly-constructed and eccentric cakes
  • Tamra, an intern who pitches Instagram captions for Mattel's Barbie account
  • Deidre, one half of a couple who describe their vacation to their friends, naïvely misinterpreting poor experiences as prestigious culture
  • Crystal (Your Co-Worker Who is Extremely Busy Doing Seemingly Nothing), who comes to Weekend Update to complain about her job, though it's unclear what she actually does

Personal life

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Gardner is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals.[7] From 2010 to 2023, she was married to Marvel Comics writer Zeb Wells, whom she met while she was a member of the Groundlings.[24][25] Gardner resides in Leawood, Kansas in a Mid-century modern home she purchased in 2021.[26][27][28][29]

Filmography

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Film

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Dibs! Erica
2018 Life of the Party Leonor
Making Babies Meg
2019 Otherhood Erin
2022 Hustle Kat Merrick
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Last Baker Voice role
2023 Leo Eli's mom Voice role[30]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2017, 2019 Mike Tyson Mysteries Old Woman, Jennifer 2 episodes
2017–present Saturday Night Live Various
2019 The Other Two Mona Episode: "Chase Turns Fourteen"
Veep Amanda White Episode: "Discovery Weekend"
Alien News Desk Tuva Van Void (voice) 12 episodes
American Dad! Various voices Episode: "Lost Boys"
Superstore Colleen Episode: "Forced Hire"
2020 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Jenny Special: "Kimmy vs the Reverend"
2021 Close Enough Becca (voice) Episode: "Houseguest From Hell"
Crank Yankers Herself (voice) Episode: "Chelsea Peretti, Heidi Gardner & J.B. Smoove"
2022 Is It Cake? Herself (Judge) Episode: "Toying Around"
Girls5eva Cara Episode: "Album Mode"
That Damn Michael Che Episode: "Higher Power"
2023-2024 Shrinking Grace 5 episodes

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Adult Wednesday Hairdresser Episode: "The Haircut"
Bratz Yasmin (voice) 8 episodes
2015–19 SuperMansion Cooch, 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
2021 Batman: The Audio Adventures Harley Quinn, Miss Tuesday

Stage

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Year Title Role Locations
2019 Noises Off Brooke Ashton/Vicki The Cape Playhouse

Writing credits

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Web

Year Title Notes
2015 Bratz 3 episodes
2015–17 SuperMansion 11 episodes

References

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  1. ^ "43 for 43: Heidi Gardner - SNL". YouTube. 18 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Advice Ep! SNL's Heidi Gardner on Getting Through Breakups, How to Love Sports, Overcoming Public Speaking Fears, Figuring Out the Best Career & More". 29 January 2024.
  3. ^ "43 for 43: Heidi Gardner - SNL". YouTube. 18 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Almanac: Today's Birthdays". Dubuque Telegraph-Herald. July 27, 2024. p. A3. ProQuest 3085732594. Former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez is 49. Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers is 47. Actor/comedian Heidi Gardner is 41. Actor Taylor Schilling is 40. Golfer Jordan Spieth is 31. See also:
    • "Today in History: Today's Birthdays". Dubuque Telegraph-Herald. July 27, 2018. p. A2. ProQuest 2077225829. Former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez is 43. Actor Seamus Dever is 42. Actor Jonathan Rhys (rees) Meyers is 41. Actress/comedian Heidi Gardner is 35. Actor Blair Redford is 35. Actress Taylor Schilling is 34. Singer Cheyenne Kimball is 28. Golfer Jordan Spieth is 25.
  5. ^ "Heidi Gardner". nbc.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b "My Kansas City: Interview With SNL's Heidi Gardner". visitkc.com (Interview). Interviewed by Lambdin Meyer, Diana. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e Cizmar, Martin (August 21, 2019). "How Heidi Gardner went from a hairstylist taking improv classes to Saturday Night Live star". kansascitymag.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Coy Dugger. "How Kansas City Native Heidi Gardner Ended Up On Saturday Night Live". kcur.org. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Steinberg, Brian (November 22, 2019). "'SNL': Heidi Gardner's Kooky 'Weekend Update' Characters Make News". Variety. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  11. ^ Bradley, Nina (September 26, 2017). "Who Is Heidi Gardner? The New 'SNL' Cast Member Is Someone You Should Get To Know ASAP". Bustle.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Schwartz, Ryan (28 August 2019). "Superstore Season 5: Justina Machado to Recur, SNL's Heidi Gardner Also Cast". TVLine. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Tinoco, Armando (4 May 2024). "Heidi Gardner Says She Was Afraid To Break Character On 'SNL': "I Thought I'd Get Fired"". Deadline. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  16. ^ Ivie, Devon (2024-04-15). "Heidi Gardner Couldn't Prepare for What She Saw". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  17. ^ Perez, Lexy (2024-04-16). "Heidi Gardner Reacts to Breaking Character During 'SNL' 'Beavis and Butt-Head' Sketch: "I Lost It"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  18. ^ Sharf, Zack (2024-04-16). "'SNL' Star Heidi Gardner Says 'Anxiety Set in' After Breaking So Hard During 'Beavis and Butt-Head' Sketch: 'I'll Never Be Able to Shake' What I Saw". Variety. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  19. ^ "'SNL' Star Heidi Gardner Feels Terrible She Broke Character During 'Beavis And Butt-Head' Skit". HuffPost. 2024-04-16. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  20. ^ Ortiz, Andi (2024-04-16). "SNL: Heidi Gardner Explains Why She Lost It in 'Beavis and Butt-Head' Sketch". TheWrap. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  21. ^ "'SNL' shows behind-the-scenes footage of 'Beavis and Butt-Head' skit that broke Heidi Gardner". TODAY.com. 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  22. ^ Evans, Greg (2024-04-16). "Heidi Gardner Explains Butt-Head Crack-Up On Last Saturday's 'SNL'". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  23. ^ Steinberg, Brian (2019-11-22). "'SNL': Heidi Gardner's Kooky 'Weekend Update' Characters Make News". Variety. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  24. ^ Hoedel, Cindy (August 1, 2019). "IN Conversation with Heidi Gardner". inkansascity.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  25. ^ "Advice Ep! SNL's Heidi Gardner on Getting Through Breakups, How to Love Sports, Overcoming Public Speaking Fears, Figuring Out the Best Career & More". 29 January 2024.
  26. ^ "Location Maps & Information". ims.jocogov.org. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  27. ^ www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2024/09/06/heidi-gardner-overland-park-house.html. Retrieved 2024-10-29. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. ^ Studach, Mel (2024-10-29). "Inside SNL Star Heidi Gardner's Midcentury Home, a Disco Fantasy Come True". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  29. ^ Architectural Digest (2024-10-29). Inside 'SNL' Star Heidi Gardner's Midcentury Kansas City Home | Open Door | Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2024-10-29 – via YouTube.
  30. ^ "Everything You Need to Know About Leo". Tudum. August 23, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
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