Gillian Jacobs

Gillian Jacobs
Jacobs in July 2014
Born
Gillian MacLaren Jacobs

(1982-10-19) October 19, 1982 (age 41)
EducationJuilliard School (BFA)
Occupation
  • Actress
Years active2005–present

Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (/ˈɡɪliən/; born October 19, 1982) is an American actress. She is known for playing Britta Perry in the NBC sitcom Community (2009–2015), Mickey Dobbs in the Netflix romantic comedy series Love (2016–2018), and Mary Jayne Gold in Transatlantic (2023), also on Netflix. Her other notable television roles include Mimi-Rose Howard in the fourth season of the HBO comedy-drama series Girls (2015) and Atom Eve in the animated superhero series Invincible (2021–present).

She has also appeared in films, such as Gardens of the Night (2008), Don't Think Twice (2016), Ibiza (2018), I Used to Go Here (2020) and The Fear Street Trilogy (2021).

Early life

Gillian MacLaren Jacobs was born in Pittsburgh on October 19, 1982, the only child of Carnegie Mellon University alumni relations department employee Martina Magenau and investment banker William F. Jacobs Jr. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and she was raised by her mother in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Her family owned the Erie Brewing Company (not to be confused with the later brewery of the same name), where her grandfather was president and CEO until it closed in 1978.

Jacobs began studying acting at the age of four and attended weekend acting classes at the Pittsburgh Playhouse while growing up. She performed with the Pittsburgh Public Theater, where she was a perennial contender in the Public's Shakespeare Monologue Contest, leading her to be cast as Titania in its production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. After graduating from Mt. Lebanon High School in 2000, she moved to New York City to attend the Juilliard School, where she graduated with a BFA in 2004.

Career

Jacobs in July 2013

Jacobs' first acting role was Adele Congreve on the television series The Book of Daniel. Although she played Kim in the pilot of Traveler,[citation needed] the role was given to Pascale Hutton when ABC acquired the series; the series was canceled after eight episodes. Jacobs subsequently made guest appearances on Fringe and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In 2006, she starred in an Off-Off-Broadway production of Christopher Denham's cagelove. While overall critical reaction to the play was negative, Jacobs earned praise in several reviews. The New York Times advised readers to "remember the name of Gillian Jacobs, a stunning Juilliard graduate who has the glow of a star in the making".

Jacobs has appeared in theatrical productions such as The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero (2007), A Feminine Ending (2007), and The Little Flower of East Orange (2008). In March 2009, she joined the cast of the NBC single-camera comedy series Community as Britta Perry, a high school dropout who aspires to become a psychologist. Her film work includes Blackbird (2007), Choke (2008), Gardens of the Night (2008), The Box (2009), Revenge for Jolly! (2012), Bad Milo! (2013), Walk of Shame (2014), The Lookalike (2014), Life Partners (2014), Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015), Visions (2015), Don't Think Twice (2016), and Brother Nature (2016). She voiced Sta'abi in the Nickelodeon series Monsters vs. Aliens, and Atom Eve in the Amazon Prime animated series Invincible. Community was canceled by NBC on May 9, 2014, and later that month, it was reported that Jacobs had landed a recurring role as Mimi-Rose Howard in the fourth season of the HBO series Girls.

In June 2014, Yahoo! Screen picked up Community for a sixth season. It was announced on September 16, 2014, that Jacobs was cast to star as Mickey in the Netflix original comedy series Love, which ran from February 2016 to March 2018.

Jacobs directed the 2015 documentary short The Queen of Code about computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper. In 2017, Jacobs co-starred in Janicza Bravo's first full length feature, Lemon, which debuted at Sundance Film Festival. In 2018, she directed Curated, a narrative film short, as a part of a series produced by TNT and Refinery29.

In 2020, Jacobs starred in the comedy-drama film I Used to Go Here, directed by Kris Rey. In 2020, she directed "Higher, Further, Faster," an episode of Marvel's 616, a documentary series about the impact of Marvel Comics on culture.

In February 2021, she and co-host Diona Reasonover premiered a STEM-focused podcast, Periodic Talks, on Stitcher Radio. In July 2021, she had a supporting role in the Netflix horror films The Fear Street Trilogy as Christine "Ziggy" Berman.

Personal life

Jacobs does not drink alcohol or take any recreational drugs, a choice she made when she was younger after watching some family members struggle with addiction. She revealed that her father was an addict and that she was fearful of becoming the same, a feeling reinforced in her youth by reading the book Go Ask Alice, which follows a teenage girl who becomes addicted to drugs. Jacobs is in a relationship with television writer Christopher Storer, creator of the series The Bear, in which she guest starred.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Building Girl Katie
2007 Blackbird Froggy
2008 Choke Cherry Daiquiri / Beth
Gardens of the Night Leslie Whitehead
2009 The Box Dana
Solitary Man Tall Girl
2010 Helena from the Wedding Helena
Nonames CJ
Coach Zoe
2011 Let Go Darla DeMint
2012 Watching TV with the Red Chinese Suzanne
Revenge for Jolly! Tina
Adventures in the Sin Bin Lauren
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World Katie
2013 The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Miranda
It's Not You, It's Me Babe Short film
Bad Milo! Sarah
The Big Ask Emily
Made in Cleveland Martha
Crush Shira Short film
2014 Life Partners Paige Kearns
Walk of Shame Rose
The Lookalike Lacey / Sadie
Black or White Fay
2015 The Queen of Code Documentary short
Director
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Jill
No Way Jose Penny
Visions Sadie
2016 Don't Think Twice Samantha
Dean Nicky
Brother Nature Gwen Turley
2017 Lemon Tracy
2018 Life of the Party Helen
Ibiza Harper
Curated Short film
Director
2020 I Used to Go Here Kate Conklin
Magic Camp Kristina Darkwood
Come Play Sarah
2021 North Hollywood Abigaile
Mark, Mary & Some Other People Dr. Jacobs
Fear Street Part One: 1994 C. Berman
Fear Street Part Two: 1978 Adult Christine "Ziggy" Berman
Fear Street Part Three: 1666
Injustice Harley Quinn Voice
2022 More Than Robots Documentary
Director
The Contractor Brianne Harper
The Seven Faces of Jane Jane Directed segment: "Goodbye / Hello"; also writer
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again Erica Voice

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 The Book of Daniel Adele Congreve 3 episodes
2007 Traveler Kimberly Episode: "Pilot"
2008 Fringe Joanne Ostler Episode: "The Equation"
2009 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Sue Smith Episode: "Rock Star"
Royal Pains Tess Frimoli Episode: "There Will Be Food"
The Good Wife Sonia Episode: "Pilot"
2009–2015 Community Britta Perry 110 episodes
2010 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Carl's Wife Voice, episode: "Larry Miller Hair System"
2012 Robot Chicken Various Characters Voice, episode: "Punctured Jugular"
2012–2016 Comedy Bang! Bang! Post-Apocalypse Woman / Herself 3 episodes
2013 The Venture Bros. Marsha Backwood Voice, episode: "Venture Libre"
2013–2014 Monsters vs. Aliens Sta'abi Voice, 12 episodes
2013 Talking Dead Herself Episode: "Indifference"
2014 Rupaul's Drag Race Guest Judge Episode: "Snatch Game"
The Greatest Event in Television History Sonny Episode: "Bosom Buddies"
American Dad! Christy Voice, episode: "Introducing the Naughty Stewardesses"
Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories Young Patient Episode: "Toes"
2015 Girls Mimi-Rose Howard 5 episodes
Adventure Time M.A.R.G.L.E.S. Voice, episode: "You Forgot Your Floaties"
Long Live the Royals Rosalind 4 episodes
2016 Great Minds with Dan Harmon Ada Lovelace Episode: "Ada Lovelace"
2016–2018 Love Mickey Dobbs 34 episodes
2017 Dr. Ken Erin Episode: "Ken's New Intern"
Regular Show Blu-ray Voice, 3 episodes
Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Jenny Tanner Episode: "Chelsea Leight-Leigh Lately"
Justice League Action Roxy Rocket Voice, episode: "The Fatal Fare"
Rick and Morty Supernova Voice, episode: "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender"
HarmonQuest Chip Episode: "The Quest Continues"
2018 Random Acts of Flyness Herself Episode: "They Got Some S**t That'll Blow Out Our Back"
Angie Tribeca Becky Bunnker Episode: "Joystick Luck Club"
2019 Weird City Mulia Episode: "Chonathan & Mulia & Barsley & Phephanie"
At Home with Amy Sedaris Herself Episode: "Anniversary"
Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show Mary Poppins Episode: "Full House But Black"
2020 The Twilight Zone Annie Mitchell Episode: "Meet in the Middle"
Star Trek: Lower Decks Lieutenant Barbara Brinson Voice, episode: "Cupid's Errant Arrow"
Earth to Ned Herself Episode: "Late Night Ned"
Marvel's 616 Episode: "Higher, Further, Faster"; director
2021–present Invincible Samantha Eve Wilkins / Atom Eve Voice, 7 episodes
2021 Aquaman: King of Atlantis Mera Voice, 3 episodes
2021–2023 Ten Year Old Tom Dakota Voice, 20 episodes
2022–2023 Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty Chris Riley 7 episodes
Minx Maggie 3 episodes
2023 Transatlantic Mary Jayne Gold 7 episodes
The Bear Tiffany Jerimovich 2 episodes

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Don Cheadle Is Captain Planet Linka Funny or Die segment
2012 The Book Club Penelope 2 episodes
2013 Tiny Commando Mitzi McNeil 8 episodes
2017 STRANGER THINGS: A Bad Lip Reading Nancy Wheeler Voice
2022 Vindicators 2: Last Stand Between Earth and Doom Supernova Voice, 10 episodes

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
2006 cagelove Katie Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
2007 The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero Girl DR2 Theatre
A Feminine Ending Amanda Blue Playwrights Horizons
2008 The Little Flower of East Orange Nadine / Cathleen The Public Theater
2018 Kings Kate The Public Theater

Audio

Year Title Role Production company
2019–present Blood Ties Eleonore Richland Wondery
2021 Christmas Delivery Beth Briny Audible
2022 Batman: The Audio Adventures Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel Blue Ribbon Content

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2010 Method Fest Award Best Actress Nonames Nominated
2012 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Comedy Supporting Actress Community Nominated
2012 TV Guide Fan Favorites Award Favorite Ensemble Community Won

This page was last updated at 2024-01-16 04:59 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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