Here’s How Gillian Jacobs Went from a Shy Kid to a Comedy Star

 

Who is Gillian Jacobs?

American actress and film director Gillian MacLaren Jacobs was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA, on 19 October 1982, meaning that Libra’s her zodiac sign. She’s appeared in more than 100 TV series and movies, and is probably known best for starring as Britta Perry in the critically acclaimed comedy “Community”, which Dan Harmon created, and which also starred Donald Glover, Danny Pudi and Joel McHale. It follows an attorney who’s been suspended and forced to attend a community college; the series aired from 2009 through 2015 and won 19 of its 90 award nominations.

Education and early life

Gillian was raised in Pittsburgh as an only child, solely by her mother Martina Magenau who worked at the Carnegie Mellon University’s alumni relations department; Gillian’s father, American investment banker William F. Jacobs Jr. divorced Martina when Gillian was two, and then wasn’t involved in her upbringing.

Gillian was an excessively shy child, and her mother thus enrolled her at an acting school when she was four years old; she went on to practice acting at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, and in her teens began performing at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre. Gillian studied at Mt. Lebanon High School, from which she matriculated in 2000, and she then enrolled at New York City’s prestigious Juilliard School, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2004.

Roles in movies

Gillian made her debut film appearance in the 2005 comedy “Building Girl”, and gained recognition in 2008, when cast to play Cherry Daiquiri in the comedy “Choke”, which Clark Gregg wrote and directed, and which starred Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Houston and Kelly Macdonald. It follows a con-man who likes to go to restaurants and pretend that he’s choking, and the film won two of its nine award nominations. Gillian’s only three other film roles in the 2000s were in the 2008 drama “Gardens of the Night”, the 2009 mystery thriller “The Box” and the 2009 romantic comedy “Solitary Man”.

The year 2012 saw her play Tina in the comedy “Revenge for Jolly!”, directed by Chadd Harbold, and which starred Brian Petsos, Kristen Wiig and Elijah Wood; it follows a man and his cousin as they’re trying to find out who killed their dog. Gillian was then cast to appear in the 2012 adventure comedy “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World”, the 2013 comedy “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” and the 2013 horror comedy “Bad Milo”.

In 2014, she played one of the main characters Rose in the comedy “Walk of Shame”, written and directed by Steven Brill, and which also starred Elizabeth Banks and James Marsden. It follows a reporter who’s been robbed and left stranded in downtown Los Angeles after a one-night stand, and now has eight hours to get to the most important job interview of her career.

Gillian went on to star as Samantha in the 2016 comedy “Don’t Think Twice”, which was nominated for seven awards, and played the supporting character Tracy in the 2017 comedy “Lemon”, which won one of its nine award nominations.

The year 2020 saw her portray one of the lead characters Darkwood in the popular family fantasy comedy “Magic Camp”, which Mark Waters created, and which also starred Jeffrey Tambor and Adam Devine. It tells the story of Andy who’s begun working as a counselor at Magic Camp.

Gillian’s three most recent film roles have been in the action thriller “The Contractor”, the drama “The Seven Faces of Jane” and the animated adventure comedy “Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again” (voice role), all released in 2022.

Roles in TV series

Gillian made her debut TV series appearance in the 2006 romantic comedy “The Book of Daniel”, created by Jack Kenny, and which stared Aidan Quinn, Susanna Thompson and Christian Campbell. It follows the life of Reverend Daniel Webster, and the series won a Silver Angel Award for National Television. The remainder of the 2000s saw Gillian appear in an episode of the action mystery “Traveler”, the science fiction mystery “Fringe” and the crime mystery “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”.

In 2013 and 2014, she voiced Sta’abi in the popular short animated action “Monsters vs. Aliens”, which starred Chris O’Dowd, Eric Edelstein and Diedrich Bader, and follows a group of human-friendly monsters as they’re defending Earth from invading aliens; the series was nominated for seven awards.

Gillian’s also known for playing the main character Mickey Dobbs in all the 34 episodes of the popular romantic comedy “Love”, created by Judd Apatow and Lesley Arfin, and which also starred Paul Rust and Claudia O’Doherty. It follows the life of a couple, the series aired from 2016 through 2018, and won one of its three award nominations.

Gillian’s three most recent TV series roles have been in11 episodes of the animated action adventure “Invincible” since 2021 (voice role),  10 episodes of the 2022 crime fantasy comedy “Batman: The Audio Adventures” (voice role), and all the seven episodes of the 2023 historical mini-series “Transatlantic” (lead role).

Other credits

Gillian wrote and directed the 2022 drama movie “The Seven Faces of Jane”, while she had previously directed an episode of the series “Signals”, “Shatterbox” and “Marvel 616”.

Some of Gillian’s recent talk-show appearances have been in “The Late Late Show with James Corden”, “Steve Varley Show” and “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen”.

Awards and nominations

Gillian won four of her nine award nominations – a 2010 Phoenix Film Festival Award for Acting Achievement, for “Nonames”, while she and her colleagues won a 2012 TV Guide Award for Favorite Ensemble and a 2012 Gold Derby Award for Ensemble of the Year, for their performance in “Community”.

Love life and relationships

Gillian shies away from speaking about her love life in public, and hasn’t mentioned a single man, or perhaps a woman whom she’s been with, however, her fans believe that the popular actress is today taken, as there are rumors circulating the internet, claiming that Gillian’s in a relationship with American screenwriter, producer and director Christopher ‘Chris’ Storer, as the two have been spotted spending time together on multiple occasions; Chris is probably known best for producing eight episodes of the critically acclaimed comedy series “The Bear”, which has been airing since 2022, and has won 11 of its 33 award nominations.

Neither Gillian nor Chris have taken the time to address these rumors, thus not confirming nor denying them.

Gillian might be in a relationship as of April 2023, hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Gillian’s revealed that some of her family members were addicted to both alcohol and drugs while she was growing up, which is why she doesn’t drink alcohol or take drugs; she’s stated that her father was a drug addict, and that she developed the fear of becoming the same as well, after reading the 1971 book “Go Ask Alice”, which is about a girl who began using drugs aged 15.

Gillian was also accepted at both Northwestern University and Harvard, but chose to enroll at Julliard.

She’s revealed that she prefers theatre over TV.

Gillian always wanted to have her ears pierced, but was too scared; she thus chose to do it on national TV, believing that she wouldn’t chicken out this way.

She and her family were robbed on a train in Italy when she was a child.

Gillian’s favorite actress is Margot Robbie, and some of her favorite movies include “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “I, Tonya” and “The Suicide Squad”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Gillian’s age is 40. She has blue eyes and blonde hair, is 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall and weighs around 120lbs (54kgs).

Gillian’s net worth’s been estimated at over $5 million, as of April 2023.

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