Heidi Gardner
Heidi Gardner | |
|---|---|
_01.png) Gardner in 2016 | |
| Born | Heidi Lynn Gardner July 27, 1983 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Education | University of Kansas University of Missouri |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Spouse | [1] |
Heidi Lynn Gardner (born July 27, 1983) 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
Gardner was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri.[2] She grew up with an older brother, Justin.[3]
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".[4] Gardner was not interested in acting as a child, only performing on stage as a flautist for the school band and doing comedy sketches in school talent shows.[5] 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".[3] Upon graduation, Gardner followed in the footsteps of a friend and enrolled at the University of Kansas for two years, before transferring to the University of Missouri for a semester. Although she became uninterested in school and often skipped classes, Gardner discovered a fondness for haircutting.[5]
Career
At the age of 21, Gardner dropped out of college and left Missouri to move to Los Angeles, where she worked at a hair salon for nine years.[6] Prior to the move, she saved up $600 over one summer.[7] She was encouraged by a friend to attend a performance at The Groundlings theatre, where she became inspired to become an actress.[6] Due to a 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.[5]
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.[5] During that time, she became a voice actress,[8] regularly appearing on animated series such as Bratz, SuperMansion, and Mike Tyson Mysteries.[9] In 2017, Gardner joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) along with Luke Null and Chris Redd for its forty-third season.[7]
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.[5] 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.[10] In 2019, Gardner made her stage debut in Michael Frayn's Noises Off at The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts.[11]
While playing NewsNation host Bobbi Moore in a April 13, 2024 SNL skit, Gardner, who has built a reputation for maintaining composure during comedy scenes, drew considerable attention for corpsing in what Vulture magazine characterized "in spectacularly charming fashion".[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
- Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live[19]
- 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 that shames their movie careers
- Sandy, a joyful cook of a baking reality competition show that is qualified and skilled though she 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
Gardner is a fan of both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals.[4] She was formerly married to Marvel Comics writer Zeb Wells, whom she met while she was a member of the Groundlings.[20] They were married from 2010 to 2023.[21]
Filmography
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[22] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Mike Tyson Mysteries | Old Woman (voice) | Episode: "Love Letters" |
| 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" | |
| Mike Tyson Mysteries | Jennifer (voice) | Episode: "The Yung and The Restless" | |
| 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 | Shrinking | Grace | 3 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
| Year | Title | Role | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Noises Off | Brooke Ashton/Vicki | The Cape Playhouse |
Writing credits
Web
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Bratz | 3 episodes |
| 2015–17 | SuperMansion | 11 episodes |
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "My Kansas City: Interview With SNL's Heidi Gardner". visitkc.com (Interview). Interviewed by Lambdin Meyer, Diana. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ 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. 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. 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.
- ^ Ivie, Devon (2024-04-15). "Heidi Gardner Couldn't Prepare for What She Saw". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "'SNL' Star Heidi Gardner Feels Terrible She Broke Character During 'Beavis And Butt-Head' Skit". HuffPost. 2024-04-16. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ Ortiz, Andi (2024-04-16). "SNL: Heidi Gardner Explains Why She Lost It in 'Beavis and Butt-Head' Sketch". TheWrap. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "'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.
- ^ Evans, Greg (2024-04-16). "Heidi Gardner Explains Butt-Head Crack-Up On Last Saturday's 'SNL'". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Everything You Need to Know About Leo". Tudum. August 23, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-12.