Gillian Jacobs Biography

Gillian McLaren Jacobs (born October 19, 1982) is an American actress, known for her role as Britta Perry on the NBC comedy series Community.

Early life

Jacobs was born to Martina Magenau Jacobs, a Carnegie Mellon University employee, and William F. Jacobs Jr., an investment banker, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was raised in the suburb of Mt. Lebanon. Jacobs is of Irish, Scottish, German, and French heritage. Her family owned the Erie Brewing Company established in 1847 in Erie, PA where her grandfather John Martin Magenau Jr. served as President and CEO until its closure in 1978.

She began studying acting at the age of eight, and attended acting classes on Saturdays 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, Jacobs moved to New York City to attend the The Juilliard School, where she was a member of the Drama Division's Group 33. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from Juilliard in 2004.

Career

Jacobs' first national exposure came as Adele Congreve on the television series The Book of Daniel. Although she played Kimberly in the television pilot of Traveler, the role was recast when ABC acquired the series. She subsequently made guest appearances on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Fringe.

In 2006, Jacobs starred in an Off-Off-Broadway theatre production of playwright Chris 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 "make sure to remember the name of Gillian Jacobs, a stunning Juilliard graduate who has the glow of a star in the making".

She has also appeared in theatrical productions of The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero (2007), A Feminine Ending (2007) and The Little Flower of East Orange (2008), directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Jacobs's film work includes Gardens of the Night (2007); writer-director Adam Rapp's Blackbird (2007); Choke (2008), based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel, and The Box (2009).

In 2009, she became a regular on Community. Jacobs said "There's an absurdity to the show. We exist in a world in which anything can happen week to week, and that pushes me in so many ways."

Personal life

On the Community Season 2 DVD, in the commentary for the episode 'Mixology Certification', Yvette Nicole Brown mentioned that Jacobs is a teetotaller. Jacobs confirmed this in her appearance on The Late Late Show in March 2013.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Building Girl	Katie
2007	Blackbird	Froggy
2008	Choke	Cherry Daiquiri/Beth
2008	Gardens of the Night	Leslie
2009	'	Dana/Sarah Matthews
2009	Solitary Man	Tall girl
2010	Helena from the Wedding	Helena
2010	Nonames	CJ
2010	Coach	Zoe
2011	Let Go	Darla DeMint
2012	It's Not You It's Me	Babe	Short film
2012	Watching TV with the Red Chinese	Suzanne
2012	Revenge for Jolly!	Tina
2012	Adventures in the Sin Bin	Lauren
2012	Seeking a Friend for the End of the World	Waitress/Katie
2013	'	Miranda
2013	Teddy Bears	Emily
2013	Made in Cleveland	Martha
2013	Milo	Sarah
2013	'	Lacey	Post-production
2014	Walk of Shame		Completed
2014	Life Partners	Paige	Post-production
2014	Black and White		Filming
TBA	Hot Tub Time Machine 2		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	'	Adele Congreve	3 episodes
2007	All-Nighters	Marni	Unsold CBS pilot
2007	Traveler	Kimberly	Episode: "Pilot"
2008	Fringe	Joanne Ostler	Episode: "The Equation"
2009	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Sue Smith	Episode: "Rock Star"
2009	Royal Pains	Tess Frimoli	Episode: "There Will Be Food"
2009"present	Community	Britta Perry	Main cast
2009	'	Sonia	Episode: "Pilot"
2010	Aqua Teen Hunger Force	Carl's wife (voice)	Episode: "Larry Miller Hair System"
2012	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Post-apocalypse woman	Episode: "Zach Galifianakis Wears a Blue Jacket & Red Socks"
2012	Robot Chicken	, Snow White (voice)	Episode: "Punctured Jugular"
2013"present	Monsters vs. Aliens	Sta'abi (voice)	Main cast
2013	'	Marsha Backwood (voice)	Episode: "Venture Libre"

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Funny or Die	Linka	Episode: "Don Cheadle Is Captain Planet"
2011	CollegeHumor	Britta Perry	Episode: "Save Greendale"
2012	'	Penelope/Cobra Chai	2 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2012	TV Guide Award	Favorite Ensemble	Community
2012	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Comedy Supporting Actress	Community