Jillian Leigh Bell (born April 25, 1984) is an American actress, comedian and screenwriter. She stars in the 2019 film ''
Brittany Runs a Marathon
''Brittany Runs a Marathon'' is a 2019 American comedy film written and directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo, in his directorial debut. It stars Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery, and Micah Stock. The film follows an ove ...
'' and 2022's ''
I'm Totally Fine
''I'm Totally Fine'' is a 2022 science-fiction comedy film.
Plot
Vanessa embarks on a solo trip after the death of her
best friend Jennifer. But her self-care plans change
when she finds Jennifer standing in her kitchen, claiming to be an
ex ...
''. She starred as Jillian Belk on ''
Workaholics
''Workaholics'' is an American sitcom created and predominantly written by Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, all of whom star in the series. ''Workaholics'' originally ran on Comedy Central from April 6, 2011, to Marc ...
'', voiced the role of Violet Hart in ''
Bless the Harts
''Bless the Harts'' is an American animated sitcom created by Emily Spivey for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Debuting on September 29, 2019, the series is executive produced by Spivey, Andy Bobrow, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Kristen Wiig, ...
'' and had a recurring role as Dixie on the final season of ''
Eastbound & Down
''Eastbound & Down'' is an American sports comedy television series that was broadcast on HBO, and created by Ben Best, Jody Hill, and Danny McBride. It stars McBride as Kenny Powers, a former professional baseball pitcher who, after a career d ...
'', and appeared in ''
22 Jump Street
''22 Jump Street'' is a 2014 American satirical buddy cop action comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Jonah Hill, Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman and produced by and starring Hill and Channing Tatum. ...
,'' ''
Fist Fight
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing boxing glove, protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a ...
'', and ''
Godmothered
''Godmothered'' is a 2020 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Sharon Maguire, written by Kari Granlund and Melissa Stack, and starring Jillian Bell and Isla Fisher. The Walt Disney Company first began developing the film in September 20 ...
''.
Early life
Bell was born and raised in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, the daughter of Tanzy and Ron Bell.
She is of
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
descent through her maternal grandmother.
Bell began to study
improv at the age of eight.
[ She graduated from ]Bishop Gorman High School
Bishop Gorman High School (also commonly referred to as Gorman High School or BGHS) is a private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic preparatory school located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The school is administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Ve ...
in 2002. After high school, she moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and became a member of the Groundlings
The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniques ...
.[
]
Career
Bell is an alumnus of The Straitjacket Society in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. She auditioned for ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
.'' Although she did not join the cast, she became a writer for the show in 2009 for its 35th season.[ The same year Bell appeared in an episode of '']Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...
'' as an assistant who wears revealing clothing at work.[
In 2011, she began to play Jillian Belk on the ]Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
series ''Workaholics
''Workaholics'' is an American sitcom created and predominantly written by Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, all of whom star in the series. ''Workaholics'' originally ran on Comedy Central from April 6, 2011, to Marc ...
''. Film director Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with ''Hard Eight (film), Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' ( ...
noticed her in ''Workaholics'' and cast her in a small role in his 2012 film, '' The Master'' and yet again in another small role in his 2014 film, ''Inherent Vice
''Inherent Vice'' is a novel by American author Thomas Pynchon, originally published in August 2009. A darkly comic detective novel set in 1970s California, the plot follows sleuth Larry "Doc" Sportello whose ex-girlfriend asks him to investigat ...
''.[ She had a recurring role as Dixie in the fourth and final season of '' Eastbound and Down''. In 2014, she appeared in '']22 Jump Street
''22 Jump Street'' is a 2014 American satirical buddy cop action comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Jonah Hill, Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman and produced by and starring Hill and Channing Tatum. ...
'' alongside Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein (born December 20, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his comedic roles in films including ''Superbad (film), Superbad'' (2007), ''Knocked Up'' (2007), ''21 Jump Street (film), 21 Jump Stre ...
and Channing Tatum
Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor. Tatum made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his breakthrough role in the 2006 dance film ''Step Up (film), Step Up''. He gained wider attention for ...
. In 2015, she co-starred in ''Goosebumps
''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually i ...
'' and '' The Night Before''.
In January 2016, Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
debuted a new series, ''Idiotsitter
''Idiotsitter'' is an American sitcom that premiered in the form of a web series on Comedy Central's CC: Studios on February 26, 2014, before being picked up for a run on television that premiered on Comedy Central on January 14, 2016. The series ...
'', in which Bell portrays the constantly misbehaving adult daughter of wealthy parents. ''Idiotsitter'' was launched as a web series in early 2014, before being picked up in June 2014 by Comedy Central for network airing.
Bell starred as the Fairy Godmother
In fairy tales, a fairy godmother () is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies. In Perrault's ''Cinderella'', he concludes the tale with ...
in Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's ''Godmothered
''Godmothered'' is a 2020 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Sharon Maguire, written by Kari Granlund and Melissa Stack, and starring Jillian Bell and Isla Fisher. The Walt Disney Company first began developing the film in September 20 ...
'', which was released on Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Accolades
In 2010, Bell was nominated for a for her work in the writers' room on ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
''.
In 2015, she was nominated for two MTV Movie Awards
The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editi ...
for Best Fight with Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein (born December 20, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his comedic roles in films including ''Superbad (film), Superbad'' (2007), ''Knocked Up'' (2007), ''21 Jump Street (film), 21 Jump Stre ...
and Best Villain for her work on ''22 Jump Street
''22 Jump Street'' is a 2014 American satirical buddy cop action comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Jonah Hill, Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman and produced by and starring Hill and Channing Tatum. ...
''.
In 2019, she received the Fairbanks Award at the San Diego International Film Festival
The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...
and the Next Wave Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) is an annual film festival founded in 1999 and held on Cape Cod in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The festival presents American and international narrative features, documentaries and short films f ...
.
References
External links
*
JIllian Bell
on Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
Jillian Bell
on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Jillian
1984 births
Living people
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American comedians
Actresses from Nevada
American film actresses
American people of Romanian descent
American television actresses
American television writers
American voice actresses
American women comedians
Bishop Gorman High School alumni
Comedians from Nevada
People from the Las Vegas Valley
Screenwriters from Nevada
American women television writers
21st-century American screenwriters