Briga Heelan – Bio, Career Achievements, Movies and TV Shows

Quick Facts

Born into a family of creative people, it was only natural that Briga Heelan would pursue a career in the performing/creative arts. She is renowned as an actress on both the small and the big screen and is best known for the roles she played in productions like Ground Floor, Cougar Town, and Undateable. Also, her roles in Love and Great News which is her most recent project were well received by fans and the viewing public. Discover more interesting facts about the American actress including more about her fascinating ancestry.

Briga Heelan – Bio

She was born on the 2nd of April 1987 in Andover, Massachusetts. An American national, Briga has mixed ancestry of Irish English, French and German. Her mum, Kimball Heelan worked as an actress and also put in as a teacher at Lowell Public Schools while her dad Kevin Heelan earned a living as a playwright or dramatist, and has also been part of Phillips Andover Academy as a faculty member since 1983. He met her mum while he was at Smith College studying for his Masters. Briga is not an only child; she grew up with one sibling – a brother known as Connor.

When questioned about her names which are rather unusual, Briga Heelan said that it is actually an Irish name. Her last name was originally rendered as O’Heelahan and for her first name, she said that it was the name of a pagan Celtic goddess which according to her was just great when she read about it. But the fact is that she was named after the best friend of her grandma who has her roots in Ireland and came from Dublin.

Briga Heelan got her high school education from Andover High School located in Essex County. At this point in her life, Briga had started contemplating pursuing a career in musical theatre and proceeded to the Walnut Hill School for the Arts with that purpose in mind. She also attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music where she spent only one year. Briga later went over to the University of Southern California when she finally realized that she was not meant for the stage.

On the matrimonial front, Briga is currently married; she is the wife of Rene Gube – her Ground Floor co-star. The duo tied the matrimonial knot on the 8th of May 2015 and an announcement came on the 31st of October the next year that their first child was on the way. Bennet Alejandra Gube joined the family on the 23rd of March 2017. Presently, Briga lives in LA California with her family.

Career Achievements, Movies and TV Shows

The first musical Briga Heelan saw in her life was a stage production of the film titled Little Shop of Horrors with her mum in the leading role. Growing up, she was originally set to forge a career in musical theatre but had to make a U-turn to comedy upon realizing that her strength was more in the comic arts. The young entertainer’s stage performance commenced in high school when she appeared in a 2002 stage performance of the popular Les Miserables. 2010 saw her on the set of Once Upon a Time in New Jersey.

The next year, 2011, she came in as herself on Second City this Week and appeared on a single episode “Man Up”. The television movie titled Counter Culture featured her as Jill in 2012 and in the same year, she played the role of Amanda Clark in five episodes of Jane by Design. In 2013, Briga Heelan appeared on a single episode of Happy Endings as Ryan and the next year, she was cast as Shailene Dionne on Complete Works.

From 2012 to 2015, she played recurring roles as Holly in Cougar Town and 2013 to 2015 saw her playing a series regular role as Jennifer in 20 episodes of Ground Floor. On Ground Floor, her performance received a positive review by The Los Angeles Times, as well as the television critic named Alan Sepinwall.

Undatable, a series that lasted from 2014 to 2015, cast her in the recurring role of Nicki for 7 episodes. In 2015, Briga Heelan portrayed Katherine/Kiki in a single episode of Truth be Told and that same year, How We Live television movie gave her the role of Holly Bailey. 2016 saw her on the set of two productions – a single episode of as Connie Cavanagh and Go-Go Boy Interrupted where she came in as Ashley in a single episode also.

From 2016 to 2017, she portrayed the character of Heidi McAuliffe in six episodes of Love and she played the role of Katie Wendelson as a series regular in 23 episodes of Great News. Briga portrayed Veronica in 2015 on the set of The Night is Young. She was part of the 2016 Dean as Becca and acted as Julie on the set of Literally, Right Before Aaron in 2017.

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