Briga Heelan

Briga Heelan is an American actress and comedian known for her roles in sitcoms such as Cougar Town, Ground Floor, Undateable, Love, Great News, and B Positive. Born in Andover, Massachusetts, she grew up in a family with strong artistic ties; her mother was an actress and teacher, and her father a playwright who also taught at Phillips Andover Academy. Heelan has a brother named Conor. She attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts and briefly studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before transferring to the University of Southern California (USC), where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2009. At USC, she received the James B. Pendleton Award for her contributions to the drama school. Heelan began her career focusing on musical theatre but transitioned to television. Her breakthrough role was on Cougar Town, and she also had recurring roles on Undateable and appeared in multiple episodes of Ground Floor. She guest-starred in the first episode of Season 10 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Critics praised her performance in Ground Floor, describing her as "remarkably alive" and a reason to watch the show. In 2023, Heelan made her Broadway debut as Cinderella in *Once Upon A One More Time*. Earlier, she had portrayed the same role in the play's world premiere in Washington, D.C. Regarding her personal life, Heelan explained that her name has Irish roots and was inspired by a friend of her grandmother. She married her Ground Floor co-star Rene Gube in 2015 after becoming engaged in ...