‘Abbott Elementary’ Star Quinta Brunson Is Close to a Rare Emmy Repeat
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1989-present
Latest News: Quinta Brunson Nominated for 3 Emmys
Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Patricia Heaton, Jean Smart and Julia Louis-Dreyfus at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 15.
After winning the 2023 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Janine Teagues on the ABC school sitcom, 34-year-old Brunson is looking to repeat in the same category at the 2024 ceremony. Only Heaton, Smart and Louis-Dreyfus have accomplished the feat this century for their roles in Everybody Loves Raymond, Hacks, and Veep, respectively.
Brunson is nominated for two other Emmys, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Comedy Series as an executive producer of Abbott Elementary. The series is up for nine Emmys total.
Already a two-time Emmy recipient herself, Brunson is proud of the show’s success but not focused on trophies. “It’s the people who watch our show,” Brunson said of the cast’s inspiration. “They feel very proud when we’re nominated for anything, so that’s what has become important to me.”
Who Is Quinta Brunson?
Actor and comedian Quinta Brunson is the star and creator of the hit comedy series Abbott Elementary, for which she has won two Emmy Awards. Originally from Philadelphia, Brunson briefly studied communications at Temple University before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. She first gained prominence on Instagram then worked for BuzzFeed before transitioning to TV and movies. Now three seasons in, Abbott Elementary has garnered four Emmys and three Golden Globes.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Quinta Brunson
BORN: December 21, 1989
BIRTHPLACE: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
SPOUSE: Kevin Jay Anik (c. 2021-present)
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Sagittarius
Early Life and Family
Quinta Brunson was born on December 21, 1989, in Philadelphia to parents Norma Jean and Rick Brunson. Her first name is the Spanish word for “fifth,” a reference to her status as the youngest of five siblings. She has two brothers, Kwei and Kalid, and two sisters, Njia and Kiyana.
Rick worked as a parking lot manager in neighboring Delaware, while Norma Jean served as a Philadelphia public school teacher for 40 years. Quinta was one of Norma Jean’s students in kindergarten and later based much of her show Abbott Elementary off her childhood observations of her mother. “I was just in school more than normal people were at school, and my mom wasn’t just a mom to me—she was a teacher. And she wasn’t just a teacher to me, she was a fully-formed person,” Quinta said in a 2023 interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Outside of academics, the energetic Brunson took dance classes and participated in gymnastics. Her home life was quite regimented, as her parents raised her a Jehovah’s Witness. Brunson eventually left the faith at age 21. “I have this relationship where I, weirdly, was grateful to grow up as one, because I do believe it kept me out of trouble as a kid,” Brunson has said. “I think it was important to grow up that way. But as I wanted to be a creator and be the person I wanted to be, it wasn’t for me anymore.”
While attending the Charter High School of Architecture and Design, Brunson took an improv class and developed an interest in comedy and acting. After graduation, she studied communications at Temple University in Philadelphia. Much to the chagrin of her parents, who wanted Quinta to “finish my degree, get a practical job, and chill the hell out,” she began skipping her college classes to attend comedy workshops in Chicago. Brunson said she was at least partly inspired by reading comedian Tina Fey’s memoir, Bossypants.
The aspiring performer eventually decided to drop out entirely and moved to Los Angeles in January 2013 to chase her entertainment dreams.
Instagram Creator and BuzzFeed Job
Once in California, Brunson continued taking classes at the Los Angeles branch of the famed comedy group The Second City and performed standup routines at open-mic nights. To pay her bills, she also picked up a job at an Apple Store and received occasional work as a styling assistant for magazines.
In January 2014, Brunson received her first taste of fame with the introduction of her Instagram video series “The Girl Who’s Never Been on a Nice Date,” in which her character gave humorous commentary on courtship gestures. “It got thousands of comments, and I started gaining 5,000 to 10,000 followers a day,” she told Cosmopolitan in 2016. “People were like, ‘This is hilarious,’ ‘Please make more,’ ‘Oh my god, I know this girl,’ ‘I am this girl.’” Brunson began an accompanying YouTube channel to post additional episodes and sold T-shirts with catchphrases from the series, but she admittedly squandered the profits on shopping sprees and dinners with friends instead of saving.
In the meantime, Brunson began appearing in comedy videos for BuzzFeed. She joined the outlet full-time as a junior producer in September 2014 and within two years became a development partner, creating content for the site’s motion picture division. Two of her popular series, Broke and Up for Adoption, sold to YouTube Red and Verizon’s go90, respectively. By 2018, Brunson left BuzzFeed and was ready to showcase her skills to a wider audience.
Abbott Elementary
Brunson began her TV career with one-time roles on the sitcom New Girl in 2018 and the Comedy Central series The New Negroes the next year. She became a recurring cast member on HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show from 2019 through 2022 and the TBS comedy Miracle Workers, also starring Daniel Radcliffe, from 2021 through 2023.
As a voice actor, Brunson contributed to a variety of animated series, including Lazor Wulf, Big Mouth, Harley Quinn, and the children’s show Cars on the Road. In 2022, Brunson also played a fictional version of Oprah Winfrey in the satirical live-action biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, about the famed parody singer-songwriter.
In the meantime, Brunson was drawing from her own experiences to create a TV show that would place her among comedy heavyweights. Abbott Elementary, a mockumentary-style sitcom based at a fictional Philadelphia public school, debuted on ABC in December 2021, with Brunson serving as a writer, executive producer, and the star.
Brunson’s character is Janine Teagues, an eager second-grade teacher who’s determined to improve the titular under-resourced school. Although her mother’s career influenced much of the show, Brunson named it after her sixth-grade teacher, Ms. Abbott, who helped a nervous Quinta transition into middle school. “I think it’s like the Maya Angelou quote, ‘People always remember how you make them feel,’ and she always made me feel good,” Brunson told The Los Angeles Times.
The series—featuring an ensemble cast including Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James, Tyler James Williams, and Lisa Ann Walter—has drawn praise from both viewers and critics and is known for cameo appearances from actors such as Bradley Cooper and Kevin Hart as well as Philadelphia pro athletes and mascots. Its fourth season is set to begin in October 2024.
Emmy Wins and Nominations
Off the success of the first season of Abbott, Brunson earned three Emmy Award nominations in 2022. Her trophy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, recognizing the pilot episode, made Brunson only the second Black woman to win in the category after Lena Waithe in 2017.
Brunson’s second Emmy honored her acting work on the show as she was named 2023’s Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Brunson was the first Black woman to receive the honor since Isabel Sanford of The Jeffersons in 1981. The actor is again nominated in the category, as well as two others, at the 2024 Emmy Awards on September 15.
Husband Kevin Jay Anik
Brunson revealed in July 2020 she was engaged to her partner, Kevin Jay Anik. Although the couple never confirmed a wedding date, they have since married—with Brunson referring to Anik as her husband at both the 2022 Emmy Awards and 2023 Golden Globe Awards.
According to The New Yorker, Anik works in California’s legal cannabis industry. The pair live in the San Fernando Valley and keep details of their relationship extremely private.
The couple doesn’t have any children, though Brunson has expressed her desire to become a parent. “I think I’ll either be the world’s worst mom or the world’s best mom,” she told The New Yorker. “I’d want to be there for that kid’s every waking moment, but I also know how much I love work, and nothing keeps me away from work—and it worries me.”
Height
Although she stands only 4 feet, 11 inches tall, Brunson has said she isn’t self-conscious about her stature. In fact, she often worked her height into her standup comedy routines before making it big on TV. “If anything, I looked at it as like a superpower,” she told NPR. “It was something very interesting about me, and people thought I was cute and funny.”
Brunson now works with a personal stylist, Bryon Javar, to find dresses that complement her figure. “I’m not just an actress, not just a writer, not just a producer, not just a showrunner. I want to make sure I can convey who I am through what I wear,” Brunson said in May 2023.
Net Worth
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Brunson’s total fortune at around $9 million as of September 2024. In addition to her work on Abbott Elementary, Brunson began a partnership with beauty company Olay in August 2022 and has modeled for the clothing brand J.Crew.
Quotes
All people have the ability to be both powerful and fragile. Showing that helps to create more equality.
I’ve started changing what my dreams look like, and right now, I dream of getting more sleep.
I don’t think anyone assumes their show will go on forever anymore. You don’t know if the damn station you’re on is going to exist a year from now. But I believe part of making a network television show is making a good engine, and Abbott has that.
I’m not interested in making characters that uphold respectability politics. We have a rich world, and if people choose to see the worst, that’s not my problem. That’s a personal problem.
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