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Quinta Brunson

Acting

Born December 21, 1989 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Biography

Quinta Brunson (/ˈkwɪntə/; born December 21, 1989) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She is best known for creating, executive producing, co-writing and starring as second-grade teacher Janine Teagues in the ABC comedy series Abbott Elementary (2021–present). Brunson gained prominence for her self-produced Instagram series Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date. She went on to produce and act in videos for BuzzFeed Video. She developed two streaming series with BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. At the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, she became the first Black woman to be nominated three times in the comedy category, receiving nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (which she won), Outstanding Comedy Series (as an executive producer), and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. At the 75th ceremony, she became the first Black woman to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy in over 40 years. Brunson was honoured with a 2022 Peabody Award for her work on Abbott Elementary. She was also placed on the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2022 list. Brunson has acted in the series iZombie, Single Parents, and Miracle Workers; provided voice work for Lazor Wulf and Magical Girl Friendship Squad; and starred in the first season of the HBO sketch comedy series A Black Lady Sketch Show. Description above from the Wikipedia article Quinta Brunson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Awards & recognition

  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy · 2023
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series · 2023
  • Crystal Award · 2022
  • Time 100 · 2022

Filmography41 titles

Harley Quinn

2019as Hawkgirl (voice)

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

2005as Janine Teagues

The Simpsons

1989as Adrienne (voice)

Worth It

2016as Herself

iZombie

2015as Dr. Collier

Zootopia 2

2025as Dr. Fuzzby (voice)

The Studio

2025as Quinta Brunson

Big Mouth

2017

Abbott Elementary

2021as Janine Teagues

RuPaul's Drag Race

2009as Self - Guest Judge

Party Down

2009as Jaff

Cars on the Road

2022as Ivy (voice)

New Girl

2011as Annabelle

Hot Ones

2015as Self - Guest

Sesame Street

1969

A Black Lady Sketch Show

2019as Various Characters

Single Parents

2018as Bess

Saturday Night Live

1975as Self

Miracle Workers

2019as Trig

A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter

2024as Self

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

2022as Oprah Winfrey

The Kelly Clarkson Show

2019as Self - Guest

The Daily Show

1996as Self

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

2015as Self - Guest

RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked!

2009as Self - Guest Judge

Lazor Wulf

as Blazor Wulf / The Youth

Kevin

2026as Franny (voice)

An American Pickle

2020as Female Interviewee

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2014as Self - Guest

History of the World: Part II

2023as Martha Magdalene

LIVE with Kelly and Mark

1988as Self - Guest

The Jennifer Hudson Show

as Self

As of Yet

2021as Lyssa

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

2003as Self - Guest

The Shop

as Self

Late Night with Seth Meyers

2014as Self

Everybody's Live with John Mulaney

2025as Self - Actress, Executive Producer and Writer

2022 Back That Year Up with Kevin Hart & Kenan Thompson

2022as Self

Tamron Hall

2019as Self - Guest

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

2014as Self

Sherri

2022as Self - Guest