Quinta Brunson’s comedic feats run further back than Abbott Elementary, although not all of them earned her an Emmy Award. Brunson started her entertainment career at a young age, doing impressions of Jamie Foxx’s characters in the backseat of her family’s car and imitating parts of the sitcom Martin. Young Brunson looked up to famous comedians, mostly white men. Despite their obvious differences, she wished to be just like them. As a comedy-loving teenager, her favorite movie was Napoleon Dynamite, which she convinced her teacher to let her entire class watch. The movie turned her friends into fans, proving to fourteen-year-old Brunson that she knew true comedy.Â
After graduating from high school, Brunson attended Temple University and majored in Communications, a degree that was approved by her parents, as a career in show business was considered too “worldly.” While in college, she read Tina Fey’s memoir and researched the careers of SNL comedians. They all seemed to have gone to Second City, the Chicago comedy institution. So she saved up some money and flew to Chicago for a week-long improv course. Her improv teacher was so impressed with her that she pulled Brunson aside and told her to take Second City’s sketch writing course. Brunson had spent all of her money on her trip to Chicago, so the teacher gave her $500 to cover the cost.Â
After this experience, she left Temple and worked at an Apple store to save money to move to LA. In 2013, she got transferred to the Century City Apple store in Los Angeles. Brunson bought a plane ticket to California without notifying her parents of her plans. They disapproved, but she held out the possibility that she would complete her degree later.Â
In LA, Brunson continued to work for Apple and began performing at comedy shows. She debuted an original character at her first show: “the Girl Who’s Never Been on a Nice Date.” The character was a hit and she began posting clips of this character on Instagram. One specific clip gained a lot of traction. The Girl waits alongside a man at a movie concession stand in the clip. Her date orders Skittles, Reese’s Pieces, and pretzels, Brunson’s face becoming more surprised after each snack. Finally, the date orders a large popcorn. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “A large?” Brunson says. “You got money—he got money! Get it all for him!”. The video and her reaction became a viral meme.Â
Brunson continued to gain followers on Instagram and gain traction on her videos. She would get paid lucratively to attend events in character, but that was not the career she wanted. Her newfound fame gave her standup opportunities. Through experimenting with standup, she discovered that she enjoyed creating characters and collaborating more than doing standup by herself.Â
Her career changed when a friend of hers, Justin Tan, who was doing a fellowship at Buzzfeed, invited her to eat Doritos in a video for $50. She said yes. She also managed to land a fellowship at Buzzfeed and began making sketch videos with Tan. The internet loved their sketches. She starred in many videos about what it is like to be a Black woman. Brunson signed a two-year contract with Buzzfeed and began pitching series to up-and-coming Web platforms like YouTube Red. She pitched the idea for a series called Broke, which hit 1 million views in the first week.
As she began to get more outside work, she decided to step out of her comfort zone and leave her job at Buzzfeed. With her newfound freedom, she joined writers’ rooms, took on acting jobs, and developed shows. Some of her most notable acting roles were voice acting for Big Mouth and starring in and writing for A Black Lady Sketch Show. Her new job allowed her to find the team that would eventually work on Abbott Elementary.Â
Abbott Elementary, a show written by, produced by, and starring Brunson, was picked up by ABC in 2021. She stars alongside Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Tyler James Williams, and Janelle James. Abbott Elementary is a comedy show about a group of Philadelphia public school teachers determined to help their students succeed, even if their methods are not always legal.Â
Abbott Elementary just aired the finale of its fourth season on April 16th. The show has gained tremendous accolades since it premiered, including Best Comedy Series awards for the Golden Globe Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, and Primetime Emmy Awards. Various actors have also won awards for their performance in the show, including Brunson, who won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for playing second-grade teacher Janine Teagues. This win made her only the second Black actress to win in this category after Isabel Sanford, who won in 1981. Abbott Elementary also has success with critics; it holds a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 88 critics’ reviews. Quinta Brunson’s heart and determination have made her a household name and have broken a barrier as a Black woman standout in comedy.