Jillian Bell

Jillian Leigh Bell (born April 25, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She was a writer for the 35th season of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live between 2009 and 2010. Since her departure from SNL, she has had starring roles in the films Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019) and I'm Totally Fine (2022). She has also appeared on television, starring as Jillian Belk on Workaholics, voicing Violet Hart on Bless the Harts, and in a recurring role as Dixie on the final season of Eastbound & Down. Her other film credits include 22 Jump Street (2014), Fist Fight (2017), Godmothered (2020), and Candy Cane Lane (2023). As of June 2024, she is engaged to illustrator/musician Luke McGarry.

Early life
Bell was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, the daughter of Ron and Tanzy Bell. She began studying improv at age eight. She graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in 2002, then moved to Los Angeles, California, and became a member of the comedy group The Groundlings.

Career
She auditioned for Saturday Night Live, and although she did not join the cast, she became a writer for the show in 2009 for its 35th season. That year, she appeared in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm as an assistant who wears revealing clothing at work.

In 2011, she began playing Jillian Belk on the Comedy Central series Workaholics. Film director Paul Thomas Anderson saw her in it and gave her a small role in his 2012 film The Master, then another small role in his 2014 film Inherent Vice. She had a recurring role as Dixie in the fourth and final season of Eastbound and Down. In 2014, she appeared in 22 Jump Street with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. In 2015, she co-starred in Goosebumps and The Night Before.

In January 2016, Comedy Central debuted a new series, Idiotsitter, in which Bell portrayed the constantly misbehaving adult daughter of wealthy parents. It was originally launched as a web series in early 2014.

Bell starred as the Fairy Godmother in Disney's Godmothered, which was released on Disney+.

Accolades
In 2010, Bell was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for her work in the writers' room on Saturday Night Live.

In 2015, she was nominated for two MTV Movie Awards for Best Fight with Jonah Hill and Best Villain for her work on 22 Jump Street.

In 2019, she received the Fairbanks Award at the San Diego International Film Festival and the Next Wave Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival.