Heather Elizabeth Morris, born February 1, 1987, is an American actress, dancer, singer and model. She is best known for her role as Brittany Pierce on the FOX musical comedy series, Glee.
Personal life[]
Heather with her husband and son.
Morris was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona. She began dancing when she was one. She competed at a young age in a variety of styles including jazz, tap, and contemporary. Her father died of cancer when she was 14 years old. "It's something that is hard for me, because I'm sad about it, but I don't dwell on it," she said during an interview workshop with students in December 2009. "I know he's in a better place, instead of suffering." After graduating from Desert Mountain High School, Heather decided to enroll in a local university, but realized she was in the wrong place so she moved to L.A. instead at age 19.
Morris is in a relationship with baseball player Taylor Hubbell. They attended the same high school in Arizona, but did not know each other there. They began dating after Morris moved to Los Angeles and Hubbell contacted her on MySpace. In a 2011 interview with Fitness, Morris said of Hubbell, "I want to marry him so bad. That's what I really care about. I want to marry Taylor and have kids with him. I love acting, but if it affects my relationship, then I won't continue doing it."
After graduating from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, Hubbell began living with Morris in Los Angeles in early 2012.
On August 28, 2014, Morris announced she and Hubbell were engaged. She and Hubbell got married on May 17, 2015. The couple have two sons, Elijah (born on September 28, 2013)[1] and Owen Bartlett (born on February 11, 2016).[2]
Career[]
Morris begun studying Journalism at university, but later moved to Los Angeles in 2006 to pursue a career in acting and dancing. Her first significant appearance was in So You Think You Can Dance Season 2 where she was one of the remaining contestants after Vegas week. However, she failed to make it into the Judges' top 10 girls with a vote of 3-2 against. In 2008, she appeared in single episodes of Swingtown and Eli Stone as an uncredited dancer, and in 2009 Morris appeared in the film Fired Up as Fiona. She went on to further success as a dancer in support of Beyoncé Knowles on her tour, The Beyoncé Experience, and when Beyoncé first performed at the American Music Awards, on Saturday Night Live, in 2008.
Morris was cast as Brittany in 2009 for the first season of Fox Broadcasting Company's musical comedy series Glee, about a high school Glee Club. She was brought in by the show initially to teach the choreography for Beyoncé's Single Ladies dance to the actors, however the show was looking for a third cheerleader and she got the job. Jarrett Wieselman, of the New York Post, stated that Morris has "emerged as one of the funniest second bananas on "TV right now!" She also made the Afterellen Hot 100 list in 2010, 2011, and 2012, premiering at 85 in 2010, jumping to 2 in 2011, and at number 3 in 2012. Recently she was featured on the cover of Women's Health magazine. In 2012, Heather voiced her very first animated movie called Ice Age 4. She also played a character named Katie, also known as "Gossip Girl."
Glee[]
"About six months after I first moved to L.A., I got a job doing Beyoncé’s tour. After I finished the tour, I started working with choreographer Zach Woodlee, who started hiring me to do things like Fired Up! and Eli Stone. Prior to the Single Ladies tour I was supposed to move to New York to do West Side Story, but then I dropped dancing and started acting classes because I didn’t want to dance anymore and I really wanted to fulfill my lifelong dream of acting. Zach called me and was like, “Are you in New York?” I was like, "No, I’m still here in L.A. and I’m acting." He was like, "OK, I need you to come in and teach the "Single Ladies" dance to Chris Colfer and Jenna Ushkowitz for this TV show I’m doing, Glee. Since you’re acting now, I know Ryan Murphy would love to consider you for a part. Look as cute as you can so he’ll love you even more.” So I went in to teach the kids with a full-on outfit. I was scheduled to read with Ryan Murphy twice, but he canceled both times. After that, Zach called me and said they might not hire me anyway because they wanted the third cheerleader to be black, so my hopes were shot. But then my agent called a week later and said, "You’re now cast as Brittany in Glee." So it was nuts."[5] Brittany's role in the show was initially intended to be minor, but grew towards the end of the first season. She does not have any solo musical performances during season one, but Morris hoped she would have one in the second season.[6] On April 27, 2010, Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly reported that Morris would be upgraded to a series regular for season two.[7] Speaking to E! Online, Morris commented: "It's so fun. I literally just stand there and doze off and then I'm like, 'Oh yeah, I have to speak now!'"[8] At the 2010 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, Murphy stated that Brittany would have "big storylines" in the new season, as viewers want to know more about her.[9]
The Dance Room[]
In June 2019, Morris announced that she and her good friends (Ava Bernstine-Mitchell and KC Monnie) would be hosting a podcast for PodcastOne.[3]
Filmography[]
Music Videos[]
| Year | Artist | Song Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | An-Ya | Nightlife | Dancer |
| The White Tie Affair | Allow Me To Introduce Myself...Mr. Right/Candle (Sick and Tired) | ||
| Hit The Lights | Drop the Girl | ||
| 2011 | Leo Moctezuma | 2 Da Left | Dancer |
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Bedtime Stories | Cat Girl | Uncredited |
| The Elevator | Girl | Director, Writer, Producer | |
| 2009 | Fired Up! | Fiona | Part of the "Panther" cheer squad/Body double |
| 2010 | A Sense Of Humor | Laura | Short |
| Andy Made A Friend | Kate | Short | |
| 2011 | Glee: The 3D Concert Movie | Brittany Pierce | Also herself |
| 2011 | Post | Lily | |
| 2012 | Ice Age: Continental Drift | Katie, The Gossip Girl | Voice |
| 2013 | Spring Breakers | Bess | |
| 2014 | Horrible Parents | Meg | Short |
| 2015 | Most Likely to Die | Gaby | |
| 2015 | Romantically Speaking | Ariel | TV Movie |
| 2016 | The Cleansing Hour | Heather | Horror, Short |
| 2016 | Folk Hero & Funny Guy | Nicole | |
| 2019 | Dance with a Demon | Mother | Short film |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Beyoncé Experience | Dancer | DVD: The Beyoncé Experience Live |
| 2008 | Swingtown | Red Dress Disco Girl | Uncredited, Episode: "Get Down Tonight" |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | Street Dancer/Back-Up Dancer | Uncredited, Episodes: "The Path" and "The Humanitarian" |
|
2009-2015 |
Glee | Brittany Pierce | Season 1 - Series Recurring. Seasons 2, 3, 4 – Series Regular. Season 5 and 6 - Guest Star |
| 2010 | How I Met Your Mother? | Dancer in Pink Shirt | Uncredited, Episode: "Girls Versus Suits" |
| 2011 | Staples Commercial | Herself/Dancer | Back-to-school commercial for Staples (Canada) |
| 2012 | Punk'd | Host | 1 episode |
| 2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Eliza Hansenback | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Go-Go Boy Interrupted | Katie | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | LA LA Living | Lizbet | |
| 2017 | Dancing with the Stars | Contestant | Season 24, Eliminated 5th |
| 2018 | Raven's Home | Lady | Cameo |
| 2022 | The Masked Dancer UK | Contestant | Season 2 Winner (as "Scissors") |
Awards and Nominations[]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Playhouse West Film Foundation 2011 PWFF Grand Jury Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Film | Won |
Trivia[]
- She has a kitten named Zachary Ryan Morris. Source
- She appeared in several music videos such as White Tie Affair's Candle (Sick And Tired) and Mr. Right, Hit The Lights' Drop The Girl and An-Ya's "Nightlife.
- She co-wrote and appeared in the video Nuthin' But A Glee Thang.
- Heather has two older sisters, April and Crystal. April is the oldest, and Crystal is the second.
- She wanted to major in journalism in college at Arizona State University, but after two semesters (in 2005 and 2006), decided not to continue with college and instead moved to LA to pursue a dancing and acting career.[4]
- Heather is an alto. Her vocal range is C#3-Bb5.
- She is 5'8" tall.
Heather covers Women's Health magazine
- Her shoe size is 8.
- She wants to go to the Netherlands and learn stuff about the country.[5]
- Every Sunday she and her roommate go to a local coffeeshop and sit there for an hour with an organic, home-made pastry and a cup of coffee.
- She wants to inspire at least one person in the world with what she does.
- Her favorite movie is Atonement and her favorite dance movie is Moulin Rouge.
- Her favorite TV shows are Glee, Vampire Diaries and Modern Family.
- Her dream dance job is starring as a lead in a dance movie like Nine, Moulin Rouge or Dirty Dancing.
- Her dream co-star is Dakota Fanning.
- Her father died of cancer when she was 14. During an interview workshop with students in December 2009, she said, "It's something that is hard for me because I'm sad about it, but I don't dwell on it. I know he's in a better place instead of suffering."
- She hopes her quote "Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?" will be a Trivial Pursuit question. She hopes it will be, "What character said this infamous line?."
- She locked herself out of her hotel room naked when she was 10. She says it's a long story.
- She does boxing, hot yoga, and dancing.
- She was crowned Homecoming Queen.
- She wants to go to Hawaii and become a professional surfer.
- She has an angel tattoo on her lower back, and a tattoo saying "baby cakes" (which her father used to call her) below a halo on the left side of her lower abdomen. Source She also has an unknown tattoo as seen in the 2 Da Left music video and confirmed by someone who talked to Heather at the Nappa Valley Film Festival, but it is around her butt area. Source And also, a dreamcatcher on her back.
- She is called HeMo (Heather Morris) by friends and fans.
- Harry Shum Jr. was her teacher when she attended Hip Hop dance classes.
- She is of scottish heritage on her father's side.
- Her dream job was touring with Justin Timberlake.
- Growing up, Heather lived next door to Brian Friedman and she danced with Lauren Gottlieb in high school. Brooke Lipton, the assistant choreographer on Glee (2009), went to Heather's dance studio.[6]
- For their second Glee Live! show in Ireland on the 2nd of July, Heather changed her shirt to I'm with Amadán ("fool" or "stupid" in irish).
- On July 3, 2011, Heather kissed co-star Naya Rivera on the lips at their last stop of the Glee European tour in Dublin, Ireland.
- She has been best friends with Naya Rivera for years, who plays her love interest on the show.
- She attended the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse premiere and is Team Stewart.
- She is religious - when she did a dream board for a dance workshop she put a cross on it with the words God.[7]Source
- Volunteered as part of the Make a Wish Foundation for a girl with cystic fibrosis who wanted a dance studio in her basement.[8]
- Won an award for Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Film at the Playhouse West Film Foundation Awards for her role in the film Post.[9]
- She is against puppy mills.[10]
- She wants her and Naya to sing "Daydreamer" by Adele. If not a duet, then at least Naya.
- She wants to return to college. Source
- On what Brittany will do after graduation: "Maybe she decides to work on 3-D films for Discovery Channel. That would make me f**king happy," she said. "She'd be good at that. She'd get to go to the North Pole. She'd be searching for polar bears with a camera crew. Or maybe she'd do some journalism and try to interview [the polar bears]."[11]
- Heather said in an interview that the largest audience she's ever performed in front of was 50,000 when she was on tour with Beyoncé.
- In an interview on Good Morning LA, she said "My mother called me crying one day and was like (imitating sobbing) 'Heather, I don't like that you make out with everybody!' So I went to see Ryan and I asked him 'Am I a slut or what...?' And he said 'Well....you just like to make out.' "
- She is the fourth youngest cast member.
- She has her motorcycle permit. Source
- In the November 2011 issue of Seventeen magazine, Morris was on the cover and admitted she had breast implants when she was 19. But just after Glee Live 2011 she had them removed because she was always in pain.
- Darren Criss has a 'cool crush' on her.
- Heather is #35 on BuddyTV's "TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011."
- She had a crush on co-star Cory Monteith. Source
- She started dancing at 18 months, and was starting in dance competitions at age 4, she said she was dancing so young because she started walking at 7 months.
- She filmed the Ke$ha number on her birthday.
- She likes to make people laugh.
- Unlike her character, Brittany, Heather graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
- Her favorite subject in school was science and math.
- She bites her nails. Source
- She was originally cast in the broadway production of West Side Story, but a week before she was supposed to move she got a phone call saying she was dropped, as she was "too blonde." Source
- She lives with her high school sweetheart and now husband, Taylor.
- She doesn't smoke and never has.
- Said that after she got the news that she would finally get to sing on the show in the Britney Spears episode she was so overwhelmed that she started crying. Until Heather revealed this in an interview in front of the rest of the cast, Naya was the only person to know that she started crying as she was with Heather at the time she found out.
- She dances a lot while recording songs. Source
- For her 25th birthday, one of her presents were tickets to a Gotye concert.
- She came in 3rd in afterellen.com/2012-hot-100, after co-stars Naya Rivera and Dianna Agron.
- She, along with Vanessa Lengies, is the kookiest Glee cast member.
- She is the most adventurous, according to the cast.
- She competed on Dancing with the Stars, making her the second Glee actress to do so, after Amber Riley. She was eliminated in the 6th week of competition, despite having the first perfect score of the season.
Links and Social Networks[]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
The Fame (ft. Heather Morris)
Advanced Tumbling
GLEE Meet Heather Morris (Brittany)
'Glee' Teaches You How To Dougie
Glee's Heather Morris rocks out with the
Heather Morris (Glee), So Luv a Licious (Extended Version)
References[]
- ↑ Heather MorrisGives Birth to Baby Boy Elijah September 2013.
- ↑ Heather Morris Welcomes Baby Boy No. 2—See His Precious Debut!
- ↑ Me doing a happy dance cuz a new podcast is coming straight to you, from the mouths and minds of professionals like 🙋🏼♀️ME and along with my good friends @avaflav1 and @kcmonnie
- ↑ Heather Morris: Chic to Gleek And Back Again
- ↑ Q&A with Heather – Your Questions Answered!
- ↑ The Road to "Glee": Heather Morris Makes Her Mark in Hollywood
- ↑ Heather Morris' Dream Board: Peek inside this "Glee" star's heart
- ↑ When a celebrity becomes a friend!
- ↑ 2011 PWFF AWARD WINNERS
- ↑ help put an end to puppy mills!
- ↑ Glee Singers Give Us Their Musical Wish Lists for Next Season