Heidi Gardner

Heidi Gardner
Heidi Gardner
	Gardner in 2016
Born	Heidi Lynn Gardner; July 27, 1983 (age 41); Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Education	University of Kansas; University of Missouri
Occupations	Actress; comedian; writer;
Years active	2011–present
Spouse	Zeb Wells (m. 2010; div. 2023)

Heidi Lynn Gardner^[3] (born July 27, 1983^[4]) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Gardner has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live since season 43 in 2017, when she debuted as a featured player. She was promoted to repertory status on the show in 2019.

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Gardner was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri.^[5] She grew up with an older brother, Justin.^[6]

Growing up, Gardner worked part-time at the Tivoli Theater, where she did everything "from selling tickets to making popcorn". She later credited the theater as "setting the tone in her life".^[7] Gardner was not interested in acting as a child, only performing on stage as a flutist for the school band and doing comedy sketches in school talent shows.^[8] Gardner graduated from the all-girls Catholic high school Notre Dame de Sion in 2001. In her senior year, her classmates voted her "most likely to be a cast member of Saturday Night Live".^[6] Upon graduation, Gardner followed a friend's footsteps and enrolled at the University of Kansas for two years before transferring to the University of Missouri for a semester. She became uninterested in school and often skipped classes, but discovered a fondness for haircutting.^[8]

At age 21, Gardner dropped out of college and left Missouri for Los Angeles, where she worked at a hair salon for nine years.^[9] Before moving, she saved up $600 over one summer.^[10] A friend encouraged her to attend a performance at The Groundlings theatre, where she became inspired to become an actress.^[9] Lacking acting experience, Gardner enrolled in community workshops to learn the basics of improvisation. Once she was comfortable, Gardner auditioned for the Groundlings basic class and was accepted.^[8]

In 2014, Gardner joined the Sunday Company, and a year later, after a promotion to the Main Company, she quit her job as a hairstylist to focus on acting.^[8] During that time, she became a voice actress,^[11] regularly appearing on animated series such as Bratz, SuperMansion, and Mike Tyson Mysteries.^[12] In 2017, Gardner joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) along with Luke Null and Chris Redd for its forty-third season.^[10]

After her first year on SNL, Gardner was hired to play Leonor in the Ben Falcone-directed film Life of the Party, alongside Melissa McCarthy.^[8] On August 28, 2019, TVLine reported that Gardner would have a guest role on the NBC comedy series Superstore, playing Dina Fox's nemesis Colleen who is transferred to Store 1217 after Cloud 9's Bel-Ridge location gets shut down.^[13] In 2019, Gardner made her stage debut in Michael Frayn's Noises Off at The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts.^[14]

Gardner, who had never broken character in seven seasons on SNL, cracked while playing NewsNation host Bobbi Moore in a Beavis and Butt-Head-centered sketch on April 13, 2024.^[15] Vulture magazine described the moment as breaking in "spectacularly charming fashion".^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22]


Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live^[23]

Angel (Every Boxer's Girlfriend from Every Movie About Boxing Ever), a distressed woman who tries to give "Weekend Update's Good News Report" but inevitably derails into melodramatic rants about her boyfriend's dangerous boxing career.
Bailey Gismert, a teen film critic who gives awkward reviews.
Brie Bacardi, one half of a shallow couple always on the brink of an argument, who runs a relationship-themed Instagram account with her boyfriend Nico Slobkin (Mikey Day).
Baskin Johns, a woman who works for Goop and gets worried Gwyneth Paltrow will fire her.
Mandy, a cousin of a celebrity who shames their movie careers
Sandy, a joyful cook on a baking reality competition show who is qualified and skilled but often gets passed over as a winner for more poorly-constructed and eccentric cakes
Tamra, an intern who pitches Instagram captions for Mattel's Barbie account
Deidre, one half of a couple who describe their vacation to their friends, naïvely misinterpreting poor experiences as prestigious culture
Crystal (Your Co-Worker Who is Extremely Busy Doing Seemingly Nothing), who comes to Weekend Update to complain about her job, though it's unclear what she actually does

Gardner is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals.^[7] From 2010 to 2023, she was married to Marvel Comics writer Zeb Wells, whom she met while she was a member of the Groundlings.^[24]^[25]

Film