Briga Heelan

Briga Heelan is an American actress and comedian born in Andover, Massachusetts. Her father, Kevin Heelan, is a playwright and has been a faculty member at Phillips Andover Academy since 1983; her mother, Kimball Heelan, is an actress and teacher with Lowell Public Schools. Heelan has one brother, Conor. Her given name derives from Irish origins — the family surname was once O'Heelahan — and she has noted that Briga is associated with a pagan Celtic goddess, though she was personally named after her grandmother's Irish friend from Dublin.

Heelan pursued formal training at Walnut Hill School for the Arts before spending a year at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She subsequently transferred to the University of Southern California, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2009. At commencement, she received the James B. Pendleton Award for outstanding contributions to the USC School of Dramatic Arts. Her original professional focus was musical theatre, and she met actor Skylar Astin, who would later become her Ground Floor co-star, at a musical theatre convention.

Her television career gained early momentum through a recurring role on Cougar Town. She went on to appear in three episodes plus the pilot of Undateable, and was simultaneously able to work on Ground Floor, also produced by Bill Lawrence, because both series used a multi-camera format requiring fewer production days than single-camera productions. Additional television credits include the sitcoms Love, Great News, and B Positive, as well as a guest appearance in the first episode of Season 10 of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Heelan made her Broadway debut on May 13, 2023, playing Cinderella in Once Upon a One More Time at the Marquis Theatre. She had previously originated the role during the production's 2021 world premiere run in Washington, D.C.

In her personal life, Heelan became engaged to Ground Floor co-star Rene Gube on October 16, 2014, and the two married on May 8, 2015. They announced in October 2016 that they were expecting a daughter, and Heelan gave birth to their first child, Bennet Alejandra Gube, on March 23, 2017. In June 2024, Heelan announced a second pregnancy, and their second daughter, Lily Lourdes Gube, was born on November 25, 2024.