Gillian Jacobs

Acting

Gillian Jacobs

Born 1982-10-19 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (born October 19, 1982) is an American film, theatre and television actress, best known for her role as Britta Perry on the NBC comedy series Community. Jacobs was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Martina Magenau Jacobs, was a Carnegie Mellon University director of alumni relations at the Heinz College. Her father, William F. Jacobs Jr., was an investment banker.She was raised in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon. She is of French, German, Irish, and Scottish descent. Her family owned the Jackson Koehler Eagle Brewery, established in 1847 in Erie, Pennsylvania, where her grandfather, John Martin Magenau Jr., served as President and CEO until its closure in 1978. Jacobs began studying acting at the age of eight, and attended acting classes on Saturdays at the Pittsburgh Playhouse while growing up.She performed with the Pittsburgh Public Theater, where she was a perennial contender in the Public's Shakespeare Monologue Contest, leading her to be cast as Titania in its production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. After graduating from Mt. Lebanon High School in 2000, Jacobs moved to New York City, New York to attend the Juilliard School, where she was a member of the Drama Division's Group 33. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2004.

Acting credits

The Contractor poster
6.3

After being involuntarily discharged from the U.S. Special Forces, James Harper decides to support his family by joining a private contracting organization alongside his best friend and under the command of a fellow veteran. Overseas on a covert mission, Harper must evade those trying to kill him while making his way back home.

The Contractor

2022

Fear Street: 1978 poster
7.2

In 1978, two rival groups at Camp Nightwing must band together to solve a terrifying mystery when horrors from their towns' history come alive.

Fear Street: 1978

2021

Fear Street: 1994 poster
6.7

After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that's plagued their notorious town for centuries.

Fear Street: 1994

2021

The Box poster
5.6

Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. However pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

The Box

2009

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone poster
5.8

After breaking up with his longtime stage partner, a famous but jaded Vegas magician fights for relevance when a new, "hip" street magician appears on the scene.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

2013

Gary poster
6.5

Two friends go on a work trip and encounter unexpected challenges and local personalities as they navigate their assignment. Their efforts to adapt to unfamiliar surroundings highlight moments of humor, small-town culture and the unpredictable nature of work travel. Their experience offers new perspectives on their friendship.

Gary

2026

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 poster
5.2

After their first adventure with the Hot Tub Time Machine, Lou and Nick are living very well off their ill-gotten gains, while Jacob still cannot rely on Lou to be a positive role model. When an unknown assailant breaks into Lou's mansion and shoots him, Nick and Jacob take him for another trip in the hot tub. They emerge in the year 2025, where they must figure out who shot Lou and prevent it from happening again.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2

2015

Fear Street: 1666 poster
7.1

In 1666, a colonial town is gripped by a hysterical witch-hunt that has deadly consequences for centuries to come, and it's up to teenagers in 1994 to finally put an end to their town's curse, before it's too late.

Fear Street: 1666

2021

Walk of Shame poster
6.0

A reporter's dream of becoming a news anchor is compromised after a one-night stand leaves her stranded in downtown L.A. without a phone, car, ID or money - and only 8 hours to make it to the most important job interview of her life.

Walk of Shame

2014

North Hollywood poster
5.4

A kid must decide between choosing the future his father wants and following his dream of becoming a pro skater.

North Hollywood

2021

Life of the Party poster
6.1

When her husband suddenly dumps her, longtime dedicated housewife Deanna turns regret into re-set by going back to college... landing in the same class and school as her daughter, who's not entirely sold on the idea. Plunging headlong into the campus experience, the increasingly outspoken Deanna – now Dee Rock – embraces freedom, fun, and frat boys on her own terms, finding her true self in a senior year no one ever expected.

Life of the Party

2018

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again poster
6.3

Nick Daley is following in his father's footsteps as night watchman at the American Museum of Natural History, so he knows what happens when the sun goes down. But when the maniacal ruler Kahmunrah escapes, it is up to Nick to save the museum once and for all.

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again

2022

Come Play poster
6.4

Oliver, a lonely autistic boy, seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses the boy's devices against him, his parents must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.

Come Play

2020

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World poster
6.6

As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

2012

Magic Camp poster
6.9

Andy, at the urging of his former mentor and Magic Camp owner Roy Preston, returns to the camp of his youth hoping to reignite his career. Instead, he finds inspiration in his ragtag bunch of rookie magicians.

Magic Camp

2020

Injustice poster
7.3

When Lois Lane is killed, an unhinged Superman decides to take control of the Earth. Determined to stop him, Batman creates a team of freedom-fighting heroes. But when superheroes go to war, can the world survive?

Injustice

2021

Solitary Man poster
5.9

A car magnate watches his personal and professional life hit the skids because of his business and romantic indiscretions.

Solitary Man

2009

Visions poster
5.3

After moving to a vineyard with her family, a pregnant woman experiences horrifying visions.

Visions

2015

Black or White poster
6.8

A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise her entire life.

Black or White

2015

Choke poster
6.1

A sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother's hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death.

Choke

2008

Brother Nature poster
5.1

Roger, a straight-laced politician has big plans to propose to his dream girl at her family's lake house. But everything goes awry when he meets his potential brother-in-law Todd: a full-time camp counselor with a heart of gold and a wild sense of fun, pining to be Roger's best friend, and ultimately catapulting him into a series of unfortunate events. As Roger tries to take a stand amidst outrageous fishing excursions, propulsive water jetpacks and American history-themed musicals, he realizes that being a part of a new family may be more difficult than he'd thought.

Brother Nature

2016

Bad Milo! poster
5.7

A horror comedy centered on a guy who learns that his unusual stomach problems are being caused by a demon living in his intestines.

Bad Milo!

2013

The Home poster
10.0

While on a school trip to a memory care facility a boy, Max, is paired with an elderly woman, Alice, who runs away. Max must navigate his way through all the absurd patients and bizarre things happening in this home with an end goal of finding the woman who just wants to get her real home.

The Home

2026

Don't Think Twice poster
6.4

An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.

Don't Think Twice

2016

Behind the camera

The Seven Faces of Jane poster
5.0

Jane drops her daughter off at sleepaway camp and drives away from her mundane life into an exciting odyssey on the road. Jane’s obstacles, connections and moments were created playing an exquisite corpse; seven filmmakers guiding each chapter of Jane’s journey without knowledge of what the others were doing.

The Seven Faces of Jane

2023

The Seven Faces of Jane poster
5.0

Jane drops her daughter off at sleepaway camp and drives away from her mundane life into an exciting odyssey on the road. Jane’s obstacles, connections and moments were created playing an exquisite corpse; seven filmmakers guiding each chapter of Jane’s journey without knowledge of what the others were doing.

The Seven Faces of Jane

2023

More Than Robots poster
6.2

More Than Robots follows four international teams of teenagers as they prepare for the 2020 FIRST Robotics Competition. Get to know competitors from Los Angeles, Mexico City and Chiba, Japan as they work towards the ultimate goal of taking their unique designs all the way to the highly competitive global championships. Along the way they must overcome challenges such as having limited resources or putting everything on hold because of the COVID pandemic. The kids persevere and learn that there is a lot more to the competition than just robots.

More Than Robots

2022

Curated poster
4.8

During a reluctant trip to her late Grandmother's home in the middle of nowhere, Nancy learns that a person's sentiment and complexities aren't limited to the things they leave behind. Created for TNT's Shatterbox project.

Curated

2018

The Queen of Code poster
10.0

Grace Hopper dedicated her life to bringing computers to the masses, when most supposed the technology was only useful for scientists and the military. Through her genius, she taught software English, so that everyone could communicate with computers.

The Queen of Code

2015