Heather Morris
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Thousand Oaks, CAhometown
- Countrygenre
- 2006started
- Biofull story
For the Silent Hill actress, see Heather Morris (voice actress).
Heather Morris
, Morris in March 2011
Born
Heather Elizabeth Morris, (1987-02-01) February 1, 1987 (age 26), Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.
Nationality
American
Education
Desert Mountain High School
Occupation
Dancer, actress, singer, model
Years active
2006-present
Height
1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Partner(s)
Taylor Hubbell (2008-present)
Heather Elizabeth Morris (born February 1, 1987) is an American actress, dancer, singer and model, best known for her role as the cheerleader Brittany S. Pierce in the musical comedy series Glee.
Early life edit:
Morris was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and was raised in Scottsdale, Arizona. She began dancing when she was 9. Morris competed at a young age in a variety of styles including jazz, tap, and contemporary. Morris's 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, Morris decided to enroll in a local university but realized she was in the wrong place and moved to L.A. instead at age 19.
Career edit:
Morris' first significant appearance was in 2006 on So You Think You Can Dance Season 2 where she made the "green mile" or "Vegas Week" but failed to make the final 20 by a vote of 3-2.
Not discouraged, Morris moved to Los Angeles and actively pursued a career in dancing and was trained in jazz dance. Her big break came in 2007 via Beyoncé. Morris was one of Beyoncé's backup dancers on The Beyoncé Experience world tour and, following that, worked again with Beyoncé on a mini "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" promotional tour that included 2008 performances on the American Music Awards,Saturday Night Live,The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Today, and MTV's Total Request Live finale. She also danced backup for Beyoncé and Tina Turner at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008. She later appeared in a small role in the movie Fired Up, where she met choreographer Zach Woodlee. Following that film, Woodlee brought Morris in to dance on other shows he was choreographing, including episodes of Eli Stone and Swingtown, the movie Bedtime Stories, and eventually Glee.
In December 2010 Morris was named the Celebrity Style Ambassador for FLIRT! Cosmetics, an Estee Lauder cosmetics line.
In 2010 Morris made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 85. On the AfterEllen hot 100 list she was ranked #2 behind Naya Rivera.
In 2011 Morris starred in a back-to-school commercial for Staples Canada that featured her dancing.
In the October 2011 issue of Fitness magazine, Heather Morris stated that she has had her breast implants removed. She was quoted saying "Implants were something I thought I wanted when I was younger, and now I don't. It was hard being active with them, because my chest was always sore. It hurt a lot, and I didn't like always being in pain, so they had to go!" Her breast implant surgery was done sometime between her time on So You Think You Can Dance at age 18 and age 21 when she was a backup dancer for Beyoncé.
Glee edit:
Morris was taking acting classes and actively pursuing an acting career when she was asked by Woodlee to teach the choreography for Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" dance to the Glee actors. At the same time, the show was looking for a third cheerleader, and Morris ended up landing the role of Brittany. Initially a background character who hardly ever spoke, the role grew as writers discovered Morris had a gift for delivering one-liners. Jarrett Wieselman of the New York Post opined that Morris has "emerged as one of the funniest second bananas on TV right now" and the LA Times wrote of having a "comedy crush on Morris, who plays the galactically dim Glee Club cheerleader Brittany".
When a promotional clip for the episode "Sectionals" indicated that Brittany Pierce and Santana Lopez had slept together, Dorothy Snarker, writing for lesbian entertainment website After Ellen, praised the pairing, referring to them by the portmanteau "Brittana". Snarker called the two her "new favorite Glee pairing", commenting that: "While Heather Morris (Brittany) and Naya Rivera (Santana) have had minimal screen time, they've made it count. Heather in particular has brought the laughs as the Cheerio least likely to get a Mensa invitation. Never mind Finn and Rachel -- I'm on Team Brittana now."
Morris' role became more prominent during the final nine episodes of season one and, due to the overwhelmingly positive response to her character, was promoted to official series regular status during season two. She was at the center of the second episode, "Britney/Brittany", (a tribute to Britney Spears) where she made her singing debut covering Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U" solo and dueting with Naya Rivera on "Me Against the Music". She later got many other singing and dancing solos. The second half of season two saw Morris' character engage in a lesbian storyline with Rivera's character. Both the arc along with Rivera's and Morris' performances were met with critical acclaim. As on Glee, Morris is best friends in real life with co-star Rivera.
In Season 3, she and Rivera's character continue with the lesbian storyline, and others. For example she had a large role in the episode "Prom-asaurus". During the season finale she reveals that she had an 0.0 GPA and that she would not be graduating.
During the 2011 Glee Tour Heather performed Britney Spears' song "I'm a Slave 4 U". She also had a dance spotlight with castmate Harry Shum Jr. during Naya Rivera's performance of "Valerie," and was one of the dancers in the Single Ladies and Safety Dance numbers.
Morris co-wrote and appeared in a January 2011 video for Funny or Die, "Nuthin' But A Glee Thang," a take-off of the Dr. Dre/Snoop Dogg collaboration "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang". Co-written with actresses Ashley Lendzion and Riki Lindhome, the video features appearances from Modern Family's Sofia Vergara and Morris's Glee castmates Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Harry Shum, Jr., and Naya Rivera.
Personal life edit:
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. In April 2013, it was reported that Morris and Hubbell are expecting their first child.
Filmography edit:
Film
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2008
Bedtime Stories
Cat Girl (uncredited)
Featured role
2009
Fired Up!
Fiona
Featured role
2011
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie
Brittany Pierce
2012
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Katie
Voice
2013
Spring Breakers
Bess
Supporting Role
Television
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2007
Beyoncé Experience, TheThe Beyoncé Experience
Dancer
DVD: Beyoncé Experience Live, TheThe Beyoncé Experience Live
2008
Swingtown
Elizabeth
Uncredited, Episode: "Get Down Tonight"
2008
Eli Stone
Lizzie
Uncredited, Episodes: "The Path" and "The Humanitarian"
2009-13
Glee
Brittany Susan Pierce
Season 1 - Series Recurring.,
Season 2 - 4 - main cast, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series,
Nominated--Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2010),
Nominated--Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2011),
Pending--Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series,
(2012)Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Music: Group (shared with Glee Cast)
2010
How I Met Your Mother
Beth
Uncredited, Episode: "Girls Versus Suits"
2011
Staples Commercial
Herself/Dancer
Back-to-school commercial for Staples (Canada)
2012
Punk'd
Herself
Guest host
Music videos
Year
Artist
Song
Notes
2008
An-Ya
Nightlife
Dancer
2008
The White Tie Affair
Allow Me To Introduce Myself... Mr. Right/Candle (Sick and Tired)
2008
Hit the Lights
Drop the Girl
2011
Leo Moctezuma
2 Da Left
Awards and nominations edit:
Year
Award
Category
Work
Result
2011
Playhouse West Film Foundation 2011 PWFF Grand Jury Awards
Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Film
POST
Won
Source: Wikipedia
Text from this biography licensed under creative commons license
Source: Wikipedia
Text from this biography licensed under creative commons license
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