Quinta Brunson

Quinta Brunson (; born December 21, 1989) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She is the creator, executive producer and co-writer of the ABC comedy series Abbott Elementary (2021–present), in which she stars as second-grade teacher Janine Teagues. Brunson gained prominence in 2014 for her self-produced Instagram series Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date. She went on to produce and act in videos for BuzzFeed Video and developed two streaming series with BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. receiving nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (which she won), Outstanding Comedy Series (as an executive producer), and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. At the 75th ceremony, she became the first Black woman to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy in over 40 years. Brunson was honored with a 2022 Peabody Award for her work on Abbott Elementary. She was also placed on the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2022 list.

Brunson has acted in the series iZombie, Single Parents, and Miracle Workers; provided voice work for Lazor Wulf and Magical Girl Friendship Squad; and starred in the first season of the HBO sketch comedy series A Black Lady Sketch Show.

More recently, she has done voice work for The Simpsons, Zootopia 2, and Big Mouth.

Early life and education Brunson was born and raised in West Philadelphia. She attended Harrity Elementary School in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood. Her name was taken from the Spanish word for "fifth" and signifies that she is the youngest of five children. Her mother, Norma Jean, taught kindergarten and her father, Rick, managed parking lots. She was raised as a Jehovah's Witness but left the religion when she was 21.

She has described herself as "obsessed" with comedy from the time she attended the Charter High School for Architecture & Design in Philadelphia, and nurtured her interest by taking an improv class. Brunson attended Temple University and took classes at Second City in Chicago her sophomore year. She dropped out of school shortly thereafter to move to Los Angeles and pursue a career in comedy.

Career 2014–2017: Instagram and Buzzfeed Brunson originally garnered fans online by posting comedic videos to her Instagram in 2014. In particular, her Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date series went viral and grew her digital fan base. She then worked as a video producer for BuzzFeed Video after first freelancing for the company. Her videos primarily focused on problems experienced by twenty-somethings.

In 2016, Brunson sold two web series as a development partner with BuzzFeed Motion Pictures: one scripted comedy called Broke for YouTube Red, which she wrote, produced, and starred in; the second, Up for Adoption, was produced by Verizon's go90 video platform, which she also starred in.

2018–2021: Various ventures and pilots Shortly after Brunson left BuzzFeed in 2018, she co-starred in her first network pilot, the CW pilot The End of the World as We Know It,

In 2019, she appeared as Dr. Charli Collier and her twin sister, Laila, on the supernatural comedy-drama series iZombie, and also voiced multiple characters in the animated series Lazor Wulf. That fall, Brunson began to co-star and write in the HBO sketch comedy series A Black Lady Sketch Show, alongside Robin Thede, Gabrielle Dennis, and Ashley Nicole Black; but she left the second season due to scheduling conflicts. In 2020, Brunson co-starred in the Syfy animated series Magical Girl Friendship Squad, opposite Anna Akana.

In 2021, Brunson appeared in a recurring role on the third season of Miracle Workers, a collection of essays about her personal life and career, was released.

2018–present: Abbott Elementary and mainstream success Brunson's single-camera pilot (previously titled Harrity Elementary after the school she attended, which is now a charter school ) was picked up by ABC with the new title Abbott Elementary in May 2021. Brunson is also the writer, co-executive producer, and stars with Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Tyler James Williams, and Janelle James. The series premiered on December 7, 2021, and received critical acclaim. Brunson received praise for bringing a fresh approach to network television with Abbott Elementary, named after her real-life former middle school teacher, Joyce Abbott, who worked in the Philadelphia School District for over 25 years. The character, Barbara Howard, is inspired by Brunson's mother, Norma Jean, who taught kindergarten for over 40 years. In August 2022, Brunson signed a multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, the co-production studio of Abbott Elementary.

For the show's first season she was named to Time 's 100 Most Influential People of 2022. In September 2022, Brunson won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing For a Comedy Series for the show, making her the first black woman to win that award solo. The series received a 2023 Peabody Award. In 2023, Brunson won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for playing idealistic second-grade teacher Janine Teagues on Abbott Elementary. This win made her only the second black actress to win in this category after Isabel Sanford, who won in 1981 for her role as Louise Jefferson on The Jeffersons. Ayo Edebiri won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series that same year, making it the first year that two black actresses won both female comedy acting categories in the Primetime Emmys.

The show along with ABC decided to redirect marketing dollars towards supplies for schools and teachers. During the 2023 Met Gala, she stated her support for the writers strike, which was to start on the same night of the event, in an interview. In October 2023, Brunson signed an open letter by Artists4Ceasefire, calling for an end to the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

In July 2025, she received her fourth Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nomination, making her the third most-nominated black woman in lead comedy actress, trailing Isabel Sanford (The Jeffersons) and tied with Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish).

In February 2026, Brunson received the Variety Showrunner Award at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) TVfest. Sharing the stage with Sheryl Lee Ralph and answering a question posed by Ralph, Brunson discussed her desire to remain an actress, writer, and executive producer, and not to step into the role of director. She attributed the reason to ensuring her presence in the writers' room would not be absent.

In June 2026, Brunson signed a big five-year deal with 20th Television and left Warner Bros. Television Studios.

Personal life Brunson was married to Kevin Jay Anik. He works in California's legal cannabis industry. They lived in the San Fernando Valley. On March 20, 2025, Brunson announced she had filed for divorce due to "irreconcilable differences".