Busy Philipps

Elizabeth Jean "Busy" Philipps (born June 25, 1979)[1] is an American actress, writer, producer, and director. She is known for her roles on the television series Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), Dawson's Creek (2001–03) and ER (2006–07), and for her portrayal of Laurie Keller on the ABC series Cougar Town (2009–15), for which she received a Critics' Choice Television Award.[2] She has also appeared in numerous films, such as The Smokers (2000), Home Room (2002), White Chicks (2004), Made of Honor (2008), He's Just Not That into You (2009), The Gift (2015), and I Feel Pretty (2018).

Early life
Philipps was born in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.[1][3] She got the nickname "Busy" as a child; sources conflict on whether the nickname came from her parents[4] or a babysitter named Tracy.[5] Busy stated on her TV show Busy Tonight that her mother gave her the nickname. She attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.[6] She has stated that, at age 14, she was raped by her then-boyfriend, whom she refers to as "Trey" in her published memoirs.[7] Though she found the event emotionally scarring, she did not consider it rape until decades later.[4]

She attended Loyola Marymount University at the same time as Freaks and Geeks costar Linda Cardellini and Colin Hanks; she dated Hanks for several years after they graduated.[3][8][9][10]

Career
While still in high school, Philipps worked the toy-fair circuit as a real-life Barbie("Cool Teen Skipper").[5] Among the people who saw her at a toy convention was actress Sharon Stone, who was impressed with Philipps' performance and told Philipps that she would be a star.[4]

Her first major role was Kim Kelly in the 1999-2000 comedy-drama TV series Freaks and Geeks; Philipps appeared in all but one of the shows' 18 episodes (the exception being the episode "Chokin' & Tokin'").[3][10] She made her film debut in the comedy The Smokers in 2000, and had various small appearances on television.

In 2001, Philipps was cast as Audrey Liddell in the teen drama Dawson's Creek.[3][11] She was a series regular in seasons 5 and 6, appearing in 46 episodes, before the show finished in 2003. Her portrayal of Audrey earned Philipps a Teen Choice Awards nomination in the category of "TV - Choice Sidekick".[12]

Philipps then appeared in two films, Home Room (2002) and White Chicks(2004). She was cast in the UPN sitcom Love, Inc., in a role originally intended for Shannen Doherty.[13] The show lasted for one season (2005–2006). In 2006, she had a major recurring role as Hope Bobeck on ER, alongside her Freaks and Geeks co-star Linda Cardellini.[3][11]

During her second year on ER, her character headed to South America to "fulfill her Christian mission".[14] Philipps had a co-credit for the storyline of the 2007 comedy film Blades of Glory.[3][11][15] A year later, Philipps returned to being in front of the camera with a supporting role in Made of Honor.[3]

Philipps also made appearances in He's Just Not That into You as the character of Kelli Ann and on an episode of How I Met Your Mother.

From 2009 to 2015, Philipps portrayed Laurie Keller in the television series Cougar Town.[11] She routinely contributed to the Thrilling Adventure Hour, a live stage radio show.[16] Her primary recurring character is the Red Plains Rider.[17]

On a 2010 appearance on Chelsea Lately, Philipps commented that she auditioned for the hit television show Glee just one week after giving birth, following a pregnancy during which she gained 80 pounds.[18]

Philipps starred on the HBO series Vice Principals, which premiered in 2016.[19]

In 2017, Philipps signed on as co-lead opposite Casey Wilson in Tina Fey's comedy pilot, The Sackett Sisters, for NBC, but the series was not picked up.[20]

In 2018, Phillips played the role of Sheba in Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Philipps has a late-night talk show called Busy Tonight. The show premiered on October 28, 2018 on E![21]

Personal life
Philipps dated Colin Hanks in the 1990s, while in college. Philipps married screenwriter Marc Silverstein in 2007.[3][11][22]

They have two daughters: Birdie Leigh (born August 13, 2008),[23] whose godmother is actress Lizzy Caplan;[24] and Cricket Pearl (born July 2, 2013).[25][26][27]

Book
Philipps' memoir, This Will Only Hurt a Little, was released October 18, 2018.[7]Her memoir includes a passage in which the actress describes a physical altercation that took place between James Franco and herself while on the set of Freaks and Geeks. Distressed by the amount of attention drawn to just this incident within her story, Philipps hopes the audience will see the bigger picture she is addressing about women's equality on set and off.[28]