Bridget Everett (born April 21, 1972)[1][2] is an American comedian, actress, singer, writer, and cabaret performer. She began her career appearing and co-writing alongside Michael Patrick King the Off-Broadway musical comedy At Least It's Pink: A Trashy Little Show (2007). The following year she made her screen debut with a minor role in the romantic comedy film Sex and the City, also directed by King. She later performed on Inside Amy Schumer (2013–16), the comedy film Trainwreck (2015), and her own one-hour Comedy Central special Bridget Everett: Gynecological Wonder (2015). Everett has described herself as an "alt-cabaret provocateur".[3][2]
Originally from Manhattan, Kansas,[4] Everett has been performing in New York City for over a decade. Everett is the youngest of six children born to Donn James Everett and Frederica 'Freddie' Everett.[5] As Everett stated on the podcast Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith (episode 2: "Moms and Stuff"): "I'm from Manhattan, Kansas - the little apple. And my dad was mayor at one point, and then so was my brother many years later. So we're kinda like the Kennedys of Manhattan, Kansas." Her father served as a Republican in the Kansas State Senate and Kansas House of Representatives from 1969 to 1978.[6] Everett's mother was a music teacher and gave her a love of music.[7] Her parents officially divorced when she was eight but had been living apart since her early years. Her father, an attorney, was not around much.[5][8] Everett grew up as a competitive swimmer[9] and was involved in both traditional and show choir.[5] She attended college at Arizona State University on a full scholarship to study music and opera.[5]
Everett moved to New York in 1997 and worked as a waitress. She got her Equity card doing a bus-and-truck children's-theatre tour of Hansel and Gretel.[6] She worked in the restaurant business for 25 years before she was finally able to quit around the beginning of 2015.[10]
Career
2007—2016
In 2007, Everett starred and co-wrote alongside Michael Patrick King the off-Broadway musical comedy At Least It's Pink: A Trashy Little Show.[11] King gave her a small part in the 2008 Sex and the City movie, as a drunk woman who interviews to be Carrie's assistant. Everett met Amy Schumer at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in 2009.[12] Everett has been regularly opening for Schumer on her comedy tours since 2012.[13] Everett has even upstaged Schumer, which then led Schumer to prefer to have Everett close for her instead, according to Schumer on her podcast.[14]
Everett made her first television appearance in 2012, playing a guest-starring role in the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls. She had secondary roles in films Gayby (2012) and The Opposite Sex (2014), and in 2015 appeared in the Amy Schumer' comedy film Trainwreck. Everett's first one-hour TV special, Bridget Everett: Gynecological Wonder, premiered on Comedy Central in 2015. In it, she performs her usual brand of comedy cabaret.
2017—present
In 2017, Everett starred in four movies; two premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. She starred alongside Toni Collette and Molly Shannon in the comedy film Fun Mom Dinner. It received generally negative reviews from critics, but her performance was noted by The New York Times.[17] In the dramatic film Patti Cake$, Everett played Barb Dombrowski, marking her screen breakout as the alcoholic mother of Danielle Macdonald's character.[18]Patti Cake$ received generally positive reviews from critics, and Everett specifically received praise. [19][20] Matt Zoller Seitz from RogerEbert.com wrote in his review: "Everett's history of using her considerable weight and height as comic fuel in standup and cabaret made her a perfect choice for this role, but she's as strong in the arguments and drunk scenes as she is when she's singing or cracking wise. If there's any justice, this should be a career-redefining performance on the order of Frank Sinatra's in From Here to Eternity."[21] Later that year, she appeared in the romantic comedy-drama film Permission, and the horror comedy film Little Evil.[22] Also in 2017, Everett went to star in the Amazon comedy pilot Love You More.[23]
On August 1, 2017, Everett got a standing ovation for her "Piece of My Heart" karaoke performance[24] on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. On January 3, 2018 The Tonight Show aired a repeat of Everett performing "Piece of My Heart". She also performed the song in the third episode of the 2022 TV show Somebody Somewhere.
In 2018, Everett had a recurring role in the short-lived HBO comedy series, Camping. The following year, she appeared in the Netflix miniseries, Unbelievable playing one of the foster parents of teenage victim Marie (Kaitlyn Dever).[25] In 2021, she appeared in the black comedy film Breaking News in Yuba County directed by Tate Taylor.
In 2022, Everett began starring in the HBO comedy-drama series, Somebody Somewhere playing the leading role of Sam, a woman in her 40s trying to find happiness. Her performance received positive reviews from critics.[26][27][28][29] Ciara Wardlow from RogerEbert.com wrote in her review: "Everett is remarkable as a woman who hides behind a mask of apathy and witty barbs. She’s hardly the sort to talk about her feelings by choice, but Everett’s performance manages to consistently convey to the audience things that Sam refuses to say or acknowledge with crystal clarity. It’s a subtle and compelling portrait of depression, a sadness that creates an intriguing counterbalance to the bold and bawdy sense of humor for which Everett is known, which also gets plenty of opportunity to shine."[30] The Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus reads, "Led by a captivating Bridget Everett, [31]Somebody Somewhere explores the human condition with tenderness, grace, and warmth.[32] At the 38th Independent Spirit Awards, Everett received nomination for the Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series.[33] She was also nominated for an TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy.[34][35] The show received the 84th Peabody Award in Entertainment.
Personal life
In 2023, after the homophobicmurder of Laura Ann Carleton, Everett made statements in support of the LGBT community, stating, "Lauri Carleton was shot and killed at her Lake Arrowhead store this weekend. Someone tore down the Pride flag she flew outside of her store, Magpi. She confronted him and he shot her... All that anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has a price."[36]
^ abSchulman, Michael (December 27, 2021). "Bridget Everett Is Larger Than Life". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023 – via www.newyorker.com.
^Ide, Wendy (September 3, 2017). "Patti Cake$ review – rhyme pays". The Observer. Archived from the original on August 16, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2023 – via www.theguardian.com.