Is Busy Phillips’ Real Name ‘Busy’?
At 40 years of age, Busy Philipps has spent most of her life in front of the camera. The well-known actress started her career while still in high school.
Her first gig was at a Mattel toy convention in her hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona. She portrayed Cool Teen Skipper, a live Barbie doll.
The Cougar Town actress has come a long way since those early modeling days. She has worked extensively in television and film, written a book, hosted a talk show, and become a major Instagram influencer. Philipps is a busy woman.
Busy Phillipps is a success in Hollywood
Philipps attended Loyola Marymount University, where she dated Colin Hanks. While attending college, she continued to pursue her acting career.
In 1999, Philipps landed a role that launched her into Hollywood stardom. She was cast as teen rebel Kim Kelly on the critically-acclaimed television series, Freaks and Geeks. At 19, she found herself working alongside James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Jason Segel.
From 2001 to 2003, Philipps played the role of Audrey Liddell on Dawson’s Creek. She met her longtime best friend, Michelle Williams, on the set. From 2009 to 2015, Philipps portrayed Laurie Keller on Cougar Town with Courteney Cox.
Over the years, Philipps has had numerous on-screen roles. She co-starred in I Feel Pretty with Amy Schumer and has appeared in movies such as White Chicks, He’s Just Not That Into You, and Terminator. Her television credits include Vice Principals, Drunk History, ER, and How I Met Your Mother.
Busy Philipps is very popular on Instagram
Philipps has found huge success on Instagram. She has numerous endorsement deals and frequently posts #ad as she poses with various products.
Philipps claims to have made more money in 2016 as an Instagram influencer than as an actress. The Cougar Town alum started on the platform as a new mom looking for support. Today, she has more than 2 million followers.
The actress has mastered the Instagram Stories feature, sharing 15-second clips of her daily life with the world. Nothing is off-limits as she talks about her children, marriage, workout routine, career, and experience with sexual abuse. Her candid Stories launched her into a book deal with Simon & Schuster and a late-night talk show on the E! channel.
How did Busy Philipps get her name?
In 2018, Philipps released her hilariously honest memoir, This Will Only Hurt a Little. She talks in length about her early childhood and adolescent years.
Philipps was born on June 25, 1979, with the name Elizabeth Jean Philipps. At six months of age, her parents began calling her “Busy” because she was such an active baby. The nickname stuck and she is now just as busy as ever.
It appears selecting original names runs in the family. Philipps shares two daughters with screenwriter Marc Silverstein. Birdie Leigh is 11 years old and Cricket Pearl is 6.
On The Today Show, Kathie Lee Gifford asked Philipps about the unusual names of her children. Philipps confided: “We decided that if we wanted to call our kids something, we would just name them that thing that we wanted to call them.”
Busy Phillips’ late-night show cancellation
Jennifer Garner and several other famous celebrities recently came to Philipps’ defense after the abrupt cancellation of her popular late-night talk show, Busy Tonight. Produced by Tina Fey, 105 episodes aired from October 2018 to May 2019.
Blindsided by the cancellation, Philipps reached out to her Instagram community on New Year’s Eve to talk candidly about what she felt was unfair treatment by E! executives. Emotional, tear-filled photos and an explicit letter from her young daughter told the story on Instagram of the end of her relationship with E!.
Philipps described the pain she felt when her show was canceled. She drank lots of tequila, posted lots of tear-stained selfies on Instagram, and got a tattoo on her ankle with the words “F**k em” to remind her of how she was “f**ked over by some dudes in the business.”
Her daughter, Birdie, seems to take after her mother. In her letter to E! executives, she stated, “You are the worst TV network. EVER. Why! Well, 1. You got [rid] of my mom’s show. 2. You [made] a lot of people lose [their] jobs. 3. You suck. Well, anyways my mom does work much harder than you so you don’t [deserve] her. She will find another place to do her show. When it becomes popular she will shove it up [your] a*s.”
