credit: GLOW
Her acting career has blossomed since her first role in 2006, and Betty Gilpin is currently at the top of her game. Her roles in projects such as Netflix’s GLOW and the Showtime drama Nurse Jackie put her name on the map, and she doesn’t take that for granted. Before she was a major television star, however, Gilpin’s career was spent guest starring on shows such as Law & Order: Criminal Intent, where she experienced a situation that most people would consider their worst fears come true. What else don’t you know about Betty Gilpin? Keep reading to learn 10 interesting Betty Gilpin facts.
1. She’s a Born and Bred New Yorker
Gilpin is a New Yorker from the start. She was born in the city on July 21, 1986, to her mother and father. Her father worked as a priest at an Episcopal church. Growing up in Manhattan, her family lived in a neighborhood without many neighbors, which is rare. The South Street Seaport was widely unoccupied, which left her family in one of the street’s only buildings with families living in it.
2. She Was Closely Tied to Harvard
She did not attend Harvard University, but she has close ties to the prestigious Ivy League University. Her father’s cousin was the president. Drew Gilpin Faust served as President of the University for 11 years, from 2007 until 2018. Ultimately, her college career did not take her to the University her dad’s cousin resided over, but that’s all right.
3. She Did Go to College
Though she had family in charge at Harvard, she chose to attend Fordham University instead. It was a wise move for her because the acting was what she wanted to do. Studying at Fordham meant she was able to learn until the tutelage of the impressive Dianne Wiest, which is not something many people get to say they did.
4. Betty Gilpin Keeps Her Private Life Very Close
Though some aspects of her life are public knowledge, she’s not one to share too much about her husband or their daughter. She married an actor in 2016. His name is Cosmo Pfeil, and they share a little girl. They welcomed their daughter during the slow 2020 season.
credit: GLOW
5. She Was Left in A Body Bag Once
It happened during a guest appearance on the hit show Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She, the daughter of Fran Drescher’s character, was found dead and hidden, and her body was zipped into a body bag on a beach. The scene was filmed, everyone cut, and then the director sent them all to lunch while she was still zipped in the body bag lying there without anyone to help. She could hear the cast and crew getting into their cars and driving away while she was lying in a body bag on a deserted beach. Fortunately, one of the crew members remembered she was there and came running back, filled with apologies, to let her out.
6. She’s Frustrated at Being Typecast
One notable thing about Gilpin’s career, to her, is that she spent much of her 20s showing off her pretty face and her amazing body. She likes her fans to remember that she’s more than a body and a pair of breasts, but she doesn’t feel quite like anyone understands that. She’s been frustrated with the way she is portrayed in many roles, often leaving her feeling as if she is one-dimensional.
7. Gilpin Does Not Use Social Media
She’s not a fan. She doesn’t have any public accounts, and she tries to steer clear of the mess that is social media. And a mess it is. She doesn’t feel the need to stay in constant contact with the world or let them know what she’s doing in her life, and we love that about her.
8. She’s an Author
Gilpin has much to say, but she’s not always able to say what she’s thinking. So, she wrote a book. It’s titled All the Women in My Brain: And Other Concerns, and she published it a few years ago. The book is her stating what’s going on in her own mind, how she feels, and her resonating with the others in her life who might feel the same way.
credit: GLOW
9. She Lived in Connecticut For a Time
Her family moved to Connecticut when she was around nine, and she often describes her childhood as being like carnival people. Carnies, as they are called, don’t have much of a home base or a very routine lifestyle, and she calls hers very similar. Both of her parents were entertainers, and they were everywhere all the time. Her childhood was anything but typical.
10. She Is Okay with Weirdness
“I became an actor because I felt like I was the strange girl with split ends on the sidelines in a saliva-soaked hoodie, taking notes on human behavior. And now my job is to present said notes on human behavior while wearing a costume with ringlets,” she said of her life now.
Follow Us
