Background
Heelan was born in Andover, Massachusetts, the daughter of actress and Lowell Public Schools teacher Kimball Heelan and playwright Kevin Heelan. Her parents met when her father was getting his Master"s degree at Smith College.
Heelan was born in Andover, Massachusetts, the daughter of actress and Lowell Public Schools teacher Kimball Heelan and playwright Kevin Heelan. Her parents met when her father was getting his Master"s degree at Smith College.
Heelan attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts and studied for a year at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, before transferring to the University of Southern California.
She is best known for her work on the sitcoms Cougar Town, Ground Floor, and Undateable. She has a brother named Conor. Heelan"s father, as well as being a dramatist, has been a faculty member at Phillips Andover Academy since 1983.
Heelan initially thought she was going to be in musical theatre.
She first met her Ground Floor co-star, Skylar Astin, at a musical theatre convention. Heelan"s break-out television role was on Cougar Town.
She is credited as being a recurring character on Undateable and appears in three episodes plus the pilot. She was able to shoot both Bill Lawrence-helmed Ground Floor and Undateable simultaneously, as both comedies are multi-camera, which require fewer production days than single-camera days.
On Heelan"s role in Ground Floor, television critic Alan Sepinwall said Heelan is "simply terrific as Jenny: warm and quirky while always feeling like a strong and independent character".
The Los Angeles Times said Heelan "makes Ground Floor watchable", describing her as "remarkably alive and in the moment. She makes real all that she touches. I could easily recommend tuning in just to watch her work – and hereby do.".