Nikki Blonsky

Nicole Blonsky[1] (born November 9, 1988)[2] is an American actress, singer, dancer, and internet personality. She is known for playing Tracy Turnblad in the film Hairspray (2007), for which she won two Critics' Choice Awards and received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Nikki Blonsky
Blonsky at Slim-Fast Fashion Show in January 2008
Born
Nicole Blonsky

(1988-11-09) November 9, 1988
Great Neck, New York, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • dancer
  • personality
Years active2007–present
PartnerHailey Jo Jenson (engaged)

Blonsky has starred as Willamena Rader in the ABC Family series Huge (2010), for which she received a Teen Choice Award nomination, had a recurring role as Margot on the series Smash (2013), and had roles in the films Geography Club (2013) as Therese and The Last Movie Star (2017) as Faith. She is a licensed cosmetologist.

Early life

Blonsky was born and raised in Great Neck, New York.[3] She and her brother Joey[4] are the children of Karen, a school aide, and Carl Blonsky, a municipal worker for the village water pollution control district.[5][6] Her father is Jewish, and her mother is Roman Catholic.[7]

Blonsky attended Great Neck North Middle School and attended John L. Miller Great Neck North High School, and switched to Village School after a year at the latter.[6] She additionally attended the after-school theatre program at William A. Shine Great Neck South High School daily, where she participated in productions of Les Misérables, Sweeney Todd, Kiss Me, Kate, and the title role of the opera Carmen.[6]

Career
Blonsky at the 2008 Voice awards

Blonsky made her screen debut as Tracy Turnblad in the musical feature film Hairspray, which is an adaptation of the musical of the same name.[7][8] She auditioned for the role as a high-school student with no professional acting or singing background at the time, and beat out eleven-hundred candidates.[9][10][11] The film was released to commercial and critical success, and became Blonsky's first role.[12][13] She received praise for her performance, with Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times writing "Without somebody like Nikki Blonsky at the heart of the movie, it might fall flat, but everybody works at her level of happiness..."[14] She received several awards and nominations, including winning two Critic's Choice Awards for Best Actress and Best Acting Ensemble,[15] and being nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.[16][17]

On June 22, 2008, she sang The Star-Spangled Banner in the pre-race ceremony at the 2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.[18] Blonsky also co-starred in the MTV mystery series Valemont in 2009. In 2010, Blonsky co-starred with Raven Goodwin in the short lived ABC Family series Huge, which premiered in June 2010,[19] and ran for one season. Entertainment Weekly described her as the show's "great asset" and praised her for having "the delicate skill to make Will’s anger take the forms of both sincerity and a funny sarcasm."[20] For Huge, she received a nomination for a Teen Choice Award.[21]

In 2011, Blonsky earned a cosmetology license, and began working part-time as a hairstylist and make-up artist in her hometown of Great Neck, New York, between acting auditions.[22] In 2013, Blonsky appeared in two episodes of the NBC Broadway drama series Smash.[23] Later that year, she appeared in the film adaptation of the book Geography Club.[24] The film received mixed reviews,[25] however she and the cast were nominated for an award at the ShoWest Convention in 2014.[26]

Blonsky appeared Off-Broadway in the play Stuffed by Lisa Lampanelli at the Westside Theatre in October 2017 to November 2017.[27] In 2020, Blonsky launched her video blogging series on her Instagram account, in which she chats with other celebrities.

Personal life

In July 2008, Blonsky and her parents were involved in a violent confrontation with the family of Bianca Golden, a former contestant on America's Next Top Model, at the Providenciales International Airport in Turks and Caicos.[28] Golden, Blonsky, and Blonsky's father were all charged with assault.[29] That December, the charges against Blonsky and Golden were dropped.[30]

In June 2020, Blonsky came out as a lesbian in a video posted to the social media site TikTok set to the song "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross.[31][32][33][34] In August 2020, Blonsky confirmed that she currently resides on Long Island.[35] In 2022, Blonsky announced her engagement to her partner Hailey Jo Jenson.[36]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2007HairsprayTracy Turnblad
2008Queen SizedMaggie BakerLifetime Television film[37]
2008HaroldRhonda Baxter
2011Waiting For ForeverDolores
2012The English Teacher[38]Sheila Nussbaum
2013Geography ClubTherese
2016Pup StarLady Paw Paw
2017The Last Movie Star[39]Faith
2019Ghost in the GraveyardMrs. E

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2009 Ace of Cakes Herself Episode: "The Eagle Has Landed"
2009 Ugly Betty Teri O'Shaughnessy Episode: "Dressed for Success"
2009 The Real Housewives of New York City Herself Episode: "The Lost Footage"
2009 Valemont Poppy Barker Main role
2010 Huge Willamena Rader Lead role
Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer TV Star: Female
2011 The Fresh Beat Band Deep Freeze Episode: "Dance Floor Superhero"
2011 Rocco's Dinner Party Herself Episode: "Runway Ready"
2013 Smash[23] Margot Recurring role (Season 2)

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2007 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Newcomer Hairspray Nominated [40]
Critics' Choice Awards Best Young Actress Won [15]
Best Acting Ensemble Won
Hollywood Film Awards Ensemble of the Year Won [41]
Young Hollywood Awards One To Watch Won
2008 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress, Musical or Comedy Nominated [16]
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Breakthrough Performance Won [42]
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated [17]
Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Ensemble Cast Award Won [43]
Rising Star Award Won
2010 Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer TV Star: Female Huge Nominated [21]
2014 ShoWest Convention Ensemble Award Geography Club Nominated [26]

References
  1. "Zac Efron prepares for 'Hairspray'". Digital Spy. November 7, 2008. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
  2. "UPI Almanac for Friday, Nov. 9, 2018". United Press International. November 9, 2018. actor Nikki Blonsky in 1988 (age 30)
  3. Hill, Logan (Summer 2011). "Big Girl Now". New York. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  4. Kahn, Robert (December 13, 2007). "Family with Nikki Blonsky when she got Globes nod". Newsday. New York City / Long Island. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016. (subscription required)
  5. Kahn, Robert (July 15, 2007). "Nikki Blonsky's career takes hold with 'Hairspray'". New York's CW 11. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
  6. Fischler, Marcelle S. (July 8, 2007). "For 'Hairspray' Star, 'My Darn Dream Come True'". The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
  7. Bloom, Nate (July 10, 2007). "She's the Man: A Q&A with Amanda Bynes". Interfaith Family. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  8. Fox, Michael (July 19, 2007). "ARTS: Welcome To The '60s". The Detroit Jewish News. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
  9. Shankman, Adam. "The Director's Chair: Adam Shankman's Hairspray Diary #9". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  10. Shankman, Adam. "The Director's Chair: Adam Shankman's Hairspray Diary #7". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  11. Hairspray: How Nikki Blonsky Got Cast As Tracy Turnblad, retrieved April 10, 2022
  12. "'Chuck & Larry' Can't Stop 'Hairspray' Sheen". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  13. "'Chuck & Larry' Can't Stop 'Hairspray' Sheen". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  14. Ebert, Roger. "Hairspray movie review & film summary (2007) | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com/. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  15. BWW News Desk. "Blonsky, Coen, 'Enchanted' & 'Hairspray' Win Critics' Choice Awards". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  16. "WarnerBros.com | Home of WB Movies, TV, Games, and more!". warnerbros.com. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  17. "The 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards | Screen Actors Guild Awards". sagawards.org. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  18. "Celebrity Circuit: At the Races". CBS News. June 2008. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  19. Andreeva, Nellie (March 22, 2010). "Nikki Blonsky to star in ABC Family's 'Huge'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  20. June 28, Ken Tucker Updated; EDT, 2010 at 12:00 PM. "'Huge' premiere review: Is this a big improvement in overweight TV?". EW.com. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  21. "Winners Of 'Teen Choice 2010' Announced" (PDF). March 29, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 29, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  22. Lovece, Frank (December 12, 2011). "Nikki Blonsky: No beauty school dropout". Newsday. New York City / Long Island. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012.
  23. Barton, Chris (September 17, 2012). "'Smash' adds Broadway vets Nikki Blonsky, Jesse L. Martin". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  24. "Geography Club (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. April 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  25. Lopez, John; Angeles, ContributorWriting/filmmaker living in Los (April 30, 2013). "Newport Film Festival's 'The Geography Club' Depicts the New Normal of Gay Relationships". HuffPost. Retrieved June 25, 2020. {{cite web}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  26. "ShoWest Convention, USA (2014)". IMDb. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  27. "Stuffed". Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  28. Tauber, Michelle (October 9, 2008). "Nikki Blonsky: Airport Brawl Left Me 'Destroyed'". People. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  29. Helling, Steve (August 8, 2008). "Nikki Blonsky's Father Denied Bail in Airport Brawl Case". People. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  30. Serpe, Gina (December 31, 2008). "Nikki Blonsky, Next Top Modeler Cleared in Airport Smackdown". E! News. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  31. "Nikki Blonsky on TikTok". Nikki Blonsky TikTok account. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  32. VanHoose, Benjamin (June 29, 2020). "Hairspray Star Nikki Blonsky Comes Out as Gay While Lip-Syncing Diana Ross' 'I'm Coming Out'". People. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  33. "Nikki Blonsky on Coming Out as Gay: "It Was a Long Time Coming"". The Hollywood Reporter. June 30, 2020.
  34. "'Hairspray' star Nikki Blonsky comes out as gay to Diana Ross song". June 29, 2020.
  35. "Nikki Blonsky Interview". Famadillo.com.
  36. Rude, Mey (September 29, 2022). "Hairspray Star Nikki Blonsky Is Now Engaged to Nonbinary Fiancé". Out.
  37. "Nikki Blonsky has no problem with plus-size roles". Orange County Register. California. January 11, 2008. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019.
  38. "The English Teacher". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  39. "The Last Movie Star (also Dog Years)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  40. "2007 EDA Awards Nominees Announced – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS". December 11, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  41. "Hollywood Film Awards (2007)". IMDb. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  42. "Online Film Critics Society Awards (2008)". IMDb. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  43. "Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala". psfilmfestawards.org. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
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