Who is Heather Burns?
Heather Burns is an award-winning American actress, perhaps still best known to the wider public as Cheryl ‘Rhode Island’ in the film “Miss Congeniality” (2000), and its sequel “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous” (2005), and most recently as Kathy Gustafson in the TV series “Blindspot” (2017-2020), in addition to several other roles that she’s secured in her career.
Where is Heather Burns Today?
Heather is a married woman and a mother, though she is still active as an actress. The entire world has been stricken by the covid-19 pandemic, though this hasn’t stopped her from finding acting engagements, and most recently, Heather was one of the celebrities to appear in the comedy-drama series “Social Distance”, which depicts how people strive to stay connected while forced apart in 2020; in 2021, she portrayed Toni Hedger in the TV series “The Good Fight”.
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Heather Burns Biography: Age, Childhood, and Education
Heather Burns was born on 7 April 1975 under the Aries zodiac sign, in Chicago, Illinois USA. She is the daughter of Jim Burns, a professional basketball player with the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and a lawyer who served as the US Attorney in Chicago from 1992 until 1996, and his wife Marty Burns. The native of Chicago, she grew up in her hometown alongside her brother Jimmy Burns. Heather went to Evanston Township High School, and after matriculation enrolled at New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts from which she obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Furthermore, she honed her acting skills at the Second City, and also at the Atlantic Theatre Company Acting School. Her father had a lot of influence on her during her early years, that she even considered going to law school; however, but she opted for a career in acting.
Career Beginnings
Heather’s career started in the late ‘90s, with the role of Herrick in the soap opera “One Life to Live”, which has been on air since 1968. After portraying Herrick in 1996 and ‘97, Heather continued her career with minor roles in such TV series as “Law & Order” in 1998, and as Christina Plutzker in the award-winning romantic comedy-drama film “You’ve Got Mail”, with Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks and Greg Kinnear in the lead roles.
Next, she was Darcy in the television movie “Chicks” in 1999, then in 2000 she was selected for the part of Cheryl ‘Rhode Island’ in the comedy crime-action film “Miss Congeniality”, starring Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine and Benjamin Bratt. She got her first starring role the same year, as Lydia in the comedy-drama film “You Are Here”, which also starred her husband Ajay Naidu, and Larry Fessenden.
Rise to Prominence
With the start of the new millennium, Heather’s career started going in an upwards direction, first with a role in the 2002 award-winning romantic comedy film “Two Weeks Notice”, written and directed by Marc Lawrence, and starring Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant and Alicia Witt, then the following year she starred in the drama film “Kill the Poor”, next to Clara Bellar and John Budinoff.
Two years later, she reprised the role of Cheryl Fraiser in the film “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous”, and the same year appeared in the fantasy romantic-comedy film “Bewitched”, starring Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, and Shirley MacLaine. Moreover, she starred in the comedy-drama film “Perception”, alongside Piper Perabo and Mark Dobies, while from 2006 to 2008, she portrayed Stella in all 13 episodes of the TV comedy series “Twenty Good Years”, co-starring John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor. In 2007 she was Denise in the award-winning romantic comedy-drama film “Watching the Detectives”, written and directed by Paul Soter, and starring Cillian Murphy, Lucy Liu, and Jason Sudeikis.
Two years later, she completed the main cast of the comedy crime-drama series “Bored to Death” (2009-2011), with Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson; the series went on to win a Primetime Emmy Award, and Heather herself was rather praised for her efforts. Concurrently, in 2010 Heather starred in the crime-drama film “Ashes”, while in 2011 she featured in the romantic-comedy film “What’s Your Number”, with Anna Faris, Chris Evans and Ari Graynor in the lead roles.
Heather then became more focused on her family life, though she has remained active as an actress. In 2013, she starred in the short-lived but award-winning comedy series “Save Me”, with Anne Heche as the main star, then in 2016 she was Jill in the Academy Award-winning drama film “Manchester by the Sea”, which starred Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams and Kyle Chandler.
The same year, Heather starred in the film “Brave New Jersey”, which earned her a Copper Wing Award at the Phoenix Film Festival. From 2017 to 2020 she appeared as Kathy Gustafson in the Primetime Emmy Award-nominated TV action crime-drama series “Blindspot”, and in 2020 she guest-starred in the TV comedy series “The Politician”.
Personal Life, Marriage, Husband, Children
Heather has been married to actor Ajay Naidu since 2012 and they have a son together, born in February 2016. The two have actually been together since their high school days, as they attended the same Evanston Township High School. Naidu is best known to the world as Samir in the film “Office Space” (1999), and as Dr. Chakraborty in the sci-fi mystery drama film “K-PAX” (2001), among other notable roles.
Net Worth
As of late 2021, Heather Burns’ net worth has been estimated to be around $8 million, earned through her successful career as an actress, during which, she’s appeared in almost 50 film and TV titles, all of which have added to her wealth.
Appearance and Vital Statistics
The prominent actress has blonde hair and blue eyes. She stands at a height of 5ft 8½ins (1.74m), weighs approximately 132lbs (60kgs), while her vital statistics are 36-27-36, bra size 34B.
Hobbies, Interests, and Trivia
The prominent actress is a huge animal lover, and has two pet dogs which she considers a part of the family.
Moreover, in her teenage years she volunteered at an animal shelter, and this kind of dedication has continued into adulthood, as she is now often seen at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) events.
An avid traveler, Heather has been to many US states, both for work and pleasure – Miami, Florida is one of her favorite destinations. Furthermore, Heather has visited several Asian and European countries.
She has found inspiration in such actors as Robin Williams, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, among others, and loves to relax at night by watching such films as “Mr. and Mrs Smith”, and “Patch Adams”.
Before giving birth, Heather was rather active in the gym, working out five times a week, but since pregnancy, she has become more focused on her mental health, and is now often practicing yoga, rather than going to the gym.
