Quinta Brunson Used to Work at the Apple Store — and Now Helps Her “Abbott Elementary” Costars with Their Phones!
On the flip side, the 'Abbott Elementary' star, producer and creator also once spent her days "folding jeans" at a clothing store and recalls, "I was very bad at it, it was not my calling"
Quinta Brunson is a woman of many talents — and an official Genius.
The Emmy winner, 34, looked back on some of her early jobs during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark on Tuesday.
Not every gig was a success, she shared: "I worked at American Eagle, folding jeans. I was very bad at it, it was not my calling."
But she found more success later, adding, "I worked as a dance teacher for many years after school. And I worked at the Apple Store. I was at the Genius Bar, but I was an FRS [Family Room Specialist] so I would fix phones, iPods and iPads."
Quipping that "computers were for the big boys," Brunson revealed she can "still do a thing or two" with an iPhone — and she even helps her Abbott Elementary castmates with their devices.
"I help Sheryl [Lee Ralph] all the time on the show," she shared. "And Lisa [Ann Walter]."
Co-host Kelly Ripa said in response, "You know what, it's an embarrassment of riches. To work on that show that you’ve created so beautifully, that you write so beautifully. ... And then, to have somebody who used to be at the Nerd Bar helping you with your tech."
"Nerd bar?!" Brunson replied while fellow co-host Mark Consuelos chimed in to correct his wife: "Genius Bar."
"I always call it the Nerd Bar!" said Ripa, 53, and Consuelos, 52, added, "It is the Nerd Bar, that’s exactly what it is."
Related: Quinta Brunson Talks Confidence, Oprah and Her Surprising Journey to Making 'Abbott Elementary'
Brunson last opened up about her former Apple Store job while in conversation with Adam Scott for Variety Studio: Actors on Actors, joking, "My publicist told me to stop talking about it."
Brunson has come a long way since her Apple Store days, taking creativity into her own hands as Abbott's creator, executive producer, star and writer (the last of which earned her a 2022 Emmy before she picked up another statuette last month for her front-of-camera work).
The series has also allowed Brunson to forge close friendships off screen with her castmates, which is something fellow cast member Janelle James can attest to.
"I don't think I had met any of them, but on the first table read, I was like, 'Oh, I could totally see the show right away. This is amazing.' This is such a good mix of people," James told Entertainment Weekly in 2022. "We just really clicked right away as a cast.... In an ensemble cast, as in any work environment, you hope you get along with your coworkers, and we really all do. It's so fun."
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Season 3 of Abbott Elementary premieres Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
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