MOST PEOPLE KNOW Quinta Brunson as “the Girl Who’s Never Been on a Nice Date” or the BuzzFeed Meme Girl. She got her start as a stand-up comedian but found her audience by memeing well, as she puts it, playing characters like “the girl who could Milly Rock on any block” and the woman who, shocked by her date’s ability to afford a large popcorn, yells, “He got money!” So when Brunson’s sitcom Abbott Elementary debuted on ABC this past December, much of Twitter exclaimed, “The ‘He Got Money Girl’ is on TV now? I love that for her!” unaware that she is also the show’s creator, writer, and executive producer.
Brunson, 32, isn’t bothered by those who think being the subject of BuzzFeed videos was what launched her to success. “I think it’s cool!” she tells me, flashing her famous, meme-worthy smile. “It shows it doesn’t matter what you did first—all of these platforms are just ways for artists to flex their muscles.” She’s sitting in her living room surrounded by moving boxes because she recently purchased a house in Los Angeles—the “He Got Money Girl” has now made some money herself.
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