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Sep 12, 2022 · Updated: Sep. 12, 2022. Originally Published: Sep. 10, 2022. Quinta Brunson is a true mama’s girl. Her mother, Norma Jean Brunson, not only has a special place in her daughter’s heart but...
Mar 2, 2023 · The showrunner’s mother, Norma Jean Brunson, was a teacher for 40 years in the Philadelphia school district where Abbott is set. And the woman who gave the fictional school its name, Joyce...
Mar 18, 2024 · Brunson describes her parents, Rick and Norma Jean, as “searchers”—in their younger days, they’d been involved with the Black Power movement.
- Molly Fischer
- Garin Pirnia
- Quinta Brunson based the series on her mom, a teacher. Brunson’s mom, Norma Jean Brunson, taught kindergarten for 40 years, and Brunson would observe her mom in the classroom.
- Brunson named Abbot Elementary after her favorite teacher. If not for a legal issue, Abbott Elementary might’ve been called Harrity Elementary. Brunson wanted to name it after the elementary school she attended in Philadelphia, Mastery Charter Harrity Elementary.
- Brunson almost didn’t star in the show. When Brunson pitched the show, Janine was a supporting character, not a main character. Barbara Howard was a bigger character, and Brunson didn’t pitch herself acting in the show.
- Janelle James thinks Ava is “controlled chaos.” James plays Ava, an incompetent and distracted school principal. (Fun fact: Ava blackmailed the school district’s superintendant to get the job.)
Brunson was born and raised in West Philadelphia. Her name means "fifth" in Spanish and signifies that she is the youngest of five children. Her mother, Norma Jean, taught kindergarten and her father, Rick, managed parking lots. She was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses but left the religion when she was 21.
Jun 13, 2021 · Her mother, Norma Brunson, was initially disappointed in her daughter’s decision to leave school, but eventually came to grips with it. “I reflected on my own youth, and how I made decisions...
Apr 13, 2022 · At this point Brunson has told the story hundreds of times over, but for those in need of a primer: A year before elementary school teacher Norma Jean Brunson decided to retire, her daughter...
