When the Nickelodeon comedy “Victorious” was created, it was widely believed (as in the New York Post) to have been envisioned as a vehicle for Victoria Justice from Jamie Lynn Spears “Zoey 101.” However, the other talented young women who starred with Justice in the series, as part of the main cast from Hollywood Arts High School — namely, Ariana Grande as sweet Cat Valentine and Elizabeth Gillies as Goth-only-not Jade West — soon stole the show and became fan favorites. Sure, Tori was the undeniably talented (but slightly vanilla) star. However, Cat was adorably clueless and Jade was the jealous, mean girl with an edge as sharp as those scissors from “The Scissoring” she adores so much. And they could both sing, backing up Tori and each other with glorious harmony even if they didnt all quite get along all the time on-screen. Well, except that its impossible not to get along with sweet Cat.
After debuting in 2010, the series ran another four seasons until 2013, ending as a sometimes strange (think creepy ventriloquist dummy Rex Powers) but often fun, mostly family-friendly show. And even in retrospect, Jade remains one of Nickelodeons most memorable characters: Buzzfeed called her, in 2019, “hands down the best character on Victorious.”
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On January 4, 2009, 13 closed down. Gillies starred in Nickelodeons Victorious, in which she plays Jade West, the “mean girl” of the show and the frenemy/occasional antagonist of Victoria Justices character Tori Vega. Victorious was cancelled on February 2, 2013 with only 4 seasons and was not renewed for a fifth. It is unknown the exact reason why it was cancelled but there are rumors for a reboot. The fourth season was cut off at the last episode “Victori-Yes” without a final season/series finale.
She is working on an album, as she tweeted “Off to the studio to do some writing” on January 2, 2012 and mentioned in a Teen.com interview “I am working on some stuff right now, nothing I can really talk about, but I definitely am working on my music, and Im moving along that path a little further on, so hopefully therell be something to show in the next year or so.” On March 6, 2012, she mentioned in a tweet “Ive been crazy busy writing original music so I havent had any time do covers…” Also during her show in Genghis Cohen, she has said, “Im still in the process of writing my own album, but I wanted to play a small show so I can share a little bit of what Im been working on.” [2]
Gillies began her career by appearing in commercials for bubblegum and cellphones, before receiving small roles in The Black Donnellys, The Clique and Locker 514. In summer 2008, she was cast as Lucy in a Goodspeed production of Jason Robert Browns new musical about growing up, 13 (along with Ariana Grande). Later that year, 13 moved to Broadway, which made it the first Broadway production to have an all teen cast. She received the two big numbers “Opportunity” and “It Cant Be True” along with smaller parts in other songs, such as the title song, “Hey Kendra” and “Getting Ready”.
In an interview, Liz said she is “really funny” and that she “makes up characters” who she might pretend to be while conversing with someone. She also said she is “very weird.” Her co-actress and best friend, Ariana Grande (see Eliana), noted that Liz loves photography and frequently took photographs of herself and everyone on the set of Victorious.
Elizabeth Gillies played Denis Leary’s daughter on Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
In 2015, Elizabeth Gillies joined Denis Learys “Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll” on FX as Gigi, the daughter of a former rock star who shows up at her fathers doorstep. The show only ran for two seasons to mixed reviews. Gillies character received mixed reviews, too: “Gillies has a powerful voice — and the early episodes give her ample opportunity to showcase it — but the writing of her character is the shows weak link, and a general drag on the proceedings,” Variety said. Gillies actually sang live in the show.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gillies said the role appealed to her because Gigi was a lot like her. She told the publication that she had no qualms about moving into a less family-friendly role: “Im playing a role where I get to sing, act, and be funny, and its just like a dream for me. As far as moving to more adult TV, Ive always had a racier sense of humor and Ive never played the good girl, so I dont think itll shock any of my fans from Nickelodeon. Theyre all grown up now anyways,” she said.
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