Brielle Barbusca

Background

Brielle Barbusca was born on November 2, 1998, in New Jersey, to Louie and Debra Lynn Barbusca. She is of Sicilian descent and has an actor brother, Thomas, who plays Chip Pemberton in Fox’s sitcom “The Mick.” A talent agent noticed her picture on the wall of her uncle’s restaurant in New York City when she was three years old. He later got in touch with her mother, and she’s been acting ever since. Barbusca began her career in ad campaigns before making her T.V. career debut in “Queens Supreme.” She has worked on commercials and print campaigns for companies such as Coca-Cola, Mattel, Apple, and Netflix.

Barbusca portrayed a kidnapped girl in the pilot episode of “Queens Supreme” in 2003. She went on to star in the N.B.C. crime drama “Third Watch.” She made her feature film debut in 2004 with “The Forgotten,” a science fiction horror film. The film was a commercial success and starred Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Gary Sinise, Alfre Woodard, Linus Roache, and Anthony Edwards. Barbusca appeared in the 2005 romantic comedy “Hitch” alongside Will Smith, Eva Mendes, and Kevin James. She also played Briana Melville in the A.B.C. sitcom “Hope & Faith,” which starred Faith Ford and Kelly Ripa. She appeared in the 2005 episode “House of Cards” of “Law & Order.” Barbusca was in “The Starter Wife,” a U.S.A. Network miniseries based on Gigi Levangie Grazer’s novel of the same name; Debra Messing, Judy Davis, and Miranda Otto starred in the show. Barbusca played the role of Jaden Kagan, Molly Kagan’s seven-year-old daughter from her soon-to-be ex-husband Kenny Kagan. Her character was a stereotypical seven-year-old whose objectives centered on the latest toy and reuniting her parents. Barbusca reprised her role in the miniseries and novel-based T.V. series. Her character got a much bigger role in the show’s plot, which aired ten episodes between October 10, 2008, and December 12, 2008.

Barbusca took a three-year break from acting to concentrate on her studies. In 2012, she decided to return to the entertainment world with a surprise appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” That same year, she appeared in a short film called “Microeconomics.” By 2013, Barbusca had successfully transitioned from child to adult roles, appearing in six projects, including the telefilm “Twang,” A.B.C.’s mockumentary family sitcom “Modern Family,” Nickelodeon’s anthology series “Deadtime Stories,” Fox’s medical comedy-drama “The Mindy Project,” A.B.C.’s sitcom “Trophy Wife,” and comedy-drama “Definitely Mel.” In 2014, Barbusca appeared as a recurring character on A.B.C.’s political thriller “Scandal,” and in 2015, she appeared as a guest star on Fox’s crime procedural drama “Bones.” Over the next two years, she played various minor roles. She landed the role of Bonnie in Showtime’s comedy-drama “Shameless,” a remake of the U.K. T.V. show of the same name. Barbusca also appeared in the family drama “The Fosters” on Freedom, the web series “Kings of Con,” and the Disney Channel’s “Best Friends Whenever.” Barbusca appeared as a cheerleader in two episodes of C.B.S.’s comedy series “Young Sheldon” in 2017. She then appeared as Sasha in the drama film “Party Mom” in 2018 after guest-starring in Fox’s procedural drama “9-1-1.” Barbusca played Jenna in the episode “Gunpowder Treason” of the action series “S.W.A.T.” in 2020. She will also appear as Catherine in the comedy “Saturday at the Starlight,” in which teenagers, tweens, and crooks hang out at the local roller rink one night in the 1990s.