100 Fun Facts About Bridesmaids

Judd Apatow produced Bridesmaids, but who directed it?

Paul Feig found a lasting partner on set: he went on to direct Melissa McCarthy, the film's breakout star, in The Heat, Spy and Ghostbusters.

Kristen Wiig co-wrote Bridesmaids with which fellow Groundlings performer?

Annie Mumolo wrote it with Wiig over several years, meeting at weekends while they lived and worked on opposite coasts, then cameoed as Annie's nervous seatmate on the plane.

What was the original title of the Bridesmaids script?

Maid of Honor named the job Annie is given, loses to Helen after the disastrous flight, and wins back on the wedding day.

In Bridesmaids, which city is home to Kristen Wiig's character, Annie Walker?

Milwaukee is home for Annie and Lillian, and the bride's fear of leaving it behind for married life in Helen's Chicago world drives the film's last crisis.

In Bridesmaids, which film does one bridesmaid pitch as a party theme for Lillian?

Fight Club becomes a 'female fight club' in the pitch: the guests grease up, spring a surprise on the unsuspecting bride and beat her up.

Where does Annie work at the start of Bridesmaids?

A jewelry store, where Annie talks engaged couples out of believing in lasting love and is finally fired for trading insults with a teenage customer.

Who plays Lillian, the bride and Annie's lifelong best friend, in Bridesmaids?

Maya Rudolph gets the film's most notorious image: struck by food poisoning in a couture wedding gown, her bride gives up and crouches down in the middle of a busy street.

Which uncredited actor plays Ted, the wealthy, self-absorbed man Annie sleeps with in Bridesmaids?

Jon Hamm's Ted gets his exit after Annie's car crash: he offers a lift, makes a crude proposition at the wheel, and she gets out and walks home.

In Bridesmaids, Helen, Annie's rival for Lillian's friendship, is the wife of whom?

Doug's boss is Helen's husband, Perry, so the engagement party is held where he is a member and the wedding plans swell to a budget Annie can't match.

Who plays Helen in Bridesmaids?

Rose Byrne first read for another part, then asked for 'a crack at Helen'; the director wanted a non-comedian so the rival wouldn't come out 'too arch'.

In Bridesmaids, why does Officer Nathan Rhodes first pull Annie over?

Erratic driving made him suspect she was drunk; she passes his roadside sobriety test by showing off, and the ticket he writes is for her broken brake lights instead.

Before Bridesmaids, Chris O'Dowd, who plays Officer Rhodes, was best known in Britain as Roy in which sitcom?

The IT Crowd cast him as a basement help-desk man who answers every caller with 'Have you tried turning it off and on again?'

In Bridesmaids, what kind of restaurant does Annie pick for the lunch that gives everyone food poisoning?

Brazilian: Annie swears by the cheap, out-of-the-way place, and only Helen, who skips the meat because a big meal is bad before a fitting, escapes what follows.

In the bridal-boutique scene of Bridesmaids, what does Megan do?

Defecates in the sink: with the bathroom overrun, Megan hoists herself onto the washbasin, shouting 'It's coming out of me like lava!'

In Bridesmaids, where is Helen's bachelorette trip headed, overruling Annie's lake-house idea?

Las Vegas is never reached: Annie's mid-air meltdown forces an emergency landing, and Lillian hands the rest of the planning to Helen.

In Bridesmaids, what does Annie take from Helen on the plane that leads to her breakdown?

A sedative and liquor: Helen gives the nervous flyer pills, then her own Scotch to 'give the pill a little kick', and Annie is soon sneaking into first class in sunglasses.

In Bridesmaids, one bridesmaid turns up with pins in her legs after falling off what?

A cruise ship: she says she pinballed down the railings on the way overboard, then met a dolphin that looked 'into my soul'.

In Bridesmaids, what theme does Helen give Lillian's bridal shower, stealing an idea Annie had suggested?

Parisian: Helen had waved off Annie's French idea as 'been there, done that', then used it herself and topped it by giving the bride a trip to Paris.

What does Nathan surprise Annie with the morning after their romantic night, prompting her to leave?

Baking supplies: he lays out butter, milk and a 'workshop' so they can cook together, and the nudge back toward her old trade sends her straight out of the door.

In Bridesmaids, who visits Annie at rock bottom and pushes her to take control of her life?

Megan pounces on Annie while playing 'your life', then tells how she went from a schoolgirl who had firecrackers thrown at her to a government job with top security clearance.

On the wedding day in Bridesmaids, why does Helen come to Annie for help?

Lillian is missing, hiding in her own apartment, and on the search Helen admits in tears that people only want her for her party planning and she has no real friends.

Which group appears as themselves to perform at Lillian's wedding in Bridesmaids?

Wilson Phillips are announced as the bride's favourite band singing her favourite song, and the surprise cameo gave the trio's own career a second wind.

Which 1990 number-one hit is performed live at Lillian's wedding to close Bridesmaids?

Hold On displaced Madonna's Vogue at the top of the chart in June 1990, and the film's finale, with the bride and Annie miming along, gave the song a second life.

How does Bridesmaids end for Annie and Nathan?

They kiss and ride off in his police car: he had ignored every attempt she made to apologise, then turned up unannounced once the wedding was over.

Bridesmaids earned Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and in which other category?

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa McCarthy's nomination turned a sitcom regular into a box-office lead, with Identity Thief and The Heat following within two years.

Before Bridesmaids, Melissa McCarthy spent seven seasons in which TV role?

Sookie St. James in Gilmore Girls was first meant for Alex Borstein, whose MADtv commitments ruled her out; she turned up instead as the inn's harpist.

Which actor, who married Melissa McCarthy in 2005, plays the undercover air marshal in Bridesmaids?

Ben Falcone kept turning up beside his wife, with cameos in Identity Thief, The Heat and Spy, and went on to direct her in Life of the Party and Thunder Force.

Which British comedian plays Gil, Annie's roommate and the brother of Rebel Wilson's Brynn, in Bridesmaids?

Matt Lucas and Rebel Wilson, the film's oddball sibling flatmates, went on to share a real house in West Hollywood from 2012 to 2015.

Ellie Kemper, who plays Becca, was best known at the time for playing which character on The Office?

Erin Hannon was meant to last four episodes as the new receptionist, but the part grew, was rewritten around Kemper's own sunny manner, and ran to the finale.

Wendi McLendon-Covey, who plays Rita, went on to spend a decade as the matriarch of which sitcom family?

The Goldbergs kept her as smothering mother Beverly for all ten seasons; when Jeff Garlin left in 2021, his character died off-screen and the family carried on without him.

The actress who plays Lillian in Bridesmaids is the daughter of which singer?

Minnie Riperton and her husband used the tune of 'Lovin' You', her 1975 number one, to soothe their infant daughter, and on the album version she sings the child's name as it fades out.

The actress who plays Helen in Bridesmaids earned two Emmy nominations as Ellen Parsons in which legal thriller?

Damages cast her as a young lawyer hired by Glenn Close's ruthless litigator; in its first season her fiancé is murdered and she is charged with the crime.

The director of Bridesmaids created which cult high-school series, produced by Judd Apatow?

Freaks and Geeks was cancelled before its only season had finished airing, yet it launched the careers of a young cast that included Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jason Segel.

Jill Clayburgh's final film role was which Bridesmaids character?

Annie's mother: Clayburgh, an Oscar nominee for An Unmarried Woman, had lived privately with leukaemia for over 20 years and died six months before the comedy opened.

Which superhero film kept Bridesmaids off the top spot on its opening weekend in May 2011?

Thor kept first place in its second weekend, but Bridesmaids' $26 million debut ran well ahead of forecasts for an R-rated comedy with no proven big-screen names.

Bridesmaids is set in the Midwest, but in which city was nearly all of it filmed?

Los Angeles stood in for both of the film's cities: the designer said tight views of its downtown 'feel like Chicago', and he found his flat Midwestern highway in nearby Oxnard.

Apatow's habit of asking actors for film ideas led to Bridesmaids and, earlier, to which Steve Carell comedy?

The 40-Year-Old Virgin grew from an idea Carell gave Apatow on the Anchorman set; Apatow made Wiig the same offer after she drew big laughs in a bit part for him.

Before Bridesmaids opened, what did its director say Hollywood had riding on its box office?

More films starring women: he recalled an 'edict' that a hit would get more made and a flop would not, and feared becoming 'the man who killed movies for women for eternity'.

Pat Carroll, who cameos in Bridesmaids, voiced which Disney villain later played by Melissa McCarthy?

Ursula was imagined as a Bea Arthur type, but Arthur's agent took offence at the witch comparison and passed, and Carroll landed the sea witch only after a long search.

Why was no Bridesmaids sequel made in the decade after 2011?

Its writers declined to write one: Wiig said in 2012 that she and her co-writer were 'writing something else', and McCarthy called a sequel without Wiig 'a terrible idea'.

Which studio released Bridesmaids in US cinemas on May 13, 2011?

Universal Pictures previewed it hundreds of times around the country before release to build word of mouth, and two-thirds of the opening-weekend audience were women.

The idea for Bridesmaids came in 2006, shortly after Wiig was cast in which Apatow comedy?

Knocked Up gave her a few minutes as a passive-aggressive TV executive, and she drew such big laughs that Apatow asked whether she had a film idea of her own.

Rebel Wilson's reported $3,500 fee for playing Brynn in Bridesmaids all went toward what?

Screen Actors Guild fees to join the union swallowed the whole cheque, she wrote in her memoir, but 'that didn't matter to me. The experience was everything!'

Which star of The Office read for the bride in Bridesmaids before the part went to an SNL alumna?

Mindy Kaling said nobody ever calls her in to audition because she is 'so specific'; she had 'practiced it so much' for this part, and called losing it 'a heartbreaker'.

Ordered back to coach in Bridesmaids, Annie makes which plea to the first-class cabin?

'Help me, I'm poor' comes after she sneaks forward in sunglasses claiming to be 'Mrs. Iglesias' and Helen grandly offers up her own seat.

In Bridesmaids, Officer Rhodes says cops are 'just like' whom, except they can tell everyone afterwards?

Priests: he makes the offer when he runs into Annie after her bad night, a bag of carrots in hand, and the two end up sharing them.

On the plane in Bridesmaids, what does Annie insist on calling the male flight attendant?

Stove: he is Steve, who has just given her three seconds to get back to her seat, and when he corrects her she asks, 'Are you an appliance?'

Which actor's scene as Annie's blind date was cut from the finished Bridesmaids?

Paul Rudd spent a day as a perfect date who turns maniac on an ice rink, but the film was running long and Annie already had two men to choose between.

Why, according to Judd Apatow, did Bridesmaids nearly skip most foreign markets?

Bridesmaids aren't a thing in some cultures, the producers reasoned, yet the film took well over $100 million abroad, which Apatow called 'a wonderful surprise'.

In Bridesmaids, Officer Rhodes recognises Annie as the former owner of which business?

Cake Baby had Annie's own face on its sign, which is how he places her at the traffic stop; he remembers her cream puffs and agrees to drop the ticket.

In Bridesmaids, which animals does Melissa McCarthy's character take home from Helen's lavish bridal shower?

Puppies: she later turns up at Annie's door with nine of them, all taken from the shower.

In Bridesmaids, which animals does Annie watch eating the cake she left at Officer Rhodes's house?

Raccoons get the cake: Annie watches Rhodes open it and ignore it, then sees them eating it when she drives past again.

In Bridesmaids, what does Annie put on as a disguise to sneak back into the expensive seats on the flight?

Sunglasses are her whole disguise, and they fool nobody: the flight attendant sends her back to coach a second time.

In Bridesmaids, Melissa McCarthy's character tells Annie of a spiritual encounter with which animal?

A dolphin is the animal, a story she shares on first meeting Annie at the engagement party, marking her out as the oddball of the bridal party.

The actor who plays Officer Rhodes in Bridesmaids was meant to use an American accent; which native accent did he keep?

Irish, his own: the producers were so taken with his native accent that they dropped the plan for an American one.

The mansion used for Helen's bridal shower in Bridesmaids doubled as a famous home in which 1960s TV series?

Batman lived there: the house played stately Wayne Manor in the 1960s film and TV series, and has been a staple location across television history.

At Lillian's engagement party in Bridesmaids, what do Annie and Helen end up fighting over?

The microphone goes back and forth as each tries to top the other's sentimental speech, with Helen declaring that Lillian is her best friend.

Rebel Wilson, roommate Brynn in Bridesmaids, found wider fame a year later as Fat Amy in which musical comedy?

Pitch Perfect made her a star, and Bridesmaids helped: the filmmakers recognised her from it at her audition, and she won the part of Fat Amy instantly.

Which actress, later Oscar-nominated as a director, auditioned for a role in Bridesmaids without being cast?

Greta Gerwig read for an unspecified part, as did Judy Greer; she went on to write and direct Lady Bird, Little Women and Barbie.

Which sport do Annie and Helen play against each other in Bridesmaids, aiming shots at each other's bodies?

Tennis is the battleground: the pair face off in a doubles match and compete so fiercely that the game turns into target practice.

After Annie passes a roadside sobriety test in Bridesmaids, what does Officer Rhodes ticket her for instead?

Broken brake lights earn her the ticket, but Rhodes rips it up once he learns she ran a bakery he used to visit, on her promise to fix them.

In Bridesmaids, Helen hosts Lillian's bridal shower at her mansion in which city, also home to the groom?

Chicago is Helen's world: the production designer treated it and Annie's home town as two disparate worlds that mirror the rivalry between the women.

How does the bridal party travel home after being thrown off the flight in Bridesmaids?

By bus: the plane is grounded after Annie's outburst, the whole party is kicked off, and the bachelorette trip is over before it begins.

In the opening of Bridesmaids, what does Annie secretly do before slipping back into bed beside Ted?

Applies her makeup, then climbs back in; the effort is wasted, because Ted wakes up and asks her to leave, uninterested in commitment.

Months after Bridesmaids made her a film star, Melissa McCarthy won her first Emmy for which CBS sitcom?

Mike & Molly brought her the lead actress Emmy in fall 2011 for playing Molly Flynn, a part she had landed the year before her film breakout.

Which reboot of a 1980s comedy reunited Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy with the director of Bridesmaids?

Ghostbusters cast them as two of the four women who start a ghost-catching business in New York City, in a version he also co-wrote.

Which buddy-cop comedy paired Melissa McCarthy with Sandra Bullock under the director of Bridesmaids?

The Heat arrived two years after Bridesmaids and grossed $229 million worldwide, by which time McCarthy was being called box office gold.

Ellie Kemper, Becca in Bridesmaids, later played the fish-out-of-water title character of which sitcom?

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ran for four seasons from 2015; it was made for NBC, which ended up selling the series to Netflix.

Melissa McCarthy's Oscar nomination for Bridesmaids ended in a loss to which star of The Help?

Octavia Spencer won for playing a maid in 1960s Mississippi, and like McCarthy she was on her very first Oscar nomination.

How is Melissa McCarthy's bridesmaid related to Doug, the groom whose wedding drives Bridesmaids?

His sister, a foul-mouthed but friendly oddball who joins the bride's cousin, coworker and oldest friend in the bridal party.

Kristen Wiig, Annie in Bridesmaids, voices secret agent Lucy Wilde in which animated film franchise?

Despicable Me first used her voice in 2010, as orphanage owner Miss Hattie, a year before Bridesmaids made her a leading lady.

Which former NFL player plays the boot-camp instructor in Bridesmaids?

Terry Crews barks the orders; he played defensive end and linebacker in the NFL before retiring in 1997 to pursue acting.

Bridesmaids was up for the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy but lost to which film?

The Artist won three Golden Globes that night from six nominations, the most of any 2011 film.

Melanie Hutsell and Nancy Carell, who share a cameo in Bridesmaids, were both cast members of which TV show?

Saturday Night Live employed both in the 1990s, Hutsell for three seasons and Carell for one, years before Kristen Wiig joined its cast.

After Annie's mid-air meltdown in Bridesmaids, the bachelorette flight is forced down in which state?

Wyoming is as far as they get: Annie grabs the flight attendants' phone to make an announcement after hallucinating something outside the plane.

In Bridesmaids, what does Helen confess when she apologises to Annie in the car on the wedding day?

She has no female friends, Helen admits, adding that most people only spend time with her for her event-planning skills.

Lillian's engagement party in Bridesmaids, hosted by Helen, is held at which kind of venue?

A country club sets the tone: Annie arrives alone, and two of the bridesmaids mistake a strange man for her date.

Kristen Wiig's co-writer on Bridesmaids appears beside her on screen as which minor character?

A nervous plane passenger: the film's two writers appear together during the flight, while its director slips in uncredited as a wedding guest.

In Bridesmaids, why does the mechanic who finally repairs Annie's car refuse to take her money?

He owes Rhodes a favor, so the repair Annie had been putting off ever since the officer pulled her over ends up costing her nothing.

Where does Annie run into Officer Rhodes late one night in Bridesmaids, before they talk in the parking lot?

A convenience store is the setting; outside it, Rhodes tells Annie to stop stressing about the wedding and set up a new bakery, an idea she rejects.

In Bridesmaids, what reason does Brynn give Annie for living in the apartment without paying rent or working?

She is on a tourist visa, Brynn insists, so she cannot take a job; she and her brother later throw Annie out of the apartment instead.

Bridesmaids overtook which big-screen TV spin-off to become the top R-rated female comedy at the US box office?

Sex and the City had held the mark since 2008; Bridesmaids passed it after opening well above its studio's $15 to $17 million forecast.

Which organisation named Bridesmaids one of its ten Movies of the Year for 2011?

American Film Institute honours sat beside two Golden Globe nominations, one for the film and one for Kristen Wiig's lead performance.

Wendi McLendon-Covey, Rita in Bridesmaids, began her screen career as Deputy Clementine Johnson in which comedy?

Reno 911! was an improvised series, and she joined it while still a member of the Groundlings, returning when it was revived in 2020.

The actress who plays Lillian in Bridesmaids later appeared in Inherent Vice for which director, her partner since 2002?

Paul Thomas Anderson cast her in his 2014 crime comedy-drama, three years after she played the bride at the centre of Bridesmaids.

The actress who plays Helen in Bridesmaids also played CIA agent Moira MacTaggert in which superhero film?

X-Men: First Class cast her as a 1960s CIA agent she described as feisty and ambitious, and she returned to the part in X-Men: Apocalypse.

The teen who argues with Annie in Bridesmaids is played by the daughter of which guitarist, famed for a 1976 live album?

Peter Frampton is the father of Mia Rose Frampton, whose improvised argument with Kristen Wiig runs to ten minutes in an extended cut on the Blu-ray.

Which new wave band's song Rip Her to Shreds opens Bridesmaids and returns over the end credits?

Blondie are heard twice: the original studio version opens the film and a live version closes it. Debbie Harry has said the song is about gossip columns.

A near-final cut of Bridesmaids was shown at which festival before release, drawing a pan from Variety?

South by Southwest saw a cut the director called final except for soundtrack tweaks, and Variety's critic dismissed it as a misfire.

Why did the costume designer of Bridesmaids create two distinct sets of dresses for the bridal party?

One was for the poster: the film's dresses were the outlandish couture Helen would choose, while the poster showed a more stereotypical wedding look.

A clip from which Tom Hanks film appears in Bridesmaids and is credited in its end titles?

Cast Away footage and a cue from Alan Silvestri's score were both licensed for the comedy, alongside clips from The Maury Show and a video game.

Which kind of real-world location did the Bridesmaids production choose for Lillian and Dougie's wedding?

A botanic garden and arboretum hosted the ceremony; the production designer said the challenge was finding places that could pass for the Midwest.

Doug, the groom in Bridesmaids, is played by which comedian, one half of a duo with Eric Wareheim?

Tim Heidecker took the small part of the groom a year before his leading role in the independent drama The Comedy, which also featured Wareheim.

Which romantic comedy features four Bridesmaids actors, including Kristen Wiig and Chris O'Dowd?

Friends with Kids was written and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, who also stars; the actors behind Lillian and Ted in Bridesmaids appear in it too.

Jill Clayburgh, seen in Bridesmaids in her final film, earned her first Oscar nomination for which 1978 comedy-drama?

An Unmarried Woman also won her the best actress award at Cannes; she died in November 2010, before Bridesmaids reached cinemas.

Lynne Marie Stewart, Lillian's mother in Bridesmaids, played Miss Yvonne on which children's TV show?

Pee-wee's Playhouse kept her in a role she had originated in a 1981 stage show and took to Broadway in 2010, months before Bridesmaids opened.

The actress who plays Lillian in Bridesmaids won an Emmy for her guest turns impersonating which politician?

Kamala Harris herself acknowledged the impression; the same actress also won Emmys for voicing Connie the Hormone Monstress in Big Mouth.

Which singer-songwriter's song Paper Bag, from her second album, is featured in Bridesmaids?

Fiona Apple released Paper Bag as the third single from that album, and the song had already been used in the 2006 film The Last Kiss.

Kristen Wiig's Golden Globe nomination for Bridesmaids ended in a loss to which actress, playing Marilyn Monroe?

Michelle Williams won for My Week with Marilyn, a drama about the troubled making of the 1957 comedy The Prince and the Showgirl.

After Bridesmaids, Melissa McCarthy earned a second Oscar nomination playing forger Lee Israel in which film?

Can You Ever Forgive Me? follows Israel forging letters from dead writers to revive a failing career, and it put McCarthy up for a lead-role Oscar.