Heidi Gardner. BriAnne Wills
Taylor Swift has some competition for the role of Kansas City Chiefs’ No. 1 fan in Saturday Night Live star Heidi Gardner.
“It’s a cool time to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan,” Gardner, 40, tells Us Weekly exclusively as part of her 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me feature. “My favorite player is Patrick Mahomes. He’s a real-life unicorn.”
Gardner added: “I went to the Super Bowl this year [during which the Chiefs took home the championship over the 49ers] — the game was so tense that I passed right out after. Well, I went [home], watched all the highlights and then passed out.”
Earlier this month, Gardner jokingly apologized to Swift, 34, for her participation in romantic SNL sketches with Travis Kelce, the Chiefs’ tight end and Swift’s boyfriend. Gardner — who is a Kansas City native — admitted she loved Kelce, 34, “very much” before he even met Swift, and the SNL star couldn’t resist asking him some questions on set.
“I was like, ‘On game day, what do you eat?’ And he was like, ‘Oh, Uncrustables. I’m just pounding Uncrustables,’” Gardner recalled during the May 3 broadcast of Today. “Right before dress rehearsal, we were in a scene where — sorry Taylor — we were in bed together, but he leaned over into me right before lights up on the scene and he was like, ‘I’ve been eating the Uncrustables all day,’ and I was like, ‘Cool!’”
Keep scrolling for 25 things you might not know about Gardner — including more Kansas City celebrity encounters.
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1. Banana cream pudding is my ideal comfort food.
2. The most famous person in my phone book is Mikey Day.
3. My favorite Saturday Night Live character I’ve played is Michael Jordan’s security guard from The Last Dance.
4. My favorite item in my wardrobe is a vintage Touchstone Pictures sweatshirt.
5. My celebrity crush growing up was Skeet Ulrich.
6. My favorite song of all time is “Steal My Sunshine” by Len. It’s just good vibes all around!
7. Three items I can’t leave the house without are my AirPods, sunglasses and a book called Right Now, I Am Fine by Dr. Daniela Owen.
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8. My go-to cocktail is a margarita with salt.
9. Dallas is my favorite guilty-pleasure TV show.
10. My favorite book is The Virgin Suicides.
11. The proudest moment of my career was being asked to host the Big Slick charity [event] alongside Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, David Koechner, Eric Stonestreet and Rob Riggle to raise money for Children’s Mercy Hospital in our hometown of Kansas City.
12. My alternate profession would be a preschool teacher or an interior designer.
13. The beauty product I swear by is Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream.
14. To decompress, I turn off all the lights and turn on a tiny little lamp in my shower. I make it very dim, listen to Hawaiian music, steam eucalyptus and just sit while it rains on me.
15. The most starstruck moment I’ve had was meeting Eddie Murphy.
16. My first job was [at] Mesa Wraps, which was like Chipotle before Chipotle. I wrapped burritos and still love to.
17. Parenthood is my favorite movie.
18. My most prized possession is my mom’s name tag from when she worked at TWA.
19. The comedian I looked up to growing up was Jack Black.
20. I was great at math until algebra.
21. I collect matchbooks.
22. It’s a cool time to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan. My favorite player is Patrick Mahomes. He’s a real-life unicorn. I went to the Super Bowl this year — the game was so tense that I passed right out after. Well, I went [home], watched all the highlights and then passed out.
23. One thing I’ve learned from working with Lorne Michaels is that he has a popcorn maker with the best popcorn I’ve ever tasted.
24. My time in The Groundlings taught me to make the audience comfortable. Once you put them at ease and know you’re a confident performer, they’re free to have fun. They don’t have to worry about you.
25. My favorite place to vacation is at my friends Jack, Andy and Michael’s house in Kansas City. I also love Wildwood, New Jersey. It’s a time capsule of a town and it would’ve been cool to have been a teenager there in the ‘80s.