[8][9][10] The New York Times advised readers to "remember the name of Gillian Jacobs, a stunning Juilliard graduate who has the glow of a star in the making".

[11] Jacobs has appeared in theatrical productions, such as The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero (2007), A Feminine Ending (2007),[12] and The Little Flower of East Orange (2008).

[13] In March 2009, she joined the cast of the NBC single-camera comedy series Community as Britta Perry, a high school dropout who aspires to become a psychologist.

(2013), Walk of Shame (2014), The Lookalike (2014), Life Partners (2014), Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015), Visions (2015), Don't Think Twice (2016), and Brother Nature (2016).

Community was canceled by NBC on May 9, 2014,[15] and later that month, it was reported that Jacobs had landed a recurring role as Mimi-Rose Howard in the fourth season of the HBO series Girls.

[18] Jacobs directed the 2015 documentary short The Queen of Code about computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper.

Jacobs does not drink alcohol or take any recreational drugs, a choice she made when she was younger after watching some family members struggle with addiction.