Abbott Elementary has a pretty strong central cast, but the show has managed to wow audiences with some very classic celebrity cameos. While some may only appear for a short scene, there are also others that manage to hang around the school for an entire episode.
In this list, we take a look at some of the best guest appearances that Abbott has ever had and wonder if the show will manage to top itself in future episodes of the currently ongoing fourth season.
Ayo Edebiri as Ayesha Teages
(S02E14 Valentine’s Day, S02E18 Teacher’s Appreciation)
Ayo Edebiri may be best known for getting screamed at by Jeremy Allen White in The Bear, but before that show took off, Edebiri had a small, but significant role in Abbott Elementary as Janine’s sister Ayesha.
Hints have been thrown around about Janine’s troubled family life throughout the show, and Ayesha’s appearance really puts the drama of the sisters in the spotlight, with her and Janine having a big fight over who had to deal with their mother Vanetta.
Speaking of Vanetta…
Taraji P. Henson as Vanetta Teagues
(S02E21, Mom)
Janine’s troubled home life may be played for laughs in Abbott, but the real drama of the situation really came to light when the show finally got to put Vanetta onscreen—and she was played by none other than Empire’s Taraji P. Henson.
Vanetta comes to Abbott looking for some financial aid from Janine, and the episode really looks into how Janine ended up having to parent her own mother since Vanetta was unprepared to be a mom. With Janine and her sister having so many issues with their upbringing, it’s nice to put a face to the one responsible for their trauma.
Orlando Jones as Martin Eddie
(S01E08 Work Family, S02E12 Fight)
Gregory Eddie is already pretty uptight as a character, and a lot of it is put into context when the show introduces the audience to his father Martin Eddie played by Orlando Jones (American Gods).
In the show, Martin runs a landscaping company and is the main reason that Gregory is very adept at taking care of plants. He’s also a strict military man who doesn’t respect that Gregory likes teaching, and is constantly trying to get his son to quit school and take over the family business.
If anything, Martin’s really there to solidify Gregory’s stance in staying with Abbott and staying true to his vocation.
Bradley Cooper as Himself
(S03E06 Willard R. Abbott)
One of the cameo appearances to actually play themselves on the show, Bradley Cooper finds his way into Abbott after he was spotted by a student getting a hoagie across the street.
The fun thing about Cooper’s appearance is that the students didn’t really know why he was famous, and he kind of desperately tries to appeal to them by saying he played Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Despite the student’s disinterest, the teachers were pretty excited to have him in the school, and they pretty much just told jokes about what movies he was in (and one of them definitely wasn’t Oppenheimer).
Keegan- Michael Key as Superintendent Reynolds
(S03E08 Panel, S03E09 Alex, S03E10 2 Ava 2 Fest)
Keegan-Michael Key may have played one of pop culture’s most infamous substitute teachers in Key & Peele, but his appearance in Abbott has him playing Janine’s boss Superintendent Reynolds when she was working for the school district.
Though Janine came to the school district with hopes of changing things for the better, Reynolds had proved that he was only interested in projects that didn’t cost anything, which was probably a big reason why Janine just decided to go back to teaching.
It’s unclear if Key could come back in the future, but with the school district overseeing everything, there’s a chance he could guest-star again.
Leslie Odom Jr. as Draemond Winding
(S02E17 Attack Ad, S02E19 Festival)
Hamilton fans may best know Leslie Odom Jr. for playing Aaron Burr, and he spends the second season of Abbott being one of the minor antagonists, Draemond Winding.
In the series, Winding was one of Barbara’s former students and works for Legendary Charter Schools, the big fancy school that wants to eat Abbott Elementary up and integrate it into their school system.
Draemond is unsuccessful by the end of the season, but it’s very likely that the series to find some way to bring him back along with the threat of a rival school like Legendary.
Lana Condor as Olivia
(S03E11 Double Date, S03E14 Party)
Lana Condor may have had a small part as Jubilee in X-Men: Apocalypse, but she’s best known for playing Lara Jean in Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.
In Abbott, Condor plays the part of Olivia, a woman who had some great chemistry with Gregory, but ultimately had to leave him since he was clearly obsessing over Janine and who he thought she was dating (she wasn’t).
Philadelphia Eagles Players Jason Kelce, Jalen Hurts, and Brandon Graham as Themselves
(S03E01 and S03E02 Career Day)
Abbott Elementary is never shy about taking place in Philadelphia, and every once in a while, there’s going to be a reference to hoagies or Rocky. One of the biggest cameos to come out of the third season was the appearance of not one, but three members of the Philly Eagles, namely Jason Kelce, Jalen Hurts, and Brandon Graham.
The appearance was just over a Zoom call, but they managed to play a huge part in Melissa’s break-up with vending machine operator Gary.
Gritty as Himself
(S02E01 Development Day)
Some fans may not be familiar with the hockey team the Philadelphia Flyers, but there’s a chance that they’ve seen the team’s mascot Gritty somewhere on the internet.
In the show, Janine finds a way to get Gritty to interact with the kids on the first day of school, but the dates get mixed up and Gritty arrives a week early; forced to spend the day hanging out with the teachers instead.
Kevin Hart as Himself
(S03E12 Mother’s Day)
Of all the celebrity cameos in the show, Kevin Hart appearing as himself has got to be one of the biggest ones—and he’s at the center of a pretty crazy story as well.
In the episode, Janine goes on a mission to find out who her real father is, and she’s apparently had the suspicion that it could be Hart, seeing as they’re both short and Janine’s mom confirmed that she had slept with him back in high school.
Hart appears in a phone call confirming that he isn’t Janine’s dad, but he does also reveal he knows Mr. Johnson, which is hilarious.