Daija Owens Joins NBC Pilot ‘Brenda Forever’

*Daija Owens, the teen actress who just wrapped a run on Showtime’s “Shameless,” has joined NBC’s comedy pilot “Brenda Forever,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ellie Kemper (“The Office”) stars in the show, interweaves stories from Brenda Miller’s past and present to give a unique portrait of how the chubby, awkward, but incredibly confident 13-year-old grew up to be a 31-year-old woman, who still marches to the beat of her own drum.

Owens, who starred in NBC’s short-lived comedy “Best Friends Forever,” will play a young Pearl Gardner, Brenda’s best friend. Never seen without Skittles or Pez, Pearl is self-effacing and doesn’t put up a fuss when things don’t go her way. Da’vine Joy Randolph plays the adult version.

“MadTV’s” Stephnie Weir co-stars.