Ben Stiller is one of Hollywood’s most versatile and successful stars, excelling as an actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer.
He is the son of legendary comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara and has inherited their talent and passion for making people laugh.
He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his comedy performances, and later directed and starred in hit films such as “The F*ck,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “Zoolander,” “Tropic Thunder” and “Night at the Museum.”
He is also known for his voice work in the Madagascar series and for his work with famous comedians such as Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell and Steve Carell.
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- Full name: Benjamin Edward Mira Stiller
- Date of Birth: November 30, 1965
- Age: 59
- Sex: Male
- Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
- Country: United States
- Occupation: Actor, comedian, writer, director, producer
- Height: 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm)
- Parents: Jerry Stiller (father), Anne Meara (mother)
- Siblings: Amy Stiller (sister)
- Spouse: Christine Taylor (ex-wife)
- Children: Ella Stiller (daughter), Quinlin Stiller (son)
- Marital status: Divorced
- Net worth: $200 million
Early life and education
Ben Stiller, 59, was born on November 30, 1965 in New York City. His father is Jerry Stiller and his mother is Anne Meara, both of whom are famous comedians and actors.
Growing up on the Upper West Side, he was exposed to the entertainment industry at an early age.
He frequently appeared on television with his parents and shot amateur films with a Super 8-inch camera, imitating popular films of the time.
He attended the Calhoun School, a private school in Manhattan, where he developed an interest in acting and comedy. He also performed in several school plays and musicals and joined a comedy troupe called the Short Circus.
After graduating from high school, he enrolled at UCLA but dropped out after nine months to pursue an acting career.
He returned to New York and interned at the Actors Studio, where he learned from renowned actors and directors.
personal life
Ben Stiller married actress Christine Taylor in 2000 after meeting her on the set of a TV series.
They have two children, Ella and Quinlin, who have also appeared in some of their father’s films. Stiller and Taylor separated in 2017, but remain friends and co-parent their children. Stiller has not been romantically linked to anyone else since.
Stiller, who is Jewish and had a bar mitzvah at age 13, said he is not particularly religious but respects his traditions and culture. He is also a New York Yankees fan and collects Star Trek memorabilia.
He supports the Democratic Party and has supported candidates such as Obama and Hillary. He is also a good friend of former President Bill Clinton and has attended many events hosted by the Clinton Foundation.
Profession
Ben Stiller began his career in theater and television, and landed his first Broadway role in 1986 in John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves.
He later reprised the role in the TV adaptation of the show in 1987. He also had small roles in films such as Empire of the Sun, Fresh Horses and Next of Kin.
In 1989, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live as a writer and actor, but left after a few months due to creative differences.
He then created his own sketch comedy show, The Ben Stiller Show, which aired on MTV in 1990 and on Fox in 1992-93.
The show stars young actors like Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick and Bob Odenkirk, and parodies aspects of pop culture like music videos, celebrities and movies.
The show won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program, but was canceled after 13 episodes due to low ratings.
Stiller made his directorial debut in 1994 with The Untamed, a comedy-drama about a group of disillusioned young people after college graduation.
He also co-starred with Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Garofalo. The film was a moderate success and became a classic among Generation X.
He then directed and starred in The Cableman in 1996, a black comedy about a lonely and persistent cable installer (played by Jim Carrey) who befriends and terrorizes a customer (played by Stiller).
The film received mixed reviews and was a disappointment at the box office, but still developed a cult following. Stiller starred in other films in the mid-1990s, such as Flirting with Disaster, Happy Gilmore, and Zero Effect.
Stiller first rose to fame in 1998 with There’s Something About Mary, a raunchy comedy directed by the Farrelly brothers in which he played a hapless man trying to reconcile with his high school crush, played by Cameron Diaz. The film was a huge success, and Stiller won the MTV Movie Award for Best Comedy Performance.
He subsequently starred in several successful comedies in the early 2000s, such as Mystery Man, Meet the Fockers, Zoolander, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
He also directed and starred in Zoolander, a satire on the fashion industry in which he played a goofy male model opposite Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell. The film was a moderate success and became a cult film.
In the mid-2000s, Stiller continued to work as a director and actor, directing films such as Meet Polly, Jake and Hutchison, Meet the Fockers, and Night at the Museum.
He also voiced Alex the lion in the animated film Madagascar and its sequel. He has also produced films and television shows such as Blades of Glory, Tropic Thunder and A Big Year for Birdwatching.
In 2008, he directed and starred in Tropic Thunder, a comedy about a group of actors who unwittingly become embroiled in a real war while filming a Vietnam War epic.
The film features a strong cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Tom Cruise, and Nick Nolte. Stiller won the Directors Guild of America Award and multiple MTV Movie Awards for the film.
Stiller played a Jewish-American actor who underwent controversial skin pigmentation surgery to play a black soldier, and his performance received critical acclaim.
Stiller’s later films include The Dreamers, a remake of the 1947 film in which he played a timid magazine employee who escapes from reality; Zoolander 2, a sequel to his 2001 film that received negative reviews; and The Meyerowitz Stories, a drama directed by Noah Baumbach in which he played the son of a dysfunctional family, starring alongside Adam Sandler and Dustin Hoffman.
He also played Greg Falk in Meet the Fockers 3 and Larry Daley in Night at the Museum 3.
He also voiced the character of Bernard in Megamind and had cameo appearances in films such as Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.
Stiller has also worked in television, appearing in a number of shows including Friends, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development, and Extras. He has also created and produced several TV series such as The Jonah and Kumail Breakdown, Another Period, and Big Time Hollywood.
He also directed and served as executive producer on Showtime’s limited series Dannemora, based on the true story of the 2015 New York prison break. The series stars Benicio Del Toro, Patricia Arquette and Paul Dano.
They earned Stiller a Directors Guild of America Award and two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series.
He also directed and served as executive producer on the Apple TV+ series Severance, a workplace thriller starring Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette and Christopher Walken.
The series received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.
Awards
Ben Stiller has received various awards and honors for his work in film and television, including:
- In 1993, The Ben Stiller Show won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program.
- 2011 Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy.
- In 2007, he won the Teen Choice Award for Best Movie Comedy Actor for his role in Night at the Museum.
- He has won several MTV Movie Awards, including Best Comedy Performance for There’s Something About Mary in 1999, Best Fight for Zoolander in 2002, Best Villain for Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story in 2005, and Best Comedy Performance for Tropic Thunder in 2009.
- In 2019, Escape at Dannemora won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing Achievement in a Comedy Series.
- In 2019, Escape at Dannemora won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing Achievement in a Television Film or Limited Series.
- In 2019, Escape at Dannemora was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series.
- In 2024, Severance was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.
- In 2008 he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
dispute
Ben Stiller has not been involved in any major scandals or controversies, except for some minor scandals such as:
- He feuded with Joan Rivers, who criticized his parents and his style of comedy and, in a sarcastic tone, called him “a lucky guy who made it on his own.” Stiller said he respected Rivers but did not find her funny and was proud of his parents and their legacy.
- He sued Greg Greener, the original screenwriter of Meet the Fockers, claiming Stiller and the producers stole his idea and screenplay without giving him proper credit or compensation. The case was settled out of court in 2006, with Greener receiving an undisclosed sum in damages and a co-writing credit.
- In 2000, he spoofed Tom Cruise at the MTV Movie Awards, imitating Cruise’s character from Mission: Impossible 2, performing a series of stunts and explosions. Cruise was reportedly not impressed by the spoof and didn’t speak to Stiller for a while. They later reconciled, and Cruise even starred as a foul-mouthed, balding film producer in Stiller’s film Tropic Thunder.
social media
- Instagram account: @benstiller
- Twitter account: @RedHourBen
Filmography
- Reality Bites—Director, Actor
- Cableman – Director, Actor
- There’s Something About Mary – Actor
- Zoolander – director, screenwriter, producer, actor
- The Royal Tenenbaums – Actor
- Meet the Fockers – Actor
- Meet the Fockers – Actor
- Madagascar – Voice Actor
- Night at the Museum – Actor
- Tropic Thunder – director, screenwriter, producer, actor
- Daydreamer – director, producer, actor
- Escape at Dannemora – Director, Executive Producer
- The Meyerowitz Stories – Actor
net worth
Ben Stiller has an estimated net worth of $200 million. He earned his wealth through his successful film and television career as an actor and director.
He also makes money through his production company, Red Hour Films, which he founded in 1999 with partner Stuart Cornfeld.
